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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be narked by 30 minutes tv time at nursery?

204 replies

HippityHoppityWho · 24/04/2018 23:36

My son starts nursery at 1pm twice a week for 5 hours. When he arrives the lights are usually off and the children are sitting and watching tv via the projector. I've been told this usually goes on for half an hour, and is so the children who have been there all day can have a chill time.

I understand that, but I'm not keen either on my son walking into nursery all excited to then sit down and watch Peppa Pig or whatever they've put on. Why can't they just let the kids chill that want to without the TV so that the others can free play with the lights on?

AIBU to be annoyed by this?

OP posts:
thousandpapercranes · 25/04/2018 08:50

Op pick your battles. At that age they need a bit of quiet time.

Most children watch tv at school, I know dd 6 certainly does, they even watch movies with popcorn at the wrap around after-school club. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Dulra · 25/04/2018 08:53

Lol this used to annoy me. Now I don’t care. My kids love nursery. They’re happy so I’m happy.

Agreed. I remember being a bit peeved when I realised my kids crèche did this but then thought about it and at home once my kids started dropping their nap I would stick a dvd on after lunch for some quiet time while I got jobs done and after we would go out for afternoon so crèche were just doing similar. Plus kids have just eaten lunch so I guess it lets their food settle. 1pm is a weird time to drop off but it actually may help with his transition from home to nursery to have a short time sitting with his classmates calmly before the activities of the afternoon.

I still remember having to put our heads on the desk for a quick snooze after yard time in primary school. What I wouldn't give for that now Grin

SleepingStandingUp · 25/04/2018 08:55

Also Op you don't say how old your child is, but if this happens every time he goes he'll get used to this and won't expect to play with toys. My son tries to go straight to water play but they have to take their coats off and wash their hands then coats back on and go outside. They learn that routine and that's the routine they expect sp I don't see why he's having crushing disappointment every time that he can't get out the puzzles or algebra out whatever is more worthy of a 2 / 3 yo's time

SleepingStandingUp · 25/04/2018 08:57

My only objection actually is that Peppa is a brat. I vote Numtums and Numberblocks and Timmy Time

Willow2017 · 25/04/2018 09:01

Nurseries shouldn’t be having tv time I would report to ofsted. The only time the nursery I worked at had tv time was a special treat at Xmas to watch a Xmas movie etc.

As a nanny I let my charge watch tv but I wouldn’t expect her to be having it at nursery.

Why is it ok for your charge to watch tv but not kids who need some down time who might be at nursery 8, 9,10 hours a day?

Get a grip. Its half an hour of relaxing while staff might have a child who needs more help or supervision at mealtimes, clear up after lunch and get set up for afternoon session, fill in diaries, toilet runs, nappies and settling others for naps.

Kids do not need to have organised activities all day. Learning to sit quietly and consider others is another aspect of what they learn in nursery.

Report to Ofsted ffs!!!

BestBeforeYesterday · 25/04/2018 09:08

I wouldn't be happy with that, no way would I want to be paying for the nursery to plonk the kids in front of the telly. There are other ways to have down time, and anyway, since when is the telly down time? It's stimulating for little ones in my experience.

SleepingStandingUp · 25/04/2018 09:11

Best fair enough if it was for 3 hours but its 30 minutes presumably whilst they finish feeding / changing and tidying up. Is it really so damaging in the context of a potentially 8-10 hour day to have 30 minutes telly possibly interrupted by bum change etc

BlaaBlaaBlaa · 25/04/2018 09:22

Oh FFS it's 30 mins. My child's nursery does this - mostly it's educational but occasionally if it's been a busy day they might watch stick man or the room on the broom. They are also consistently rated as Outstanding by Ofsted.

Maybe you need to drop off at a different time or get your child to adapt to this routine so he knows when he arrives it's quiet time.

Although as I understand it according to MN allowing young children to watch TV equates to child abuse so what do I know?

PatisserieDeBayeux · 25/04/2018 09:22

I never heard any complaints but this was going back 18 years and parents were more... normal then

Grin
FrangipaniBlue · 25/04/2018 11:06

I'm intrigued as to what it is all the horrified posters think will happen to their little darlings during 30 minutes of TV?

I must have missed the memo about the government putting subliminal messages in Timmy Time......

TigerTown · 25/04/2018 11:51

This would bother me because private nurseries in my area cost £65-£100 a day. For that money I expect them to have enough staff on so that one or two could be reading stories to the children while the others clean up etc.

StarUtopia · 25/04/2018 11:55

haha..seriously?! Report them to Ofsted. Dear god. It's half an hour of a programme/film the children will love (I'm assuming!)

My nursery does this around home time on some days. If they didn't, I presume we would have to pay extra for the staff to stay longer to tidy. I have no issue with this whatsoever. They've been rated outstanding, they love my child and my child loves them. People need to get a grip.

LaurieMarlow · 25/04/2018 12:01

Did they mention this when you signed up OP?

SleepingStandingUp · 25/04/2018 12:44

Did they mention this when you signed up OP? do private nurseries run through an hour plan, of their week? School nursery told me he'll be outside for at least an hour so dress him appropriately, off to the woods on a Friday so wellies and we'll keep him safe and make sure he has fun. Am I a bad parent for not demanding an itinerary of every activity??

LaurieMarlow · 25/04/2018 13:03

DS's nursery took us through a screen time policy before we signed up.

GrimSqueaker · 25/04/2018 13:24

The preschool my kids went to used to do this - had a lunch period you had to pay extra for and they'd be supervised eating their packed lunch then TV on while the staff set up for the afternoon kids. I can't pretend I was particularly overjoyed with it for the lunch period which we couldn't get with the free funded hours so had minimal choice to pay for - but it wasn't something I ever wanted to make a fuss about so I let it ride.

I WAS actively pissed off when one child was in Reception and they were being shoved in front of Octonauts from 2.15 every day till hometime so the staff could tidy up and do paperwork (knew the timing fairly well as I tended to walk the dog on a route past the school, get the dog home and then come back out on my own to do the school run on an afternoon). There was so much telly watching going on then that it was becoming bloody ridiculous - not just the odd 20 minutes during wet playtime but every single blooming day. I was tempted on several occasions to reply to the periodic attendance newsletter about how one nanosecond out of school was a one-way ticket to educational failure with a comment about how losing 30-40 minutes of the school day to Kawazi and Peso and co was a bit bigger an educational loss to be honest - but I behaved myself (we moved school in the end for various reasons... kids get the odd 10 minutes of Auntie Mabel and Pippin now).

stateschool · 25/04/2018 13:26

This would bother me, our DCs nursery didn't show them TV. The point of nursery is for them to be doing other stuff, messy play, playing with kids! When the kids at our nursery needed 'chill out' time they went to the cosy corner where they could nap or read or play quietly on their own or with a friend, they didn't watch tv. Nursery also had a dedicated 'quiet' time slot too in the middle of the day where the kids calmed down a bit.

stateschool · 25/04/2018 13:27

er, OFSTED aren't going to care! You need to check this kind of thing before sending your child to a nursery. It's annoying but if it's what they do then it's what they do...

PrimalLass · 25/04/2018 13:27

I wouldn't care.

insancerre · 25/04/2018 13:33

lol at the nanny who thinks it's ok for nannies to do this but not nurseries
And double lol at reporting to ofsted
What law is it breaking?

BlaaBlaaBlaa · 25/04/2018 13:39

I’m genuinely baffled by people who think this is an issue. Crazy

Tobebythesea · 25/04/2018 13:40

I would be cheesed off with this if it was at the Nursery my child goes to. I don’t pay £££ for tv

issaflame · 25/04/2018 13:41

FGS it's half an hour. Bring your kid later then.

welshmist · 25/04/2018 13:46

I really do not know what to say, some children are at school from 8am. I pick up my grandchildren before 4pm. They watch tv whilst sitting in high chairs, eating a snack. It does not bother me. The OP is thinking £££ rather than what some children need. Even my Mother plonked me in front of Listen with Mother after lunch. Andy Pandy, Woodentops etc.

BlaaBlaaBlaa · 25/04/2018 13:46

@tobe it’s 30 mins. I pay a fortune for my son to go to nursery and know for a fact they watch TV at some point in the day . Does it bother me? Not in the slightest as I know he also plays outside, engages in messy play etc. He does sign language, yoga , dancing, phonics and maths.....but also watches a bit of TV.

Ofsted keep rating them outstanding so they must be doing something right.