Babies and TV Time ... What's your take?

                I hope you all had a wonderful Ramadan, and you are getting ready to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr (if you haven't already)! It’s been a while since I wrote a post because I have been really busy this past month studying for my teaching certification exam and planning my daughter’s first birthday party! Thankfully, with the help of many prayers and countless hours of studying, I was able to pass my exam!

                My daughter’s first birthday is actually July 19, but we decided to celebrate a little early because many of our family members are going to be out of town on the 19^th. I had so much fun decorating and preparing for her first birthday party as it was the theme of her favorite show, “Maya the Bee”. I look forward to sharing all of the details with you, but I figured I’d first like to write a post about babies and TV time-- a somewhat controversial subject. 

                How much is too much? Should TV time even be allowed for your child? If so, what types of shows are appropriate? These are all questions that I asked myself before I became a mom. If I’m honest, I was leaning more towards the “zero TV” stance. I feared that, if anything, TV could impair cognitive abilities as babies grow. Also, there are a lot of articles out there that recommend that TV should be avoided for babies under the age of 2. But, my takeaway is if you allow TV for a short period of time without the intention of having only shows teach your child, my opinion is that it's okay in moderation.

It’s no doubt that most parents try to be super mom or super dad, and we want our children excel at everything they do. That includes things that are beyond our control, like, teething for example. Once we see our baby drooling when he or she is 3 months (because it’s possible), we all expect to see a tooth popping in and pride ourselves in having children who raced to pop out teeth so soon.

Although, through my experience and seeing other parents with children around the same age as my baby, I concluded that every child experiences milestones at different times and at his or her own pace. I definitely didn’t want to be that mom, you know, the one who just lets her child watch television all day every day instead of giving her baby time and attention.

However, I decided that if I was to allow TV, I had to be selective. I discovered a lot of shows and videos available online and through cable that Madina might benefit from. I began allowing a half hour of TV a day. She seemed to be pretty amused by all of the colors and animation. Even I enjoyed the catchy ABC, and 123 tunes, and I told my husband I would even jam to them had they been on a CD (CD’s are still in, right?).

            Not too long ago I introduced to her a show called “Maya the Bee” that you can find on the network titled “Sprout”. When “Maya the Bee” comes on my daughter’s face lights up, she kicks her feet and she smiles from ear to ear. This is a reaction I captured of when "Maya the Bee" begins:

  

 Maya the Bee is about a responsible little bee who teaches kids a lesson through every episode as she helps protect other bees in the meadow. Though my daughter does not yet understand this, she loves watching it and enjoys the colors and little characters. Each episode is about 20 minutes, and she watches one or two a day at most. Baby Einstein and Little Einstein are also other networks that are intended for educational purposes.  They have episodes that talk about shapes, colors, numbers and alphabets that might register if you continually help reiterate the information. 

            If not "Maya the Bee", I recently discovered this network on Youtube called Ta Ha TV, which has a lot of cute Arabic and Islamic cartoons for kids. I have to admit that my Arabic is pretty weak, but I do want Madina to be familiar with Arabic, so I try to include the language in her TV time. I don't believe she will become fluent through these shows, but I like the content and it's something I want her to get used to.

 Check out these Youtube links to some of Madina’s favorite Ta Ha videos: About Giving Charity (Arabic) About Mom It's raining! Noora the Bird 

              Whether it’s Maya the Bee, Baby Einstein or Ta Ha TV, I don't think it makes you a bad parent if you allow some TV time at a young age. It also doesn't hurt that TV time also allows me some extra time during the day to catch up with other things around the house, especially on days when naps are short. Another tip if you need to get things done and you don't want your child to watch, say, more than a half hour a day, is try to put your child in front of a window and let him or her watch what's going on outside. My daughter loves when I put her in front of the window, and she sits and observes for up to 45 minutes! 

Here are some articles that I read that helped me make my decision on TV: 
Pro TV
No TV
TV Facts and Suggestions
TV guidelines for Toddlers

What are your thoughts? How much TV does your child watch? Do you allow TV time at all? If so, what is your child’s favorite show (s)?

To all of my Muslim friends: I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Eid Holiday!

-Mariam