AMERICAN parents who are tired of looking after their children can now flip to Channel 293 for a virtual babysitter.

A controversial TV channel went on the air yesterday aimed at infants aged between 6 months and 3 years. Programming includes Hide and Seek, in which two animated squirrels take turns hiding an acorn; Sandman, designed to put infants to sleep; and Black and White, featuring monochrome shapes moving slowly across the screen.

BabyFirstTV, which is expected to come to Britain by the end of the year, flies in the face of advice from experts that children under 2 should be discouraged from watching television. However, the channel says that parents are dumping their children in front of the television anyway and better programming should be available.

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2003 suggested that 68 per cent of under-2s in America watch TV or videos daily, and 26 per cent have a television in their bedroom.

“It’s not just teenagers who are wired up and tuned in, it’s babies as well,” said Vicky Rideout, the lead author of the study. BabyFirstTV executives say that their shows — some with subtitles to instruct parents how to play along — foster interaction between parent and child.

Programming for babies dates back to the release of Baby Einstein videos in 1988 and has been embraced by the makers of Sesame Street and by Walt Disney. Claims by the leading producers of baby-oriented videos that the products are educational were challenged last week in a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission.

“Sesame Street has opened a Pandora’s box by legitimising the idea that TV needs to be developed for this demographic,” said Donald Shifrin, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on television and children. “We’re not the nation’s nanny, but we do want to provide balance — we don’t want to make TV the default entertainer for children.”

Critics question BabyFirstTV’s insistence that parents will watch the channel together with their children.

“Experience tells anyone that it’s not going to be used that way,” said Michael Rich, director of the Centre on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital, Boston. “Parents use it to park their kids in front of the TV so they can get things done.”

He suggested that the channel was “basically letting parents off the hook from their guilt by saying, ‘this is educational’, so parents can justify it to themselves”.

But Edward McCabe, the head of the Mattel Children’s Hospital at the University of California at Los Angeles, who sits on BabyFirstTV’s advisory board, said that the debate has split the profession.

“It’s pretty serious. The American Academy of Paediatrics is dogmatic with their recommendation that children under 2 should not be exposed to any TV,” he said.

Mothers who previewed the programming with their babies gave generally positive reviews. “The first time he saw it he learnt the shape of a triangle, which was very impressive,” said Carol-Ann Gould, who tried it out on her two-year-old son, Jahni. “He was happy watching by himself. “It really helped me. I could get housework done. The first time, we watched it together. The second time, I just put it on. He sat down for an entire hour.”

Renee Serfaty said that it was just another way of exposing her nine-month-old son to different stimuli. “I am not worried he is going to turn into a couch potato,” she said.

A PACKED LUNCHTIME'S VIEWING

2.07pm Rainbow Horse Families can saddle up and ride off on a magical journey of colour and music

2.10pm Puzzles This presents the challenge of putting together four parts of a familiar shape or object

12.13pm Squeak Tizzy, Tog and Toot are three mice who live in the Tick Tock Clock and love time

12.33pm Play With Me Young children explore through diverse activities

12.35pm I Can Sign! Parents and babies can bond through sign language

12.37pm Bonnie Bear With best friend Mr Gramophone, Bonnie Bear creates colourful paintings from sounds that she hears

12.43pm First Impressions Bright colours, upbeat music and familiar objects for baby

12.46pm Tillie Knock Knock Tillie the friendly neighbourhood duck

12.50pm Dougie In Disguise Danny paints a new picture every day

12.59pm Mobiles The ideal programme to relax baby at the end of a busy day