Strollerderby

It probably counts as TV, but come on: There's always room for Ernie and Bert!

When my daughter was just under two, and cultivating an abiding affection for foxes, we found some footage a guy taped and posted on youtube.  Simple, long shots, ambient sound, no product placement, none that lasted longer than five minutes.  Now two and a half, she watches them occasionally, and others like them.

We did the same questioning and came up with the following rationalizations:

we are always watching them with her

they are occasional, not regular, not turning into every night media time

they are simple and non-commercial, gentle and quiet (a fox eating, an elephant wading and washing itself). The few times when we've finished watching and she fusses a bit, we wait an extra long time before showing her any more, sometimes a couple of weeks, not to punish for fussing, but so she doesn't get hungup on "gratification on demand".

This has worked for us, especially on rainy days when five minutes of foxes can offer a sort of quiet moment that makes for a smooth return to real life toys.

the best part is we've avoided the focus on the television as the source of all pleasures.  When she sees me at the computer and asks to see the fox, I might say that I'm reading the news right now, but she can see the fox when I finish.  There are more things to do on a computer than zone out and she's getting that early (I hope).

I don't know, man.  I totally caved on TV this morning because I just wanted 10 minutes to make and eat some breakfast.  Now that I have a crawler who has also figured out how to get out of the Bumbo, I plopped her down in front of Sesame Street and had time for oatmeal, FINALLY.

It's the new opiate of the masses!  Who am I to deny my kid an Elmo-high?

In Waldorf-world where I come from, media is helpfully referred to in terms of "screens": no TV screens, no computer screens, etc.  Of course, digitally-reproduced music is also frowned on for the little ones (the dulcet tones of mama or daddy singing are preferred).  

I'm thinking that yes, YouTube counts as TV (in my mind) but at the same time it may be more what you do with it that makes a difference.  You held Emme on your lap and interacted with her (I'm presuming you weren't also Crackberrying while she was mesmerized by Bert and Ernie) instead of plopping her down in front of, say (this is hypothetical of course), Mr. Rogers while you went to write in the next room (which is totally okay for me because my kid is 3 HA!).

Just the fact that you're concerned shows you're probably doing the "right" thing.

The other night, I had to do my 10-y-o's hair and make-up for a dance recital. Where was my 4-month-old? In the bathroom with us in his bouncy seat, watching a Baby Einstein DVD. Everyone was happy.

Sometimes it's all about your own sanity. If preserving your sanity means even 1/2 hour of tv a day, is that really so bad?

I can't speak to the "under two" part of it, but I want to throw in one giant parent-cheer for YouTube. Yesterday, my 4-year-old sat on my lap and we watched clips of the Chicago Symphony. My son was full of questions: "Are the harps heavy? Why are they holding their violins like guitars? Why is he playing alone? Is this part sad?" A few weeks ago, when doing a project on wood turtles for school, my 6-year-old and I found them in action on YouTube. This is an awesome resource--and yes, I mean resource. Who needs crappy kid tv/marketing?

I've been showing my daughter YouTube and video podcast cartoon on my lap since she was 7 or 8 months (not all the time though)

She likes it, and I like the no commercials part.

When my almost 2 year old wants instant clips of Elmo we queue up the saved You Tube favorites for him. He also loves the Fluff & Such puppets singing If I Had a Million Dollars and Major Tom.

We watch and sing together. Then again I think it's complete nonsense to not let a kid under 2 watch TV.