To think this was a nice day for toddler …?

[Owlatnighttime]

Wakes at 5.

Comes in bed for cuddle with parent a, won’t go back to sleep, Parent a puts tv on. Has breakfast around 8, goes out with parent a at 9. Toddler group, then a run and play on the park. Home for lunch, naps 12:20-2:20, watches some tv for maybe an hour, plays outside in the garden for an hour. Now playing with toys until tea at 515, will then watch another hour of CBeebies then bath and bed.

I wouldn't worry too much about the screen time personally. I have 3 kids under 5 and some days you just have to do what works. Like you I try and make sure that the day includes some outside time and other activities to balance it. Sounds like a decent day.

Do you and DC not get bloody starving being up for 3 hours before breakfast?

I have a toddler and it's just me and him from 7am to 6pm everyday (no friends or family nearby)

I think the day sounds fine and quite a normal routine for a toddler, in general. I hate early starts but I would stop tv after an hour in the morning however. And not an hour before bed as I think screen time close to bed is not always good!

However, for those saying no TV or TV isn't necessary - days with toddlers can be very long. I don't know how people do it with no break - mine doesn't stop at all unless the TV is on. It gives me a breather and time to rest. How do those of you who don't use a TV do this? I'm genuinely interested, not being goady.

Lovely day, even with the early start! I'm not going to jump on the too much TV bandwagon because you've heard it enough from others. But how about replacing the after dinner TV with looking at books and reading before bed or something quiet like colouring?

In fairness I think people are saying 5 hours in one day is a lot, not that all screen time should be banned.

Less tv
Let them get bored and play with their toys

A bored toddler is usually a whinging toddler. Some TV is fine.

Sounds fine. Why?

I think you're doing a great job taking your toddler out a lot after being up at 5am.

I'm a single mum to a toddler and k know how long the days are

Sounds like a good day

The no-screen time crew are definitely the people I’d have avoided at toddler group. I bet they’re the ones that complain if there’s a biscuit at snack time too 😀

Why, OP? Does ‘parent B’ think it wasn’t a nice day?
Five hours of tv though?

Shorter nap might help lengthen the sleep! 5am is too early to start the day.
otherwise perfectly normal day.

That’s a lot of tv!

Sounds lovely! I'd probably squeeze a bit of reading time in there somewhere for mine but overall, sounds great.
Not that there has to even be a parent B, but your use of parent A caught my eye - does parent B get involved much usually?

Sounds just fine. My three are teens now and probably had similar amounts of time watching CBeebies. They went to toddler groups, swimming etc. They’re all great kids. Doing well academically. Fuck the too much screen time brigade. Would be unreasonable if it was all day but it isn’t.

Probably better posting on Toddlersnet to get more extensive feedback!

As a mum to a toddler, I would hate the 5am start - is that normal? Seems like quite an early dinner/bedtime and late breakfast after an early start. Maybe that’s why he’s waking so early?

Ours wakes at 0730, breakfast 0830, lunch 1130, a once in a blue moon nap at 1230 for an hour (rarely happens 😢), dinner 1530, cheese, fruit, yoghurt 1800, bath then bed at 1930. Weekends are a bit all over the place depending on what we do, but first meal, last meal, wake up and bedtime is always the same.

3 Hour wait until breakfast and screen time for that long would send mine over the edge.
i would have breakfast earlier, less TV (over the day it is a lot of tv). I would try to cut down nap time to get a later wake up (doesn’t always work), and maybe have more messy play, art and craft type activities rather than so much tv.

I would probably try to make some time to play with DC after a 2 hour nap rather than sticking them in front of the tv, and I would’ve probably given them breakfast around 7 if they’d been awake since 5am, but apart from that it seems like an ok day.

Sounds absolutely great and pretty chilled out! Ignore the comments about too much tv/screen time etc etc yawn yawn… after all, we’re all sat here looking at screens aren’t we?!

sounds like a nice day . just get rid of the tv time

It’s really fine, including the screen time.

Fine!

I maintain that parents with kids in full time nursery shouldn't be sanctimonious about screentime. Stay at home parenting is the toughest job in the world and I was useless at it.

Minimal screentime is fairly easy to enforce if they're essentially with someone else all day!

Interesting that lots of people have TV on but kids aren't actually watching it. Having the TV on semi- permanently but not watching it would drive me mad. I've always been happy for my kids to have screen time but if they aren't watching it, it goes off.

The screen time police are here I see. I had loads as a kid with only 4 channels to choose from and I am awesome 😁