tv or not tv

i know a lot of sources out there say tv is really bad. and who knows, maybe by allowing thomas to watch a little tv, i am dooming him to a life of ADD or the inability to sit still. but hey, dad can not sit still either and he seems to be doing ok... :)

about a month ago (after thomas hit 3 months) i started watching sesame street with him. he especially likes elmo's world. usually not more than 10 minutes in the morning before he takes a nap. also when we are watching news, if he watches a little along with us, we don't mind. i do guard him from any images that might be too strong for his little developing brain. and william lets him watch bicycle racing footage when he watches.

when he first became aware of the TV, he would get easily distracted by it, cranning his little neck around to see where it was and giving me frustrated grunts or schrieks when he couldn't locate the source. this was around 2 months old. we were actually shocked at how early babies learn to be fascinated by tv! but now, at 4 months, he usually doesn't look for more than a minute (esp for news... booooring, no bright colors). he doesn't mind not being able to see the tv where he hears it and i can watch stuff i have recorded while he feeds. so for now, the "don't let them know it's not allowed" is working for us. william's mom actually did that to all three kids one halloween. she just let them go to town and PIG out on candy until they all felt sick. after that, none of them were into sweets. she must have been laughing inside watching them all with their little bellyaches. clever grandma.

so we have our own little mini social experiment. most of our friends with same age babies are sticking to no TV until 1 or 2 years of age. i'll have to wait and see if thomas' attention span is shorter than all of them.