I too let my baby (12 mo) watch YBCR and Baby Signing Time. He loves both! I try not to let him view much more then that though so I do need to keep him occupied at other times.
What I am doing right now seems to be working for now. I have seperated his toys into two groups. When I need him to play I bring out one bucket and let him play. My living room is really messy but thats OK. At the end of the day I pick it all up and put it back in the bucket. The next day he can play with the toys in the other bucket. It seems to keep his interest a little longer since he isn’t bored with the toys and hasn’t seen them in a couple days.
Also having older siblings is a life saver! lol He loves to play with them and they love it too, most of the time.
Sometimes I will put K in her chair & have a variety of fine motor activities for her to do. She will play with blocks, paint, do puzzles, & play with whip cream pudding.
Put a big tub of cereal on the kitchen floor for her to play in.
I don’t think baby signing time or ybcr are bad in moderation b/c they are educational. They have proven results. Your child is actually learning something from them. Gabriel watches YBCR every day while I take a shower. That’s the only way to keep him occupied.
Now Baby Einstein, on the other hand, is not educational at all, and I suggest that you steer clear from them. Please read this thread for more info. http://forum.brillkids.com/product-discussions-and-reviews/the-baby-einstein-videos/
i don’t think it is harmful for a little one to watch some tv as long as they get plenty of real human interaction the tv can help when you need to tidy up something quickly or even when they get crabby. just make it for short times like 10-15 mins not anything more