Does Your Baby Watch TV?

The funniest thing to me about Braden is how much he watches TV. He stares with the most intent wide eyed stare that you have ever seen. It looks like he is absolutely mesmerized. I guess he probably looks like me when I walk out into a major league baseball stadium staring with wonderment at the field below. When someone that knows me well sees him staring at the TV I can expect the standard "he's definitely your son" comment. I can't decide however if this new habit is a good thing to start at his age.

Part of me thinks that being able to watch so intently at such a young age shows that he is smart. He has stared intently at everything that crossed his path since the day he was born. Many people commented on his alertness in the early going. Once he got older and was able to move his head then he was even more alert. He didn't have to wait on things to come into his field of vision anymore. He could seek out interesting shapes and colors and try to learn about them. I think this kind of awareness is a great indication that he is aware of his surroundings and eager to learn about them. The natural progression of this awareness of course had to lead to the 42" giant speaking color box perched across the room from our favorite chair. How could any child not notice that thing when it provides the majority of the light in our small living room. We usually only have a lamp on that is dwarfed by the TV light. I remember when I was a kid we had that huge TV that sat on the floor. There were no entertainment centers back then just giant wooden boxes that contained a small TV. Now we have those big screens perched right up in the air for everyone to see.

I guess in this day when so many people have large flat screen HD TVs it is expected that children will notice them. The only way to avoid that is turn the off theTV, and let's be honest, that is not going to happen at my house. So I choose to believe that not noticing something that big and bright would be a much larger problem than developing an early affinity for the idiot box. At least I will believe that until I get inundated with that maniac Sponge Bob.