Apparently the ability to watch TV is a developmental milestone (vent)

[The Lucky One]

Grrrr.

Dh and I are worried that our ds has a speech delay (another post sometime else). So, today I placed a call to his ped to see if he could get a hearing and speech eval.

Despite me telling her that ds only speaks two words at 18 months and that he only has 3 non-vowel sounds, she kept insisting that he just couldn't have a problem.

When I asked for the hearing eval (which is the standard of care for a suspected speech problem, btw), she asked 'why, don't you think he's hearing you?' I told her that yes he seems to be but that his hearing needs to be checked anyway.

Then she said, 'What about TV? He watches Dora videos, doesn't he?'

Me: 'no'.

Her: 'Sesame Street?'

Me: 'no.'

Her: 'Well maybe he does need a hearing eval then.'

Me: 'why, because he doesn't watch TV'.

Her: 'Yes. They all should be interested in TV at this age.'

WTF??? Really??? Huh???

Tell me this isn't so, mamas. Ds has never seemed interested in tv. I rarely have it on during the day and when I do, it isn't childrens programming. Generally, it's on when I'm rocking him to sleep for naps or bedtime and it's news. Every now and then I turn on a cartoon or something, but he'll watch it for a minute or two and then carry me over a book to read.

The fact that he isn't interested in tv doesn't mean there's something wrong with him, right? I just assumed it stemmed from the fact that it is rarely on when he is awake and that I've never tried to get him interested.

Argh.

lisa

[captain optimism]

Um, who cares if he watches TV? You just told the pediatrician that he's not talking. What is this nonsense about TV? You are the parents, you live with the baby, if you say he's not speaking, she should okay the evaluations, not ask which TV shows he likes.

Maybe you need a new ped.

Hope this all works out okay.

[ShannonCC]

Two things. First, my dd didn't get interested in tv until she saw kid programs (BIG mistake, lol!). She was never interested in adult tv as a toddler. Normal IMO. Sounds like a silly guideline to me.

Second, go with your gut and if you think there is a problem then look into it BUT IMO 18 m/o is not a big deal. My dd didn't speak a single word til 17 m/o when she started using I think 2. At 18 m/o she had a language explosion and used 4 new words in one day. By age 2 she was speaking in full sentences. So yes, he might have a problem or he might just be developing at his own pace (not to discount your mama instinct but I did have people telling me there was something wrong with my dd for not speaking ANY words at 17 m/o but *I* knew she was ok and I was right).

Good luck

[lilyka]

That is just dumb. I could see how a child who had hearing problems wouldn't be intrested in TV but I don't think that just because he isn't intrested is any red flag for a a hearing problem. If you feel he needs to be evaluated better safe than sorry. Also consider changing peds.

[BusyMommy]

Ds, 2.5 years, has only ever watched TV once when we had company. We leave the news on no volume and he associates absolutely no entertainment value w/the box.

THANK GOD--don't worry about your ds and tv. Just find a new dr. one who's competent.

[stormborn]

What a load of bs! Dd is 22 mos and pays no attention to tv. And it's on all the time in her Grandma's room: She'll point to a dog or something that catches her eye, name it and move on. But 10 seconds or so is as long as tv holds her interest.

[Foobar]

If we use that metric, Goo is a genius because she watched the last 20 minutes of "2001" when she was 2 months old! Goodness! It's got nothing to do with hearing.

Sigh...

Go with your gut. Does your state do a hearing test when they are born?

[eilonwy]

That seems very silly, and a little backwards to me.. toddlers with hearing problems are sometimes very attracted to TV because of all the bright colors and quick movements.

If you want a hearing evaluation, you can either 1)pressure your ped to listen to you 2)get a new ped or 3)call early intervention and ask them to evaluate your son. (They do a hearing eval among other things). Some kids talk later than others, but if you're worried, you should have him checked out.

My younger niece's ped didn't have a problem with the fact that she wasn't crawling, sitting, or babbling at all at 8 months, but my sister and mom did. They called early intervention and she got a speech therapist, teacher, occupational therapist, and (initially) a physical therapist. I guess my point is, Dr.'s are humans and can make mistakes, and you should go with your gut.

[ApMommaof5]

I don't think there is anything wrong with him not wanting to watch TV!!

Maybe it is the *norm* because so many parents use it as a baby sitting aid. I for one do not allow my kids more than 1 hr a day...that is more than enough I think.

[LunaMom]

I love my ped., so I'm not knocking all of them, but sheesh, do you ever find yourself wondering how some of them got into med school? :

If you are concerned that your child is language delayed, then the first thing to do is a hearing test. You would think that pediatricians would know that. From your post, it sounds as though she was baffled by your suggestion of a hearing test. : Plus, if she really wants to ask questions about whether or not he hears well, can't she come up with better ones than asking about TV? For example, "Does he turn and look at you when you say his name?" or something similar...it's scary to think that the first thing that comes into a doc's head when they are looking for things in the category "Things children listen to" is "television" instead of "his parent's vocies."

As far as your son goes, by all means have him evaluated, as it can't hurt and if there is something wrong (especially with his hearing), it's best to catch it early. However, I wouldn't get too worried at 18 months, either. I know lots of kids who barely spoke at that age and caught up just fine. Good luck!

[Embee]

Well, the first red flag for me would be that a pediatrician would be suggesting TV to a child who is 18 months when the AAP suggests that TV not be introduced until age 2?! WTF indeed?! :

Your child is a doer rather than a watcher because that is the norm in your house... sounds like nothing more than good, responsible parenting to me. We allowed DS to watch a little around this age but as it was becoming a power struggle and we put it away. He NEVER (and I mean this sincerely) became upset in anyway that we put the TV away (we explained it to him, truthfully). He'd much rather be playing and it does my heart good to see what a change it made... much more able to entertain himself now, and his verbal skills finally took off finally at age 2 (I read an article somewhere that TV can actually INHIBIT verbal skills early on).

At 2 1/2, we are introducing TV as a limited, family activity. I find that DS does enjoy it, but only if it's an interactive, watching with mommy, daddy (or both) kind of deal...

Best of luck to you... and no worries about the TV not being on... in fact, more power to you!

Em

[merpk]

Agreeing with everybody about the ped (dump him), and particularly about if you want to do the evaluations, fine, go ahead, but really not to get too worked up over verbal skills at 18 months.

Our DS#1 & DD didn't say much until two, and then both became very highly verbal very quickly. Some kids take longer than that.

But if it feels like the right thing to have the evaluation, go right ahead ...

[sarasprings]

Eventhough it is not worrisome in itself that ds is not saying much, it is not abnormal. I worked in a child care center and the development of language is on a spectrum. We had one child who said 4-5 words at 18 months, then started talking in sentences.

On the other hand, I have a friend who was concerned about her son's development and pushed for testing at just after one (I'm honestly not sure what cued her to a problem -- she had a degree in early childhood, so it may have been a variety of things). Finally, in his second year, her child was diagnosed with autism.

The second paragraph was not meant to be applied to your situation in terms of language, but PARENT'S INTUITION.

I agree that the ped should be dumped -- quickly. The rec was totally inappropriate and I wouldn't be able to trust a doctor after they said that.

Early intervention is probably a great place to start. They should have specialists that are very experienced and will be able to do a quality assessment (the assessors should be specialized, so they really know their area well).

[jannan]

dd was only speaking about 2 words at 18 months. and not interested in tv at all....she is 4 and one half and still not interested. now she is fine... really, she didn't say ''mama'' until just befor her 2 b-day

[alexa07]

There is no reason NOT to do an evaluation at this age. Yes, everything can be normal and a kid not speak yet. BUT better safe than sorry.

Demand a hearing test. Get a new ped who is more on your wave length.

[jempd]

I frankly think you should get a new ped. This one sounds frighteningly ill-informed. Your child deserves to be tested--the earlier you catch any problems the easier they are to deal with. She does not sound supportive or responsive.

As for TV--it doesn't make a lot of sense. Even if they have differeing opinions, peds should at least be aware of the current research/controversy surrounding TV viewing and children.

[The Lucky One]

Thanks everyone.

We do have a speech eval and hearing test set up for Monday the 14th.

I started a thread about it in Special Needs Parenting if anyone wants to read it.

http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...threadid=72437

lisa