> Even so-called educational videos do not benefit children under 2 because they are too young to be able to understand the images on the screen, the doctors’ g

> Even so-called educational videos do not benefit children under 2 because they are too young to be able to understand the images on the screen, the doctors’ group said. So, we have been watching TV with my 20-month old daughter since she was around 9 months old. We watch kids shows and talk about it while we watch it together. And she knows exactly what is going on in the show and has for a long time. I'm sure she doesn't understand 100% of it, but it is obvious that she is picking up things. * She knows the characters by name as soon as they are shown * She talks about things she sees in the background * Since last month she sometimes laughs when they do something that is meant to be funny * She counts out loud to 10 with the characters on TV when they start counting My feeling is that a constant TV in the background is a distraction for anyone, including babies. But having kids shows AND (here is the key part) watching them together and talking about it, re-enforcing the points of education, talking about the background, and asking questions about what is going on does in fact help with their development.