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.

They absolutely can.

The ability of the grownups to tolerate that varies though (mine is low - the days are loooong).

No, keep it low energy and relaxed. This is exactly what mine was like and the cuddly, tv mornings slowly got later.
I think if you don’t want it to be a permanent thing, don’t encourage the early wakings with play and lots of interaction.

My little guy doesn't watch this much TV but I do have a very helpful Parent B, and I'm also mindful of the fact that he spends a lot of "idle time" doing other stuff because he has an older sibling. For example, on weekdays he spends up to an hour awake in the car doing the school run. I don't see this as any different to TV really - he's captive in his car seat and not actively playing. So I think we can obsess over screens a lot without thinking about other ways we "park" our kids, like pushchairs or cars, where they are also passive and not being stimulated by adult company.

Mine did, naps were stopped very quickly and they wouldn’t be sat in front of the tv they would be dancing round the room with the tv on making lots of noise

No TV at least 2 hrs before bed, over stimulates and affects sleep. I’d be cutting the morning nap down too, sounds like it interferes with their night sleep.

Lol we have the TV on most of the day so I think you are fine!

Similar to a previous PP my DD had a fair bit of screen time at that age as she dropped her naps 2 months before turning 2 & it also coincided with lockdown and having to work while she was at home 😱. She’s now nearly 5 & still watches TV but isn’t as interested in it as she used to be. She’s actually very creative and can spend ages coming up with elaborate scenarios and imaginative play. I used to really worry about it but it doesn’t seem to have done her any harm at all. 5am starts are brutal so I feel for you- sounds like a lovely day to me.

Too much TV, should probably be no TV at this age

Yeah it's easy to make sure they don't get much screen time if they're only home for an hour or two before bed on weekdays.

Too late a breakfast

way too much screen time

I’ve tried playing about with timings of his nap and it does vary quite a lot. It doesn’t make any difference though. Sometimes he sleeps till 6 but that’s it.

He sleeps well at night, just wakes early.

No way I would be reading books and doing puzzles at 5.30 in the morning and I doubt the no screen people would either.

Don't stress OP, sounds like you are doing fine.

Usually we like to trade TV time for cello practise, baby coding and mandarin lessons. Sometimes if we're having a lazy day it's a simple quiz on the works of maya angelou or baby lacrosse. Less lazy days and we do a 4 hour baby pilates class, but that's only most weds and Fridays, in-between its hot yoga and some light reading, baby seems quite enamoured with aristotle.

Although he has been known on occasion to fling metric fucktons of turmeric over the beige sofas, tell my 90 year old grandmother he got called a twat when playing football with his older brothers and once hid in my bedroom with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts I had stashed for a work party, took a bite out of every last fucking one, whilst watching loose women.

Do what you gotta do to get through toddlerhood, toddlers are agents of chaos, if tv gives you time to throw a wash on or god forbid, sit and scroll your phone, TV it is.

I carried on reading to eye roll at the 'too much tv' crowd. Notice most of them don't suggest a reasonable alternative that also allows you time to breathe and toddler to be entertained. Not all screen time is rubbish.

To me that looks like a perfectly good day for a toddler. Don't beat yourself up OP.

I have 2 DC with adhd. Both horrific sleepers and early risers for years on end.

I used to get up and lie on the sofa under a blanket and watch them play. I couldn't go back to sleep cos I was too agitated with them being awake. But this way I got a bit of rest.

You can't spend every second of the day focusing entirely on your toddlers enrichment. They're very good at making their own entertainment. Mine loves organising the Tupperware cupboard when she gets a chance. The 5 minute mum book is good for ideas of little activities to do with them.

Sounds pretty standard and not anything to be concerned about if it is what works for you. When mine was 2 I cut the daytime nap our completely to help with nighttime sleeping. So
2 hours in the middle of the day seems like lots to me. I think a couple of tv sessions are ok, as long as they are also being active and our doing other stuff too. But I think for little ones it’s best not to have TV right before bedtime. Maybe an audio book instead?

But don’t go feeling guilty about any of this. You’re taking your child out to groups and to the park, you’re having some snuggles in the sofa, and you’re looking after your own mental health and well-being and making sure you have the energy to face the day!

@MeinKraft

I know being a helicopter parent isn’t great either.

way too much TV.

I’ve bought one of those magic water books and a graphic drawing tablet for DS on those mornings he wakes up early and I’m not quite ready to wake up.

The two of them normally entertain him for a good hour, with a book in between, then he might get 30 mins of CBeebies in the am and pm.

We def do a lot more TV when he’s not well & with how frequent that is from nursery, I do try and limit screen time normally.

Well, it is on the high side, I’d agree, but I’ve felt a bit wiped out today. Normally he doesn’t get to watch tv in the middle of the day but he always does start the day with TV and end it (in a way) he goes up for his bath at 6 and then we read stories and then bed at 7.

On nursery days it’s more like half an hour in the morning and maybe forty minutes in the evening. But days with me do feature more screentime, we do lots of varied activities but if I try to engage him in something like painting he just really isn’t interested.

I also think prob a bit too much tv for a toddler. But I’m sure they had a blast!

I needed to read this today 😂💓

Sorry was meant to quote @Lwrenagain

I’m with you with the early wake ups! On my non-working days/no nursery days my toddler will probably watch a couple of hours of tv in the morning along with playing with toys while I try and muster up some energy to function for the day/get dressed/start some of the house work/make breakfast etc!