Children watching tv with the sound off?

@brendalee (6082)
United States
April 14, 2007 8:40pm CST
My daughter-in-law has asked me to ask all of you if any of your kids like to watch tv with the sound off. She told me that my three year old grandson likes to turn the sound all the way down when he is watching tv. She is having his hearing double checked to make sure the noise isn't hurting him somehow. But I was wondering if maybe its just a silly thing that three year olds do. Do any of you know any kids that like to do this? Most kids I know like to have the sound up real loud.
9 people like this
24 responses
• Canada
15 Apr 07
I think having his hearing checked is a good idea just to make sure . My children have never asked to have the t.v turned down but when my son was younger and even now sometimes ( he is 12 now ) , would always complain when I had music on , when he was about two , he would cry when it was on until it was off and would say his ears were sore . My cousin has experienced the same thing with one of her son's . I always figured that somehow he was hearing the sounds louder or sharper then the rest of us . I will never know for sure but now that he is older he will say when the music is on that it hurts him . He can't seem to explain but he doesn't seem to exjoy music very much and just says that it hurts him and will ask us to turn it down or off . I am not sure if the two could be related as with your grandson and my child as one is with the t.v and the other is with music but it makes me think that maybe there is a possibility that some children hear sounds louder then we do or with a sharper sound to them that may cause them pain . Wish I could offer more , but we never did find out what it was with our son and still don't know for sure so I am only going on my own theories from over the years .
3 people like this
@KissThis (3003)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I had a nephew once who would turn the sound down on the TV. He did it because he would get up early in the morning before his parents an watch cartoons.He would turn the sound off so that he wouldn't wake them up. After a while he liked to tell his own story by watching.
3 people like this
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I like to have the sound off sometimes too. It is just because I want to watch what is happening and not hear all the noise. The sound can be very over bearing at times. So, I will sit there and just stare without the sound. I have seven children...and yes, I have seen them watch it without sound in the mornings. I think it is because they are tired and do not want to wake anyone. So, they will watch it just to watch. I would not worry about it at this point. Kids are different and maybe he likes to make up the story line in his own head. ha ha We used to do that as kids too. :) At 3 years old...if the sounds hurts him...maybe he will be able to tell you soon. But to take him to a doctor and tell the doctor that he doesn't like listening to the sound on TV...the doctor might look at you funny. Sorry...but true. I would wait and see if he expresses himself. He may just like the pretty pictures for now.
2 people like this
@brendalee (6082)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Hes always been such a serious looking child. He would often just sit and watch things that happened around him. I used to joke that he was plotting his revenge.lol. So it would not suprise me if he is making up his own story line.
1 person likes this
@14missy (3183)
• Australia
15 Apr 07
My 5yo used to put his hands up over his ears when the TV was on even a little loud. He ended up having grommits and tonsils out because when he had an ear infection it was decreasing his hearing and the sound was hurting his ears. So if she is checking his hearing out, that should let you know. Sometimes my 9yo will watch TV with the sound off as he doesn't want to annoy anyone with the show he is watching. That is a bit mature for a 3yo though haha.
2 people like this
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
15 Apr 07
I can't say that I have ever heard of children wanting to watch TV with the sound turned down. It could be just some silly phase he is going through. However, kie you said, I think it is worth having his hearing checked. Good Luck.
2 people like this
@mememama (3076)
• United States
15 Apr 07
My son wouldn't be able to turn the sound down, we ripped off the buttons on the television along time ago since he kept changing the volume and channels. Children can do some odd things!
3 people like this
@limcyjain (3516)
• India
15 Apr 07
my childrena are just the reverse. We need to tell them time and again to keep volume low. I cant understand what makes your child to keep the volume off.
1 person likes this
@kgwat70 (13388)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I have not heard of any children not wanting to hear sound on their tv shows. My niece and nephew love having sound when they watch tv, though the sound is not very high sometimes. That is strange for a child or person not wanting to hear what is going on in the show. The sound could be bothering him or maybe he has a hearing problem.
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
15 Apr 07
No Brenda I don't of any that do this my Kids always had it on loud and all 3 year olds that I know have the Sound on, so it might be a good Idea to get him checked.
1 person likes this
@myRose57 (153)
• Philippines
15 Apr 07
No, sorry I am not aware of any kid that age bracket that turns down or off the sound. maybe your daughter in law should have her son checked up again. Good Luck...
1 person likes this
• India
15 Apr 07
I used to see television with sound off whn I see channels not suitable for me like FTv and all. But now thrs no prob I can see whatever I want to .
1 person likes this
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Like your sister in law, I would be concerned about his hearing. My kids always liked it loud. My grandkids were here a few weeks ago and they like it really loud too. They are two and three years old. I dont know any kids that turn it down. I do hope everything is ok for the little guy.
2 people like this
@Carrie26 (1587)
• United States
15 Apr 07
It would be a good idea to get his hearing checked.But maybe some kids like to play around with buttons and are fascinated by the lips moving but no sound.My son likes to hear his though because he likes to sing along when the cartoons sing.He likes to play around with the volume but He doesnt keep turning it down when I turn it up to a moderate level.My daughter just somehow will get the menu screen up and hit mute because i think she likes to expieramnet as well with buttons.
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
15 Apr 07
No doubt getting the boys ears checked would be the right thing to do, but I think he's smarter than most kids his age half the stuff on TV isn't worth listening to anyway. I hope his ears are OK.
1 person likes this
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Yes she should get second oppinion. take him to a Hearing Specialist.
1 person likes this
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Well this is funny he could be going through a phase, with this kids that age do alot of wierd things, guess what, I went over to my daughters house yesterday and the sound is not working on TV. at all the bad kids mess up the volume on the TV. My daughter hasn't had the TV. for a year, they have tore the remote up. I told my daughter call the company maybe they will give them another TV.
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Nope-- I don't know any kids who turn it down unless they are trying to get away with watching it when they aren't supposed to. Maybe he is being creative-- Just watching what they do and in his mind putting in the words.. At 3-- maybe not- I'm not sure.. Maybe he just likes to watch it and doesn't understand it enough to listen to it- I would get his hearing checked to be safe-- Perhaps tell the doctor at the next visit what he is doing and they can suggest something.
@yanjiaren (9031)
9 May 07
No in our houses lol, all the kids from my Sister's kids plus my son love it loud and it does my head in ll. I am always telling them to put the volume down lol. I sometimes think they are partially deaf or just in their own world and just don't realize that they have to share the limited space with others. This is the sad fact with today's society. Gone are the days when the parents could keep the kids in some kind of order lol, the way we grew up.
@axelady (145)
• Portugal
15 Apr 07
This is weird. Watchin TV with no sound is really weird. I never heard something like that. Even when i use picture in picture function on my TV, i wish i could have sound on both channels, but it's not working ... :)) My kid likes all comercials and she always tels me to turn it loud ! I think your dother try to make your atention about something...you find out what the problem is ! Maybe your dother feels like you are not paying atention to her.
@Lifez2short (4962)
• United States
10 May 07
Has anyone gave any thought to autism? I could be wrong but I have heard that those are symptoms. And possibly his hearing also.
@owstalaga (4707)
• Philippines
22 Sep 07
Well it's somehow nice to turn off the sound of the TV while watching. I dunno, it's somehow a different way of watching i guess. Sometimes you just want to see movement and not have anything distracting. I don't think it's really weird. Maybe the kid just wants to experience what it's like watching without sound, or just likes to keep the volume down because the images are more interesting than if it's with sound.