to be narked by 30 minutes tv time at nursery?

[HippityHoppityWho]

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?

My son's nursery used to do this occasionally, sometimes at the end of the day. It's so the staff can get other things ready and tidy up get some peace from looking after numerous loud children for hours

YABU. It's your choice to drop him in at 1, does he go there because you have other commitments or just so he gets some nursery time every week? If it's the latter, change to mornings if the TV is such an issue for you.

Thing is if you want a nursery that has no telly / technology then choose one that hasn't got it. But if you bring your child part way through a long day which coincides with tv time in a nursery you've chosen then you knew what you were getting. As for poor DS is sooo excited to make macroni pictures but is forced to watch telly, he'll get into the routine and wi'll learn that when he gets to nursery he takes his coat off, wages his hands and child for a bit then has reading, play, etc.

My principal objection would be PEPPA! So much lovely stuff on CBeebies or Youtube.

They have nursery rhymes on the projector at the end of school which is basically youtube and they use the same tech to do counting games etc during the session. There's a computer they can also watch nursery rhymes etc on as a supervised activity (apparently nearly 3 yo likes the mouse!)

@zzzzz bit nobody is suggesting that they still don't get at least that amount of time being taught to read as I've said it's not an either / or situation. Most half decent nurseries will spend in excess of 30 mins on reading based activities.

How about we cut lunchtime down or messy play cos in that time we could be teaching them to read!! It's about balance and not every single second spent at nursery needs to be full on educational

If you don't like it, then take your child elsewhere. Simple.

I had a childminder that used to take our eldest out to Costa coffee, shopping at Asda and take the dogs to the vets when he was there for his free hours. Needless to say, we did not use her for our youngest!

@OP - YANBU. This is probably due to poor deployment of staff (ie making all children sit in one place for at least half an hour, so that staff can have their lunch breaks)/laziness. There are other ways for children to relax without making them sit in front of a TV.

@zzzzz I'll tag as I see fit thanks. I don't need a lesson.

I happen to think 30 mins a day is fairly inconsequential in the grand scheme of things but hey what do I know? (Quite a lot actually but hey ho)

I find this micro managing of children's time and the idea that everything should be of educational benefit a rather odd (and very recent) approach and actually it doesn't benefit the children at all. However, I imagine we lead very different lives and have different approaches to childcare.

As I've said all along , each to their own. You choose what you feel is the best option for your family.

LP17

Yeah that will be the reason😞 sheer laziness not clearing up lunch, not prepping for next session not settling babies etc.
And of course nursery workers have no bloody right to a lunch break at all do they? What a liberty.

Never mind when the gov suceeds in closing down half the nurseries in the country by screwing them over on the 'free' hours there will be less nurseries to slag off.

Op chose to send her child at that time when all the other kids are ready to chill out for a while. She can send him later or earlier or elsewhere. The nursery are not going to change what works for them to suit her.
Children do not need constant structured learning. Its actually not recommended in childcare they need chill out time and unstructured self led play too.

@Willow2017 I work in early years, so there's no need to try and tell me off for my opinion. I have worked in enough settings to know that sometimes there aren't enough staff to meet ratio requirements if one/two leave the room for their lunch break and that managers think it'll be fine as long as all the children are penned into one area of the room.

I believe that what is provided in nurseries should be for the benefit of the children, rather than the staff. Parents pay more than enough for childcare and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that the nursery could provide different options here for children to choose - for example, rather than sitting them down all in front of a tv with the lights off, they could set up a cosy corner with some books/blocks/sensory play/whatever the children want. Children learn through play - they are curious, they like to experiment, make and try things out. TV will never hold a candle to the amazing experiences that staff interaction can provide.

@zzzzz I feel I've touched a nerve.

I teach adults - I don't need to deal with their parents. However, I do know an awful lot about parental influence but that's not what the topic is about. But if you're interested it was a chapter in my doctoral thesis.

What I have said in previous posts is that I feel sorry for nursery staff who on the whole do an excellent job with our children who then have to deal with arsey parents complaining about inconsequential things like this.

I don't need to find a TV to watch my children today - they're at nursery while I work and they have their own TVs there 😉

@zzzzz then we'll have to agree to disagree. Luckily as your children are way past nursery age it's not something that actually has an impact on your life so no need for you to worry

Children don't need 24/7 educational and stimulating activities. They don't get that at home so why expect nursery to provide it?

Staffing ratios are always problematic at lunchtime because staff need a break too.

Childcare may well be expensive but that sure doesn't mean that the staff are well paid - simply that the better staff-child ratios you want the more you have to pay.

@ferrier ratios should be maintained at all times. There should be enough staff to cover in different rooms so that everyone gets a break.

The cost of sending children to nursery is ridiculous. I hope for better for my child than them being made to sit and watch TV for half an hour or more, when they might want to read a story, do some drawing, or whatever.

I am a nursery supervisor. We used to play a film or a cartoon every Friday for the children after their afternoon snack as a treat after a busy week. They loved it and most parents were fine with it as they liked their children to be relaxed when they picked them up. During this time the staff planned the activities for the next week, caught up on paperwork, observations etc. One parent complained an it got stopped for everyone. I now have to spend my own time planning things. Nursery work is so full on that there's simply not enough time to plan during the day when we need to be looking after the children. I personally don't see an issue with it to be honest there is still time for messy play, outside time, games etc.

zzzzz we don’t watch tv regularly at the nursery I work at but do use it occasionally for educational purposes. I see both sides of the argument, it wouldn’t bother me for such a short amount of time but I can see why others would prefer their children not to. I do have to disagree with your comment that nursery staff have ‘nothing to do other than care for children’ though. I work to a ratio of 1 practitioner to 13 children. I have observations, planning, assessments, behaviour plans, medicine forms etc to fill in, I have to talk to parents and other professionals, I have to prepare, set up and tidy away activities, put up displays and clean. Caring for the children means knowing the educational abilities, medical and behavioural needs, interests and dietary requirements of all 21 children and delivering activities suitable for them all. I have children with special needs, children who don’t speak English, children with challenging behaviour and children who have very difficult home lives. I work a 10 hour day with 30 mins break and I’m paid minimum wage. Same with a lot of other practitioners. Can’t really blame them for letting the kids chill in front of the tv for half an hour for a bit of down time.

What do people think about iPad and tablets at nursery? Acceptable or not for similar uses watching peppa pig?

Can you drop him30 minutes earlier or later?

Zzzzzz
Those things described are caring for chikdren, yes, but sometimes the staff need to have meetings with each other which means the children may need to have a few minutes tv etc
The ratio is still covered as ratios apply to the building and the staff are still available but it's not cost effective to employ extra staff

Do what other things when I get home? All of the things I’ve listed have to be done in work time.