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Original poster

3 year old YouTube kids in the morning

31 replies

covidagainnn · 04/09/2023 13:17

My 3yo DS went through a phase of being hooked on kids YouTube - entirely our fault of course - down to a difficult period of moving house, a serious back injury and other factors meaning we needed ways to occupy him. Anyway it's been massively reduced and during the day time he is either doing an activity out of the house or at nursery. I allow a bit of CBeebies in the evenings when I'm making dinner but that's it.

However our morning routine has stuck and I don't know how to change it. Basically he gets up and comes into our bed and watches kids YouTube on the iPad. It gives us half an hour to drink coffee, chat, cuddle him etc before the day starts. However the YouTube bit is obviously terrible.

Do other people's preschoolers come into their bed in the morning and if so are they just reading books?

OP posts:
Beamur · 04/09/2023 13:18

No TV or screens in the morning. Ever.
After school, fine.
We never started it so it wasn't an issue.

Beamur · 04/09/2023 13:19

Pre-school - still a no. Just got up!

roseopose · 04/09/2023 13:21

My 3 year old will usually bring a few toys in and we play whilst I have a coffee if I want a bit longer in bed, or a story. No screens until after lunch usually and then it's only TV.

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Original poster
covidagainnn · 04/09/2023 13:26

I suppose I just don't want to lose the nice cuddle time in the mornings so thinking about how I can take away YouTube but keep the cuddles!

OP posts:
TropicalTrama · 04/09/2023 13:29

Delete the you tube app and let him watch something on netflix (or whatever streaming platform) that’s vaguely educational? We have a TV in our room and at the weekend our youngest usually comes into bed for an episode of the octonauts.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 04/09/2023 13:30

See if there's episodes of Bluey or other nicer TV shows to watch on YTKids.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 04/09/2023 13:30

How is this reply worth you even typing it out? The OP can hardly go back in time can she?

pbdr · 04/09/2023 13:32

You just need to break the habit. If your rule is only 30 mins of TV a day then choose a time (so say in the evening when you are making dinner) that they are allowed to watch and rigidly stick to that being the only time. After a little while they will stop asking at other times when the answer is always no. If you ever give in to their pestering then you can guarantee it will continue.

I managed to wean my toddler off too-much TV, which had slowly escalated over time. She was constantly pestering me for it, kicking off and demanding TV time, lacking interest in her books and toys because she just didn't get the same dopamine hit that she did from screens. So we decided that, other than a single episode of in the night garden at bedtime (which hugely improves the success of bedtime routine compared to putting her to bed without) she was going to be complete screen free. There was a rough week while she adjusted to the new rules but we stuck to it, and I cannot tell you how much of a difference it has made. She is now obsessed with her books and plays happily with her toys for hours. Her attention span has significantly improved and her language is coming on leaps and bounds. And the biggest thing has been her behaviour - she is so much less ratty now because she's not constantly anxiously craving a screen hit. She knows she's not going to get it so there's no battle. It's worth it.

MinnieTruck · 04/09/2023 13:32

What’s the difference between the TV or the OP’s son watching Cbeebies/Bluey instead of YT? I must be missing something because I don’t understand the difference

YouHoooo · 04/09/2023 13:34

My 3 year old is a very early waker, so we have 30 mins of CBeebies before we leave for nursery. Otherwise it’s a loooooooong morning.

We don’t do any screens otherwise so it doesn’t bother me. As long as they have plenty of time for other stuff and it doesn’t affect behaviour I’d slot it into your day whenever it works .

TropicalTrama · 04/09/2023 13:37

What’s the difference between the TV or the OP’s son watching Cbeebies/Bluey instead of YT? I must be missing something because I don’t understand the difference
It’s not that dopamine scrolling where they change the video every few seconds sending them into some sort of weird trance!

BingoandBlueyForever · 04/09/2023 13:38

Netflix or CBeebies is preferable to Youtube because you know what you’re getting. You can basically trust that peppa pig or bluey are what they say they are and will be suitable for a preschooler. Youtube videos can often just be toy adverts and sometimes you get really weird videos that look like kids cartoons but aren’t - there’s a Ted talk called ´the nightmare videos of Kids’ youtube’ or something like that that explains it well.
Basically Youtube you really have to sit there and watch with your kid and Netflix or Cbeebies it’s ok to zone out or pop out the room for a few minutes while you get some other stuff done.

BingoandBlueyForever · 04/09/2023 13:40

And even when you find actual footage from paw Patrol or something on YouTube, it’s often just extracts strung together rather than the whole episode. This is shit for kids who should be learning how to tell stories.

GrinAndVomit · 04/09/2023 13:41

Get the BBC iplayer and put him something you do approve of on.

Original poster
covidagainnn · 04/09/2023 13:47

Yep, I think I'm going to just say YouTube's been cancelled and delete the app off everything. Then I'll start by allowing CBeebies app in bed in the mornings so he can watch full episodes, and maybe seque into books!

OP posts:
MinnieTruck · 04/09/2023 13:49

Ah I kind of see the difference now. My 2 year old only watches Peppa or a few things on Cbeebies but I never understood why people thought that was okay and not YT. Understandable!

Dunga34 · 04/09/2023 13:52

It’s a tough spot to be in. You are doing the right thing by trying to cut the screentime out.

We have always done similar to you - cuddles in bed in the morning while we have our coffee. But ours have always read books/played with their dollies etc at that time. It’s a big treat to them to be able to bring some toys or a book into mum and dad’s bed.

Perhaps you could buy your 3yo a new, special toy and make the new habit of them bringing this toy into bed to play in the morning? Something like Polly Pocket, a self contained play set.

Sipperskipper · 04/09/2023 14:02

Both my DDs (6 and 3) have yoto audio players - they have a selection of story cards to listen to. They sometimes listen in my bed in the morning when I have a coffee. They are probably one of the best things I've bought kid-wise.

headcheffer · 04/09/2023 14:14

We do this too, although with Bluey on our bedroom tv. We drink coffee and enjoy the cuddles! I don't see the problem with it to be honest, I'm not getting up and actively playing at 5.30/6am!

Orangeglows · 04/09/2023 14:17

Sounds fine to me, it’s a nice way to start the day. Maybe try and switch to CBeebies, mine have never watched YouTube so can’t comment on that

HAF1119 · 04/09/2023 14:20

Pre school number or letter games on the tablet? There are loads of them ;)

Smallbean27 · 04/09/2023 14:22

Tonie or Yoto player? Stories/songs they can control themselves but no screens.

thosegirlsmama · 04/09/2023 14:33

3yo DD was the same, we don't have an iPad but she'd get up in the morning and head straight downstairs to put YouTube on the tv, it was getting obsessive and it's really difficult to control what they are actually watching on it so I deleted the app off everything. She switched to watching something on Disney+ in the morning instead for a few weeks but now doesn't even bother with that and will play in her room or listen to a story on her yoto player for a little while in the morning instead.

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 04/09/2023 14:48

I setup that family link thing on the tablet and set it so YouTube could only work at set times. I lied and told DS that YouTube had changed the rules and it now wasn't available and used the tablet as proof.

Pressthespacebar · 04/09/2023 15:03

why Is it terrible? It’s half an hour in the morning and you’re right next to him?

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