Has anyone told you babies shouldn’t have screen time? Do you know why this is?
In 2016 the American Academy of Pediatrics established that children under 18 months or even 24 months should not have any screen time at all. And even for kids between 2 and 5 years old, screen time should be limited to one hour a day.
Surprisingly many parents believe that watching TV or using screens will help their children learn to talk quicker and become smarter. But, this is already being achieved by quality social interaction. Kids who use screens do not show any advantage. Nonetheless, research shows that watching TV for kids is linked to aggressive behavior, lessened imagination, and creativity, problems with attention control, decreased intellectual and social development, weaker family ties, and childhood obesity. When babies/toddlers are watching TV, there are no interactions and that is what babies/toddlers are programmed to learn from.
Using screens is often classified as junk food for the brain because in general, it does not contribute to brain development at all. Your baby learns a lot more from banging pans on the floor than from watching any TV show you can think of. When the screens are off babies/toddlers have to come up with ways to keep themselves entertained and that is great for their little brains.Babies And Screen Time