1 year old at nursery watching a tablet

[FlipperyGibbet]

AIBU for expecting my 1 year old to not be shown programmes on a tablet when she's at nursery? She has just started her second week, does 4 full days a week (Mon - Thurs) in the baby room of approx. 12 babies up to 14 months old.

Last week DH collected and was told she enjoyed watching Mr Tumble on the tablet but was initially unsure. He replied that she'd probably been unsure because she has zero screen time at home. They said they just have it on whilst cleaning up after lunch. We were surprised, but figured that we couldn't really argue if that's what they needed to do.

This afternoon DH picked her up and as he got to the door he could see all the babies sat in a semi circle, again watching the tablet. No post-lunchtime cleaning up was happening and a key worker was sat with them. They were all strapped into their little highchairs too.

The whole thing just makes me feel a bit sad. We get that screen time has a place, but we've spent the past year actively choosing not to have any screen time at all. Our DD will happily play with / read books, or play with a toy and amuse herself. The fact that this has happened twice in 5 days makes me feel uncomfortable. Am I over reacting and is this a normal occurrence for 1 year olds in nursery nowadays?

I worked in nurseries for many years and have also been an early years Ofsted inspector so just had to comment! Firstly strapping children in for a long period of time is definitely not acceptable and children that young should never be plonked in front of a screen anyway and certainly not at a nursery! Personally I would speak to the manager and express your concerns.

I’m pretty relaxed but watching TV at nursery is a hard no for me. I’ve had to swallow my thoughts on phonics using a tablet but TV is a no.

Our pt nanny has also said to me that she has never seen children shown TV in the UK nurseries she works in, when I asked her about it previously.

Sounds like when the room leader is there they do what they're supposed to do but that's not good enough. They should be doing a good job consistently.
I would speak to the manager but would still move her. 5 hours without a nappy change is disgusting and then there's the enforced watching of the tablet. If you have other issues too then I think you need to change nursery.
You're not expecting too much for basic paperwork to be done or nappies to be changed regularly.

Is it though? I mean there’s not exactly a curriculum at pre schools to do wholesome activities. In the digital world it would probably be difficult to avoid screens in any early learning environment.

I wouldn’t be happy about this at all and I’d ask to speak to the manager.
Even if they say that Mr Tumble is educational and the children are learning sign language, a member of staff could be singing songs with signing included. That and the whole strapped into a high chair?! Absolutely not if they’re not actually eating!

No, it really isn’t.

Yes, this would be my biggest concern - the restraint not the screen. I think the screen is context-dependent whether or not it's ok, but the restraint I can't imagine how it could be justified.

There very much is a curriculum at preschools! And you couldn't possibly meet it without a lot of what people consider wholesome activities - art, crafts, reading, outdoor and indoor play.

I can understand how disappointed you must be. It’s a hugely emotional decision and to have something like this happen is a real blow. Sorry no advice but lots of sympathy and best wishes that you resolve it. The only thing I would say from experience is act quickly. These situations don’t improve in my experience.

It’s unacceptable imo, other than perhaps for a few minutes while staff tidy up. I’d raise it with them. I bet they don’t put that in their prospectus.

if this is true it’s a safeguarding concern. nursery workers should not have their phone on them whilst with children.

This is awful! Especially keeping them in their high chairs. I would just move nurseries, can't imagine this sort of environment changing all that quickly. Sorry.

Update:
Had a meeting with the nursery manager this afternoon and were told that the reason the babies are kept in their highchair seats and allowed to watch a programme for 5 - 10 mins after tea is because of the risk of allergies. Babies are weaning and have allergies so it's important for them to clean up without them crawling in the zone.

We've said our DD has no allergies and is eating solid food safely so surely she doesn't fall into this category. We were told that our DD can do something different but they wouldn't want her to feel excluded.

It's a shame as I feel the justification for this was ready and waiting for us during this meeting. As so many of you have suggested, I think we might have to look at some other nurseries for her 😔

Worked in early years for nearly 20 years and never come across that

What a load of shit

They're bullshitting you, it makes no sense at all. Definitely look at another provider, if they're lying about their poor practice they'll be lying about other things too.

'Screen time' has become thoroughly demonised hasn't it! Never quite understood why. Yes, a lot of screen media is rubbish. But so is a lot of printed matter, but we WORSHIP reading!

This you do need to raise with the management straight away. Workers should not have phones in the nursery, it’s a safeguarding issue. At the one I use all workers put them in lockers and can only access them on breaks.

If you've never quite understood why, may I suggest checking out the links shared in this thread? There's plenty of research out there to underpin why it's been "demonised". We're not totally opposed to it, and appreciate that it has a time and a place. We will use them when the time and context is appropriate but unfortunately we don't feel that this situation is any of those things.

This is a ditch I will die in, but I would absolutely not be happy with this. It changes the way children's brains work.

Yeah, it’s absolutely not on. That would really annoy me too and I’m fairly relaxed about screen time in general. They should absolutely not be using it at nursery.

And it’s 100% laziness from the nursery workers

Not true. Private nurseries have to follow the Early Years and Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. This has been updated again in the last couple of weeks. https://www.gov.uk/early-years-foundation-stage

YANBU and what a bizarre excuse from the nursery! Maybe they should go and visit some other nurseries to see how they manage the clean up without resorting to screen time 🤨

Why can’t they put some toys on the table for the children to play with while they sweep the floor , or sing some nursery rhymes , read them a story.
Im a childminder no screens here . Occasionally for two years olds we show BBC bitesize @ 3 minutes - for example this year - Lunar New Year , or Hedgehogs if we are covering a theme . But I watch with them and then we talk about what we have seen . But this is occasional once a term if that .