How long has your 3/4 yr old been on the iPad/tablet during lockdown? (No haters thanks)

[Gettingonabitnow]

Hi

Just trying to gauge whether mine has been on it too much. I berate myself when she’s on it but actually with a 6 month old to contend with sometimes it’s a must.

DC1 is 3 and on it about 2-3 hours a day. Some ‘educational’ apps, some not.

Sound about right?

Thanks x

[FromTheAllotment]

That’s about the same as my 4yo while I’m homeschooling my 7yo. I would love it to be less but 🤷‍♀️

[sahbear]

Mine are older and have about that much screen time. When they were 3 I would say 20 mins or so a day. There's so much better stuff to do when you're 3 and they should be mostly physically playing imo. You did ask for opinions...

[Gettingonabitnow]

Thanks Sahbar. Was that 20 mins a day back then also during lockdown conditions?...

[sahbear]

No, because they weren't 3 in lockdown, but they often were home all day. Do you have a garden? If not I think your options are a lot more limited.

[Gettingonabitnow]

Thanks. It’s hard to compare against these unique circumstances I think isn’t it, that’s why I was really after feedback from mums / dads who were going through it with 3/4 year olds.

Yes we are lucky to have a garden, and a park nearby - both of which we use every day. But with 23 degree heat recently we’ve been inside quite a lot during the heat of the day.

[Ijustcalled]

Even with a garden I’m finding it really hard to keep it limited - pretty easy to add up to 2/3 hours. My kids (4 and 1)get up really early and the days can be long. DH and I both splitting the day between work and looking after the kids. My advice would be not to give yourself a hard time - this is a unique, unprecedented situation.

[TeddyIsaHe]

God knows, if I kept track of the hours I’d be chased off of MN

There’s only so much crafting/baking/bubbles/sand pit time Dd can hack and after 11 weeks (we started isolating early due to symptoms) I don’t care if she spends 24 hours a day on the kindle!

She’s back to nursery today though, which is easing the guilt a little.

[bloodywhitecat]

Not at all because I am a boring old fart (I'm 56) and dear foster child, aged 3, doesn't have access to a tablet or iPad, I also have a 6 month old but am blessed with a very content baby. DFC does sometimes have a film in the afternoon if they have been out in the garden and I feel we need a bit of down time though.

[Gettingonabitnow]

Thanks all

[TheGriffle]

I’m working from home and dd who is 3 is spending at least 3 hours a day on the iPad, then there’s the endless rounds of Ben and Holly, peppa pig and Daniel Tiger on the tele as well. I just cannot entertain her for the 6 or so hours a day I have to work. So the iPad is raising her until she starts back at nursery in a few weeks.

And I feel shit about it.

[gggrrrargh]

Mine is 3 and a bit and she is spending way too much time on her tablet. There is only so much imaginary games I can take plus I’m still working full time. I would say yes 2-3 hours on iPad but add some tv in there too.

[Lilybet1980]

Same age DC as you OP. Don’t know if you are breast feeding but I find it can be a couple of hours just filling the time when I’m feeding or settling the baby for naps. Lack of sleep also doesn’t help as some days I’m too tired to be enthusiastic about playing.

Don’t beat yourself up about it. We’re all just doing our best, some peoples best is just different (not better!) than others.

[sunlightflower]

Not as long as that on the iPad, but A LOT of TV time which in a way is probably worse as it's more passive.

Be kind to yourself, I've also done lockdown with a 3/4 year old and it has been HARD.

[mrsspooky]

Easily, but cebebbies so all good by me.

[Hunkyd0ry]

My 3 year old sometimes uses the iPad to watch dinosaur songs on YouTube but only every couple of days for about 30 mins.

Only other screen time is episodes of paw patrol, maybe 1 or 2 a day so 20 mins or so.

But then I’m on maternity leave and not trying to home school anyone. We also live on a farm so plenty to do. Different circumstances.

[Orangedaisy]

My 3yo has no tablet time. Tv time during lockdown increased to about an hour a day, and she’s also been doing brain breaks and cosmic kids on the tv every now and then with her older sister but I count this as exercise rather than screen time.

[boatyroo]

My 3 the old has had a lot of telly every day as I try to do a full day's work and look after a 1 year old too. Feel bad about it but I've found it really hard to get him to do things when I am too busy to join in a lot of the time. Very glad he can have some nursery time now.

[FizzingWhizzbee123]

Pre-lockdown, my 2.5 year old had no tablet time and approx 30 mins of tv after dinner.

In lockdown..... OMG, so much He ends up watching a movie in the morning on week days so that we’ve got some chance of actually getting a bit of work from home done. We tried minimal tv for the first two weeks but it was constant interruptions and not sustainable. So now he gets tv from about 8-10am on week day mornings (not weekends), we then try to get if off and him outside until nap time - we’ve done a lot of park and picnic lunchtimes. He’s doesn’t nap every day, so that makes those days longer. There’s only so much garden time (even with playhouse, paddling pool, sandpit) before he gets bored. Luckily he’ll play with him wooden trains for an hour or more a day. Arts, crafts, cooking, stickers etc don’t last long before he gets bored. He’s getting into Orchard board games so that kills bit of time. We’ve been getting out for some lovely forest walks but some places are just too busy or it’s just been too hot to stay out too long.

A friend gave him a tablet for Christmas and we’ve dragged that out and found some educational game apps which he enjoys. He doesn’t play it every day but gets 30 mins to an hour when he does. I don’t feel too bad about that because at least it’s more interactive than tv and he is learning a bit from it plus practising fine motor skills.

It’s very hard to entertain them in lockdown, even harder when trying to work from home on top. No play dates, normal outing places closed, can’t even go and share a babycino in a coffee shop! There is a limit to how much you can do at home. These are no normal circumstances and i wouldn’t beat yourself up too hard for trying to survive. I’ll definitely be cutting my son’s screen time back once lockdown loosens and we have more access to social and entertainment options but until then, yes, screens will be used more than ideal.

[AlwaysDancing1234]

I have to work 9-10 hours a day from home so kids are having waaaayyy too much screen time right now. I insist we go out at lunchtime even if for just 20 mins and they’re doing their school work in between. It does worry me though

[Stuckforthefourthtime]

Are you working? If so, then do what you need to do to keep a roof over your head. If you're at home/furloughed, which is sounds like you might be, then I'd say it's a lot, especially while the weather is so good. Even on lockdown, on days I'm not working my 4 year old would have 20-40 mins TV and 20 or so mins on the tablet, and I have 3 other dcs too. We spend a lot of time outdoors going to parks, lots of craft and things.

I am tempted sometimes by more tablet time but tend to find it's a vicious circle, they just want more and more and it has a negative impact on behaviour.

[TheGirlWhoLived]

I’m not judging or ‘hating’ at all- just giving you our amount of time!

Dd-6 (only just though) has about 1hr per day on iPad but watches a bit of tv as well (maybe another hours worth?)

Dd-9 has 1-1.5 hours as she tends to play a game whilst FaceTiming her friends for half an hour or so

If it’s raining or bad weather they’ll sometimes watch a film together and we tend to watch one every couple of weeks as a family- used to be the cinema if anything good on

There’s loads of other stuff they do, and we do as a family - colouring, playing in the garden, bike rides, board games, digging, clay models, drawing, activity books, reading etc. As well as playing together For 2+ hours a day

[ToothFairyNemesis]

Mine have a four limit set on the kindles. Approximately half of that time is online lessons. At weekends it’s all apps mainly Roblox 😳

[AlphabetDinosaur]

About 3 hours here too for my 3 year old. I'm having to sit with my 5 year old (year 1) for school work as he can't do it all independently. I tried setting up activities for the 3 year old to do but he just refused or needed help every 5 minutes so the school work took even longer. He plays on reading eggs/khan academy/teach your monster to read for about half the time and CBeebies apps/Duplo world or listens to books on epic the rest. I do feel guilty but he's actually learnt loads!

[tempnamechange98765]

Is that 2-3 hours total screen time or just on a tablet?

Screen time has crept in as time has gone on here, so DS age 4 started having some TV in the morning before breakfast a few weeks in, which he never usually has. This started as 45 minutes but is more like 1-1.5 hours by now. He also then has about 1-1.5 hours in the evening so maximum 3 hours total. Sometimes less.

Tablet wise we have just got him a Kindle Fire tablet for his half birthday (Christmas Day birthday) but the time is to replace TV rather than be as well as, so he gets the choice at his usual
TV time. Trying to limit the tablet to 30 mins at a time too, it's all games, no YouTube.

[greysome]

An hour in the morning and then an hour of tv or tablet in the evening, approximately. However I'm lucky that I'm working from home but on a incredibly reduced work load and my DP is furloughed. Also dd is only child so no other children to entertain or help in between. However it's still a lot more than her usual 30 mins a day, as entertaining her 24/7 is endless and the tablet/tv time gives me an opportunity to get a few other bits done and stop engaging with imaginary play for a brief spell! I also feel a bit guilty about the increased screen time, but I think it's exceptional circumstances and we all need to do what we have to in order to muddle through right now! I make sure she has time outside for exercise and play every day too, which I'm hoping counter balances a bit