I am a TV addict.

I am a TV addict. Could keeping it on in the background while I am playing with my 6-month-old be harmful in any way? It might seem like your baby isn’t paying attention to the tube while you’re playing, but she most likely is, says Daniel Anderson Ph.D., a professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Even if it’s just for a moment, your child may look up at the set and forget what she was doing. Based on his review of research on the topic, Dr. Anderson believes that this type of distraction can cause babies to have trouble concentrating on the objects in their environment and possibly even experience slower cognitive development. Noise from the television can also hinder babies’ language development, says Dr. Anderson. They may confuse words coming from the set with words they’re trying to speak, making it harder to express themselves. ” the safest bet is to keep the TV off,” he says.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says children under the age of 2 should not watch TV.