DC at nursery put in front of a laptop watching Peppa Pig, AIBU?

[Breathedeeper]

Went to collect my DC from nursery the other day and she was sat watching Peppa Pig on a laptop with 2 other toddlers in the baby room while the other babies and children were still asleep. 2 members of staff there, am I out of line for thinking this is not right and one of them should have taken them outside or to another room to play while the rest were asleep? Never seen this before but I walked in to collect DC rather than her being brought out to me as usually happens. I think the nursery owner was off that day so possibly something the staff have done without her knowing? Not sure whether to approach the owner about it or just let it slide…

@Needmorelego yes - that is what we're discussing. The problem is, is that it's a poor plan.

@crostini yes and no. Nurseries simply don't have enough staff to be able to give time and attention to do a separate activity for the non - nappers.

A pile of books that the kids can look through them without an activity agenda. It’s so easy. No need to stick kids in front of a screen.

How do you think they managed before screens? I imagine about 1/2 the children in nursery are non-nappers - we're not talking about an unexpected situation.
Non-nappers are usually older and can be occupied in shared activities.

@Needmorelego.

Then that's a problem. I live in a different European country and they certainly are not using screen time in the nurseries and pre schools here. It would be seen as simply unacceptable.

@ButterCrackers small toddlers looking through books by themselves will hold their attention for about 1 minute.
@CharlotteBog nurseries have probably used a bit of TV time since Watch With Mother was invented back in the 1950s.
Older children most likely don't have scheduled nap time so they will have a different schedule and activities planned. The OPs child apparently seems to be in a room with younger children so nap time will be planned into the day.
@crostini in your country are nurseries underfunded? Cos they are in the UK.

Oh I bet it was VERY unusual to have televisions in nurseries until fairly recently. Remember the hoo haa watching anything at school in the 80s?! I could be wrong.

Yes, you're right, the OP's toddler is in the baby room on days where there are not many children. OP also said the nursery manager was away. So rather than jump to "while the cat's away - let's plop them in front of the telly" it might be a case that they are struggling with staff ratios.

@Needmorelego im guessing they are underfunded yes because they strike at least once a month still not a screen in sight! Which I'm very pleased about.

And actually young toddlers are perfectly capable of looking at books for longer than a minute! I can quite comfortably kill an hour, reading with my two toddlers. Treat children like they are capable and they will achieve. Stick them in front of a laptop and they'll dribble on their chins, dead behind the eyes and then whinge until they get it back.

@CharlotteBog what was the "hoo ha" about watching TV in schools in the 80s?
Everyone watched it.
Look and Read was brilliant - an entire generation was raised on watching "Dark Towers" 😂

Trundling the telly from room to room (we only had one tv in the school), fannying about with videos (later in the 80s).

I am curious to know how common they were in childcare settings now.

@crostini you say "reading WITH your toddlers" - that's the point. The staff can't sit and read during nap time because they have other tasks they need to do. They need the children either asleep or quietly occupied by themselves so they can do what needs to be done.
There is an awful lot of paperwork and diaries etc that have to be filled in.

@CharlotteBog to be honest back in the 80s not nearly as many children were in nursery at pre school age so you can't really compare.
Although "Listen With Mother" started on the radio in 1950 so I expect lots of children who were in some form of childcare were plonked down after lunch next to the wireless....

@Needmorelego yes exactly, and that's a problem, it shouldn't be that way.

@crostini I agree. It's not great.

Can I ask, please, and I mean this genuinely?

For those who don't want the children watching screens during sleep time, would you prefer me to update the app for 15 children, upload the pictures, do the obs, clean the toys, clean the room, do the dishes, plan the activities, etc, when all the children are awake and not gettingmy full attention? Leaving my stressed-out colleagues a staff memebrr down? There is no other time to do these things that need doing. Unless you would like the staff to stay past their hours to update the app, or take the planning folder home and not be paid for it? Not clean up the mess from lunch?

As PP said, books and jigsaws are always available for them to play with and only hold their attention for a very short time. Do you know what happens when toddlers get bored? They make a lot of noise, waking up the other children.

It's not about giving the adults a break, it's about making it possible for the adults to complete the necessary tasks that are an essential part of your children's early years education. Who do you think plans all the stimulating activities that your children enjoy? Who do you think makes sure the toys are all cleaned? It's done by the hard-working staff who are paid minimum wage.

Despite what some parents think, we don't have a magic wand that we can wave to make all these things happen. At the end of the day, nursery staff are human beings, we're doing our best, and we can't magic extra staff or more time out of thin air.

Not in my experience- kids love looking at books from being a baby. Toddlers as well can be occupied for ages looking at books, turning a page, familiarity of what’s next builds learning skills, calmness and thoughtfulness. You obviously have no idea of what books mean to a child.

Thank you @CantSeeTheDifference. It's so good when an actual nursery worker posts and gives insight into the reality of a day in childcare.

I hope you explain your use of screens to the parents. What do you think is an ok level of screen use? What childcare guidelines do you follow? I assume that there must be advice on screens in nursery/childcare settings?

SOME / even a few toddlers are content with a pile of books to look through themselves for a while, without adult support which is why nurseries will have reading corners to access throughout the day. But not all toddlers and maybe not many of the awake children and then what? Someone already mentioned bored toddlers.

Whereas something which is rarely done in the day - a screen and Peppa Pig - will grab their attention and be a treat and feed into their imaginative skills and storytelling. Then babies can sleep, staff can complete jobs and the awake toddlers have a break in their busy and stimulating day

I would find it so bizarre if my child's nursery worker started explaining all of this to do with screen time.

I really couldn't care less if my children watched a bit of TV at nursery. Why do people make a big issue of petty things, I really don't understand at all.

Why?

@ButterCrackers I do know a bit about children and books actually.
I was a volunteer reader at a primary school for several years.

I agree. They could have given the DC a picture book or even have read to them! Sounds like laziness to me.

Honestly, some of the expectations parents have of us are simply unrealistic.

I do understand that screens are not ideal, but what would parents rather have, a little bit of screen time during naps, or no observations to be done, no app updated, no toys or room cleaned? No activities planned? No artwork displays put up? No progress plans written up?

Also, sleep time is when the staff have their lunch, so the room is not actually fully staffed while the children sleep, which means there's maybe only 2 staff on the floor trying to get all these things done. Should staff just not have lunch?

We really do try our best to make all parents happy, but we don't have magical powers that enable us to grow extra arms or clone ourselves.