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TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies

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disco2000
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
This only applies to babies, right? Because tv totally enriched my childhood. I don't know what I'd do without Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and Square One. Also, I think I learned a lot from Star Trek. And Night Court reruns in part spawned my career choice as a lawyer.

Anyone watch Square One as a kid? Can I get some Mathnet love?
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annexw
03/02/09

@disco2000:

Me! Me! I *loved* MathNet& SquareOne even though I can not do math to this day. But I do work with computers all day and I do love databases, the MathNet staple.

Also, I learned and retained a startling amount about humpback whales and being shipwrecked from "Voyage of the Mimi", which is why I will always love Ben Affleck.
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disco2000
03/02/09

@annexw: I have never heard of this "Voyage of the Mimi," but if it's about humpback whales, I'm looking into it. Of course, the ultimate humpback whales movie is Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but I digress...
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Witchtit: Your low productivity advisor
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
Seriously! Without those rotating picture of ducklings, smiling baby faces, and colour swirls, I would have resorted to hooking mini-Witchit by her onesie on one of the towel hooks.
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Witchtit: Your low productivity advisor
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
I admit that I did buy some Baby Einstein for Mini Witchtit when she was 2 months old. Frankly I never thought they would make her smarter, but they did allow me to take badly needed showers without sticking Mini Witchtit on the bathroom floor.
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clevernamehere
03/02/09

@Witchtit: Preparing for the Zombie Wars: I think that should be their marketing campaign- "Want to shower alone? Stick your baby in front of our video and he'll shut the hell up for 10 whole minutes!"
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Mafalda para Presidente
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
I, on the other hand, will force my future babies to listen to Mozart from the womb. I'll read to them at night, preferably something by Dante or Shakespeare. During weekends and holidays I'll read Frost, Dickens, or maybe Mark Twain. I'll only buy educational toys, though mostly I'll just tell them to invent their own toys and use their imaginations. Instead of the movies I'll take them to the opera.

I mean...that's what you're supposed to do, right, unless you want your children to grow up dumb?
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kelsium
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
Shockingly it turns out that there is no substitute for actual parenting.
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happysquid
03/02/09

@kelsium: Damn! My baby-farming pyramid scheme is bound to fail.
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kelsium
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
I have read theories (I don't recall them being supported by anything) about watching too much television in early childhood being a factor in Asberger's. The idea is that if you don't have enough exposure to three-dimensional faces that respond to you you won't develop the ability to read emotional cues.
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Mkp-hearts-NYC
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
What can I make my hypothetical future kids watch that will make them sprout facial hair before they're out of diapers? Dozens of 13-year-old boys trying to grow mustaches are dying to know...
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IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
Just talk to your children, read them books, and spend some quality time! Its so sad that so many parents just park their children in front of the TV nowadays. A little TV is fine and will probably stop parents from crazy, but a TV should not turn into a glorified babysitter.
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MissMaple
03/02/09

@IBleedGlitter: Eerie! You beat me to the (almost exact same) punch!
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IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
03/02/09

@MissMaple: Weeeird! It's good to know that other people have the same pet peeve. I used to work at a day care center and people thought I was crazy for wanting to actually play with the children instead of plopping them in front of the Teletubbies.
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YourScreenplaySucks
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
My "Baby Einstein" business idea - a series of IQ-testing questions that can be subtly worked into first date conversation w/o him realizing that you're analyzing his raw genetic material.
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alouette
03/02/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: Awesome idea. Maybe you could disguise them as "fun," i.e., "I know! Let's do trivia Q's.."
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HuckleberryFriend
03/02/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks: So, let's talk about shapes!
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YourScreenplaySucks
03/02/09

@alouette: @HuckleberryFriend: You think I jest, but I have a series of IQ-testing exercises that be conducted using only a toothpick, napkins, shot glasses, and other assorted items commonly found in bars.
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stoprobbers
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
The only things acceptable for plopping a baby down in front of:

Opera (no joke -- my mom taped PBS versions of "the Magic Flute" and "Marriage of Figaro." I loved them.)
Fraggle Rock
Muppet Show
Muppet Babies
Looney Toons
Yellow Submarine

Really, those will give your kid everything they need. Swearz it.
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stoprobbers
03/02/09

@stoprobbers: On another note, we've got 8 inches of snow, I'm one of 5 people at work, and I really wish I was at home stoned and watching Fraggle Rock on DVD right now.
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Majrhoulihan
03/02/09

@stoprobbers: But...but...my childhood would not have been complete wihout Bert and Ernie.

Don't take the B&E away from the kids.
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alouette
03/02/09

@stoprobbers: It's early-ish for me, so I thought that said "Oprah." Which would totally be understandable, I LOVED QVC when I was little, and can still tell you about different cuts of gems and chain styles even though I don't really like jewelry.
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happysquid
03/02/09

@stoprobbers: OPERA! Good stuff, I always loved it as a child.

Also, "LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY" best pbs show ever.

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pear.shaped.Sara
03/02/09

@stoprobbers: What about Reading Rainbow?
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happysquid
03/02/09

@pear.shaped.Sara: Yea that too.
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stoprobbers
03/02/09

@Majrhoulihan: OH YEAH. Ooops, forgot.
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stoprobbers
03/02/09

@pear.shaped.Sara: I didn't really get into reading rainbow until I was old enough to read a little bit. So I guess I would amend my list to say: After your kid is old enough to read/attend pre-school, you can open them up to a whole host of awesome children's programming, including (if you can find it, and if you can TELL ME WHERE TO GET IT PLEASE) David The Gnome.

And Reading Rainbow of course. I loved Reading Rainbow.

But for little babies, the kind that are being subjected to Baby Einstein? Please see list above.

(AND NONE OF THIS TELLETUBBIES CRAP, Y'HEAR?)
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FourInchHeels
03/02/09

@stoprobbers: What about Schoolhouse Rock! You left it out! Awesome grammar songs ftw ... seriously, I'm a senior in college and am still thinking of that stuff during the occasional exam.

Then again, I learned the quadratic forumla to the tune of row row row your boat, and that is STILL how I have do it. I hum it to myself during tests, because I can't do the formula without it. Sitting next to me in math tests is the worst.
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clevernamehere
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
They've known that TV is not for infants and toddlers for at least 10 years now. The American Psychological Association and the American Pediatric Association have issued warning against putting your baby in front of TV since the late 90s.

How is baby Einstein not required to carry a warning label? Seriously, how can they make these bullshit claims and no one stops them?
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Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.
03/02/09

@clevernamehere: Right, but didn't the article say that TV doesn't harm children either? It just doesn't help them, right?
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clevernamehere
03/02/09

@Vivelafat is the Quizat Haderach: There were several earlier studies that showed links to ADHD and decreased vocabularies, so it isn't conclusive. If there is no evidence that they do any good, you shouldn't be able to say they help. Particularly when they are something someone made in her basement without any early childhood expertise.
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Alys Brangwin has a huge talent
03/02/09

@clevernamehere: But ADHD isn't poisonous!
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southernbelle
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
Can we see more babies dressed up like famous intellectuals? A Shakespeare baby? What about a Mozart? Maybe a Madame Curie baby?

I mean, my kid is sick today and thus parked in front of Spongebob, so that would really help my day.
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argle-bargle? or fou-ferraw?
03/02/09

@southernbelle: oooooh! i want a bela lugosi as dracula baby!

(did you know he got buried in his dracula suit?)
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argle-bargle? or fou-ferraw?
03/02/09

@argle-bargle? or fou-ferraw?: not an intellectual, really... but i want a baby dracula!
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katie.scarlett.o'hara
03/02/09

@argle-bargle? or fou-ferraw?: That's awesome! Baby vampire fangs!
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♥AntiSocialSocialite♥
03/02/09

@southernbelle: THIS is my idea of a baby costume:

BOO-YAH!
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Saltine
03/02/09

@BeccaSaurus Rex: That image will haunt my dreams
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gobblegirl
03/02/09

@southernbelle: Baby Caesar, with a toga and laurel wreath.
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FourInchHeels
03/02/09

@Saltine: Hortense posts dead baby shoes, and THIS is what haunts you?!
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JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
But those "Your Baby Can Read" shits advertised at 4 a.m. still work, right? RIGHT?!?
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misspie
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
i'm guessing this finding was originally published in the Annals of Duh...

i am glad, however, to have a little reassurance that TV exposure isn't outright harmful.
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rhymeswithfeather
03/02/09

@misspie: You have all the reassurance you need by being a bright, functional adult. I grew up with TV and I turned out ok!
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misspie
03/02/09

@heatherwritesstuff: but it is so easy to ignore all that common sense stuff when faced with perfect parenting hysteria...!

eff it, i am going to park the kid in front of the TV for all of my "stories," plus Dr. Phil and Oprah.
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rhymeswithfeather
03/02/09

@misspie: Hahahaha. If you weren't a hysterical parent before, the Dr. Phil/Oprah brand of moral panic will ensure it.
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BabyJane
03/02/09

In reply to TV Viewing Doesn't Help Or Harm Babies
It hasn't made my cats any smarter either.
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rhymeswithfeather
03/02/09

@BabyJane: Yeah, Fluffy's vocab didn't improve a bit! False advertising.
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
03/02/09

@BabyJane: My cat learned to share. She shares her hairballs all over our bedspread now.
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BabyJane
03/02/09

@heatherwritesstuff: No kidding! All I hear is "meow this" and "meow that." What a waste!
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BabyJane
03/02/09

@BrutallyHonestZombies: Just remember sharing means caring.

I suppose that means they care about us A LOT!
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happysquid
03/02/09

@BabyJane: watched this great PBS show last night about "Why We Love Cats & Dogs" and it had a segment on cat agility training! I never thought such a thing would be possible!
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BabyJane
03/02/09

@happysquid: I can't even imagine!
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