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Original poster

To ask when did you start putting tv on for kids?

34 replies

AnxietyLevelMax · 14/01/2023 14:01

at what age did you allow your toddlers/kids watch tv and for how long?
ds is 2 and doesnt watch anything and i am getting a vibe from relatives how i deprive him of childhood so maybe i am a bit unreasonable then but just dont see how it could benefit him at this age.

OP posts:
Oncemoreoh · 14/01/2023 14:04

My DD is 6 months and looks at the odd Sesame Street celebrities song. My nephew was allowed some tv - as in watching a full kids program from around 9 months. I think there are benefits there. I remember when he was watching an episode of paw patrol at 2 years old and I said what’s that in the sky pretending to be surprised. He turned round and told me it was a drone the pups use to help find people. But then he is a very intelligent child so maybe other children wouldn’t take in what they are watching.

mathanxiety · 14/01/2023 14:05

DC1 - when I had awful, debilitating morning sickness while expecting DC2. Maybe aged 2-3.

Rest of the DCs - TV was on a lot from birth as older DCs liked it.

Eixample · 14/01/2023 14:06

Two years old for a limited time.

NumberTheory · 14/01/2023 14:09

Ours we’re about 3 when we started watching some programs. They wouldn’t sit and watch for more than about half an hour (except for bloody Frozen which they would have happily watched on repeat), so it was one program and done. They did have access to tablets, though and played on those for longer. I didn’t put a limit on it, but did try to make sure we broke the day up with activities.

shivawn · 14/01/2023 14:11

My 14 month old watches Ms Rachel, he copies all the dance moves and repeats words after her, generally just interacts a lot with her videos. Sometimes I put on animal videos for him too,like cows mooing in a field or cats playing.
I think his speech is really good for his age so I'm not really worried about a bit of TV.

MyMachineAndMe · 14/01/2023 14:16

It was almost always on when my dc were babies because I like the noise in the background. They started watching peppa pig and Ben & Holly and it was actually quite educational. And funny. They learned a lot from it. Now they watch all sorts but, at 10 & 11, it's more interesting for me!

OldTinHat · 14/01/2023 14:21

I smiled this morning at 7am to see that my neighbours over the road had Peppa Pig on for their 6m old.

I can't remember how old my DC were, it was probably on for background around 6m but they didn't 'watch' it as such.

RockAndRollerskate · 14/01/2023 14:24

I used to put the “Hey Bear” dancing veggies on for DS1, but he didn’t really watch anything properly until about 2yo.

DS2 is 1 and has more exposure but doesn’t actually sit and watch

Thedaysthatremain · 14/01/2023 14:27

She used to have barely any because we were out a lot of the time but then lockdown happened

SlagathaChristie · 14/01/2023 14:34

I have a 9 month old and probably put a bit of cbeebies on most days, have done for a while. He's not that interested, but it usually buys me 5 minutes to eat my breakfast.

Nevermind31 · 14/01/2023 14:38

2 years old for very limited time for DC1. DC2, 2 years for unlimited amounts of time, as this was lockdown and we needed to work.
he has a language delay.
I think when they are little you are not depriving them of anything if they don’t have screen time - they will get so much more out of interactive play. However, we all need a break sometimes so as long as there is a balance it’s ok to give them screen time. It’s a weird thinking… you are depriving the child of something that they don’t know, don’t need, and are happy without unless you introduce them to it. Like sugar. Or screen time

stargirl1701 · 14/01/2023 14:43

We started at 2 years with CBeebies. The challenge came when DD2 came along. We managed it though. They watched CBeebies and U rated DVDs until 6/7 and then moved onto CBBC with PG rated movies.

I'm very strict with age ratings so they have not seen any 12 rated DVDs yet.

Brown888 · 14/01/2023 14:48

About 9 months. Unlimited blippi here. DS could say his numbers upto 20, identify about 5-6 colours and vehicles (bus / car / bike / excavator etc) before 2. He absorbed so much from it and his speech flourished and with it his tantrums settled. I was pleasantly surprised. Though still find blippi annoying as anything!!

bakewellbride · 14/01/2023 14:50

My 9 month old watches the odd thing e.g teletubbies. Just ten mins when she isn't constantly crawling around is bliss and key to my sanity!

babyyodaxmas · 14/01/2023 14:54

Aged 18m something like fireman Sam or Thomas, the Fimbles (mind numbing). Usually 30 minutes while I cooked his supper. Bit more when DD arrived sometimes 15 minutes in the morning while I tried to get sorted to leave the house and the 30 minutes switched to after supper while I breast fed DD. A bit more again from 3ish.

Needmorelego · 14/01/2023 14:55

My daughter - her first night home (10 days old) she sat and 'watched' the football with her Dad.
Does that count ?
I used to watch Gilmore Girls while feeding her and sing the theme tune badly. At 7 months she sat in her bouncy seat and watched the christmas special of Dr Who.
I honestly can't remember the day we first stuck Cbeebies on.

Sherrystrull · 14/01/2023 15:02

We always had the tv on. In the Night Garden and then the CBeebies bedtime story was part of our wind down to bedtime from a young age, even more so for subsequent DC. Do whatever suits your family.

ShoesEverywhere · 14/01/2023 15:03

First child was around 5 when it became a regular thing (i.e not a film with the family or YouTube video to answer a question), second child was 2.5 and third child is a baby and sometimes watch what his siblings watch.

I don't put it on when making dinner though - the older two have always either played or cooked with me so now they can make dinner for us themselves. I tend to put it on when I'm on my phone/reading/relaxing so we are all relaxing at the same time.

olympicsrock · 14/01/2023 15:07

Around 12 months old I used to put Night Garden on. At 2 DS loved Disney cars ,planes and then fireman Sam , paw patrol at 3. We watched a fair amount of TV to be honest

shewolfsout · 14/01/2023 15:08

DC1 not for a while, maybe 18 months or 2 years

Subsequent DC had older siblings Tv on so from day dot really

QuinnofHearts · 14/01/2023 15:14

For us it was 2.5yrs, and during the first lockdown.

Butwhytho · 14/01/2023 15:18

DS is 15 months and in the last month or so, I’ll stick tractor ted or Grassmen videos on tor him. He’s absolutely obsessed with tractors (we’re a farming family!) and it keeps him still for a minute so I can sort out his tea of an evening. His dad isn’t around very much due to work, and it’s safer for him to be occupied in the sitting room than under my feet in the kitchen.
It has to be one of those two options tho, he won’t watch anything else 🤷🏼‍♀️

Roseelane · 14/01/2023 15:22

From birth she has been exposed to TV programmes. Started getting interested in watching it from about 2 years.

roarfeckingroarr · 14/01/2023 15:30

About 22 months, when my pregnancy with DC2 meant I desperately needed to rest. Baby is due in 2 weeks and DC1 is now 2y 3 months. On the days he's not in nursery, I let him watch something on my iPad first thing so I can snooze a bit and sometimes again in the late afternoon after we've been out for the rest of the day. Once DC2 is here and I've adapted to having 2, it'll be in a lot less often.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 14/01/2023 15:32

tv has never been banned- cbeebies has always been around. I really don’t care, my children have lots of outdoor time, tv off time, book time, etc- the only think I’m putting off for as long as I can is YouTube, my eldest is 5.