Watching dvds on the road damaging eyesight?

[sora]

Hi,

We bought a portable dvd player for my 4yr old daughter. We were relocating so we went on all day trip for house hunting. The dvd players kept her entertained all day. we travel half an hour each way on the highway every weekend. I want to let her watch her dvd at least one way but I wonder if watching dvds in a moving car will damage her eyesight. Thanks.

[ChetMC]

I Can't

I can't think of any reason why it would damage her eyesight. Why do you want her to watch her DVDs one way though?

We've often travelled with emergency DVDs, or an ipod loaded with some kids shows. Our kids don't watch much TV so I can count on it turn entertain the kids (read turn them in zombies) in an emergency. But we save it for desperate moments, and we rarely need to use it. Our kids have survived a full day or more in transit without any screen time.

To some extent, the expectation that you need to entertain yourself encourages kids to develop that skill.

[lifeguard]

I sure hope not! We are planning on purchasing a portable dvd player soon (we have an upcoming road trip in October) that will be used on long car trips.

We travel 30 minutes into the city a few times a week but it wouldn't have occurred to me to set it up for such a short drive.

[SquishyKitty]

We have all been using our portable DVD player for years, and it has had no effect on any of our eyesight.

We use ours on long road trips, too. And flights, and stuff like that.

[SquishyKitty]

I would qualify my last post with this: Make sure she doesn't get motion sickness. If I so much as look down at my lap while in a moving car, I get awful motion sickness. DS can play video games and watch movies and play with his legos or whatever, but DH and I both HAVE to look out the window in a moving vehicle.

However, we have a trip we make every year to the alps, and it's about 4-5 hours. Towards the end, movies and games or not, DS always seems to need to throw up. I think it's just from being in the car too long. So, just check that out before you start showing DVD's.

[velochic]

I can think of several reasons to not let a child watch TV in a car regularly, but eyesight damage isn't one of them. Research shows that things like watching TV too closely and reading in dim light might cause eye strain, but it's temporary your eyes quickly recover.

[sewchris2642]

I'd be more concerned about motion sickness than eye strain. Personally, my first reaction would be to not to allow it. They could read (see comment about motion sickness), stare out the window, take a nap, talk with others in the car, play magnetic board games or card games with the person sitting next to them. Things that are less passive than watching TV and that involve other people.

[lifeguard]

Honestly, I think most people on this board avoid allowing hours & hours of screen time but while in the car for long trips a portable dvd player can be a real life saver. It's just not an easy time for anyone. Mama - don't feel guilty for using the resources available to you.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by lifeguard

Honestly, I think most people on this board avoid allowing hours & hours of screen time but while in the car for long trips a portable dvd player can be a real life saver. It's just not an easy time for anyone. Mama - don't feel guilty for using the resources available to you.

Sure, long, occasional trips. But when you're driving 30 minutes? I mean, my dd's school is about an hour away (depending on traffic and who's driving) and this is her 6th year there. If I let her watch videos for all of the 30+ minute car rides, she'd be watching two hours every day. And that's just to school and back.

No offense to the OP, at all, but what happened to teaching our kids to entertain themselves, or goodness, even interacting with us, when in the car for short trips (and yeah, I think 30 minutes or even an hour is a short trip)? Life in the car for children was not hell before DVDs. It's not a resource or a life saver, it's a pacifier. And just like any pacifier, if it's used too often, it gets abused and hard to take away when it needs to be taken away. I'm not saying the OP should feel guilty about letting a LO watch in the car on the rare occasion for a long trip/day out, but for every 30 minute ride? IDK.

(And yeah, my great nieces (9 and 10) and great nephew (9) refuse to ride with me because I don't have TV in my van. )

[cschick]

Originally Posted by velochic

Sure, long, occasional trips. But when you're driving 30 minutes? I mean, my dd's school is about an hour away (depending on traffic and who's driving) and this is her 6th year there. If I let her watch videos for all of the 30+ minute car rides, she'd be watching two hours every day. And that's just to school and back.

Yeah. Our daily drive can easily take 30+ minutes each way (it's 15 miles in heavy traffic) and I would never think to let him watch dvds for that. He has a couple of toys he keeps in the arms of his carseat, he talks to us, we listen to the radio.

We have played dvds in the car for him, but only on our very long driving trip to Yellowstone and Glacier. And for that, I didn't even bring out the dvds until the second day of driving there, or the second day of driving back, when he'd really exhausted his other entertainment options.

[One_Girl]

I don't think it is damaging to the eyes anymore than normal tv watching, but I would personally not let my child watch a dvd in the car for a trip that short. I save movie watching for weekends and times when I am in need of a break from active parenting. In the car for short commutes we talk, sing, play I spy type games, she colors with her markers (at that age sometimes on herself), looks at books, and plays with legos depending on the day.

[leighi123]

I would be more worried about it being a projectile in a crash.

[sewchris2642]

Originally Posted by velochic

No offense to the OP, at all, but what happened to teaching our kids to entertain themselves, or goodness, even interacting with us, when in the car for short trips (and yeah, I think 30 minutes or even an hour is a short trip)? Life in the car for children was not hell before DVDs. It's not a resource or a life saver, it's a pacifier. And just like any pacifier, if it's used too often, it gets abused and hard to take away when it needs to be taken away. I'm not saying the OP should feel guilty about letting a LO watch in the car on the rare occasion for a long trip/day out, but for every 30 minute ride? IDK.

Pacifier. That's what I was trying to think of when I wrote my post. I remember long driving trips to visit extended family (3 days to Washington state; 5 days to Iowa). 3-4 kids in the car before DVDs/TVs in cars. That's what I think of when I hear/read about long trips in the car. But what I see now is the kids watching the DVD while on the way to school or driving through town. As well as people (kids and adults) always being connected to electronics--cell phones/blue tooths, ipods, etc. No one does anything with out something to tune out the environment around them. What about time to think, or time to just be in your own head?