How much TV time should nanny give kids

[yadayadaa]

When watching a three year old and one year old ?

A nanny as in someone you have employed? I've been a nanny for 14 years with three different families and in that time, I've literally only ever put the TV on once. And that was a special occasion movie treat. There's no reason for the TV to be on for children of that age if you're being paid to look after them.

If I was paying for a nanny, I would say none. My nursery does not put the TV on.

Given the super high costs of nannies, I would hope they would be able to find other ways of engaging children.

Probably none or very little. Nurseries don’t have TV’s

Depends. Whilst cleaning up after lunch, an episode of Bing etc I don't see a problem, as long as the nanny is taking about what is happening in the programme whilst she cleans.

Nanny as in grandma? As much as she likes if she’s doing you a favour.
Nanny as in paid child care? as much or as little as you want her to. I’d expect screen time to be discussed at the beginning of employment. If it hasn’t then tell her your expectations and carry on from there.

I would say as much as you allow. If you say none, then none. I don't see the harm in a little telly myself. If you aren't keen, perhaps specify certain times or programmes you will allow.

Up to you.

I would not want a nanny putting the tv on frequently. I would be happy for her to put it on at a set time, say while she was clearing up after their dinner or whatever.

When we employed a nanny for 5 years she didn't put the TV on. Or maybe did once in an absolute blue moon. There is no tv in a nursery or pre-school as others have said and I wouldn't be happy paying for tv time.

Yeah the TV has been on quite a lot the last few days. My nanny used to baby sit for us and is now our nanny.

During the baby sitting I didn't mind so much. But it's bugging me a little bit now. I'm paying a lot of money and could easily just entertain my kids myself with the help of the TV..

Whilst cleaning up after lunch, an episode of Bing etc I don't see a problem, as long as the nanny is taking about what is happening in the programme whilst she cleans.

How would you feel if your partner/mum narrated what was happening in your favourite tv show as you were trying to watch it?

OP, it’s up to you. I use tv as a parent. I tell my nanny that I’m happy for her to switch on some tv for our kids if circumstances play out that way - eg, if she’s home with three under fives in poor weather and trying to juggle naps, boredom, illness etc. Or even if she’s had a busy morning with them. It’s tv, not heroin.

Nannies have a long day. I think they need some down-time if possible.

For a reliably napping child, I would say no/very little TV and have downtime while the child is napping.

For a non-napping child/older sibling above 2, I wouldn't have an issue with the nanny putting the TV on for a bit, particularly if the younger child is napping. But not more than an hour or so.

I'm a nanny. I wouldn't work for a family that had a 'no tv' rule because there are times when it's needed. As a PP said, nannies have a long day, with generally no breaks.

I have older kids but my role was normally that they got to watch TV if I was cooking/ironing etc, which would not have been for more than about 30/40 mins a day.

Pretty sure they do !

I think it depends on what you want but you do have to consider practicality.

It's one thing to say "No TV ever" but sometimes it's just not practical if you have one child that is going to need a lot more attention than the other and you need an easy way to distract the other child for a short period. For example if the nanny is trying to put the 1yo down for a nap then I wouldn't mind them putting a 20min programme on for the 3yo to keep them entertained for the short period they are busy getting the 1yo settled for their nap. Then when they've settled the 1yo they can join the 3yo to finish the episode before occupying them with some quiet/relaxed activities until the baby wakes up.

Or after a busy morning of being out or doing activities, if the nanny needs to do some clean up which is easier if the children are occupied with something that doesn't require her active input (eg washing up after lunch or clearing up after some messy play activity) or when the kids just need some quiet time (eg if they're under the weather or it's a rainy day and they're just being fractious from being cooped up indoors) then I don't see an issue with an episode of a favourite programme as a change of pace to the day.

I wouldn't be happy with 24/7 TV but sometimes I have to admit when I'm home alone or when I'm babysitting my young nieces and nephews I realise I have the TV on just for some background noise, I'm not actually watching it. So perhaps could you suggest a radio with music/kids playlist on a smart speaker etc as an alternative instead of the TV?

As a nanny TV was typically from a time about 15 mins before we left for school run but ONLY if washed / dressed / teeth brushed etc, and would be less if time had been wasted messing around not getting ready etc.
(This meant we were always ready to leave for the school run on time)

For a little bit after lunch, while lunch was cleared, laundry sorted etc once child had stopped napping..... some "down time" before afternoon activities / routine commenced.

And after tea before bath time / bed time.

Children who have nannies need some down time as much as any other children, and just because they have a nanny doesnt mean they dont need some time to just chill on the sofa.
Dont forget many nannys work with the children from the moment they wake up until the child goes to bed.

I now work in a preschool and we absolutely DO have TV (a smart board which can be a TV) and the children watch a short programme or 2 pretty much every day. (normally a planned episode from cbeebies and linked to the topic or number blocks or alphablocks or similar)

Our nanny of five years very rarely puts the TV on, even on days when for various reasons- the kids are ill mainly, but also if it's lashing down all day- I would definitely be resorting to it! She does occasionally though and I'm fine with it. I wouldn't be if it crept up to being a regular thing.

It depends what is normal for your kids. If you allow them tv all the time it would be odd and v difficult to have completely different rules when the nanny is there. However if you only allow x time then she should stick to that.

Yep, certainly the ones I have worked in/with!

If she’s working full days and the 3yo isn’t napping, then potentially half an hour or so if she needs to so she can get a break. But would prefer she find some other way to occupy them if she can. Otherwise I would not want her using the TV at all (and definitely not for the 1 yo).

But if they are used to TV because you let them watch it a fair bit, I think it may be much more difficult for her, especially if she’s not really experienced as a nanny, so you may need to get her to build up her skill set over time. I don’t think comparisons to nursery are reasonable in terms of what’s reasonable to expect - staff at nursery have colleagues to help out, it’s a totally different environment for the kids so much easier to have different expectations than in the kids own home, and there are other children to distract them.

I've had my friends 3 Yr old a few days over the past few months and could never be a nanny. I found it soul destroying, so boring.
The thing with young kids is their attention span issues short. I had got the playdoh out, toy cars, colouring....nothing got his attention for much longer than a few minutes so I did end up putting the TV on.

Never. I can't understand why a nanny couldn't be more creative in getting her downtime or supporting the children with theirs. TV is such a recent invention, how on earth did people cope beforehand?

Leave baby in the pram at the bottom of the garden/toddler in play pen/send preschooler out to play?
Much less expectation for adults to be hands on entertaining and doing activities with children 50 years ago.

I work a twelve hour day. Yes I bloody will put the TV on for a bit if a wind-down time is needed, it’s pissing down with rain, one of us is ill, I need to clean up without milling small people under my feet, or if I need half an hour to sit down with a cup of tea! And I don’t expect to come under fire for that in the least. I fill the rest of the day with enough activity. I don’t do it every day or even in a week sometimes but I’ll utilise it when required.

Ours used to put an episode of Duggee or Bing on on the odd occasion DS used to wake up from his nap inconsolable - it was the only thing that would snap him out of it and she did it with our full awareness/permission. Other than that I think she used YouTube for nursery rhymes sometimes but again, we were fine with that.

I’d love to know how much experience you have working with children 🤣