No TV before school?!

[Tireddadplus]

Hi! Just got a message from our DD’s (5yo) school that we should not let the kids watch any tv before school! Bad for their brains or something…

DD watches a bit of tv while myself or DW sort out lunches or whatever…just makes getting out the door easier!

Am i being unreasonable to ignore this advice?

I’m in a school, we would have no idea which kids have watched TV in the morning and which ones haven’t. I have the breakfast news on in my house as we’re all getting ready, so I’m probably a bad parent for letting my kids see the news. If watching tv clearly impacts your child and stops them from preparing for school, then obviously you would keep the screens off. Otherwise, make your own decision.

Definitely no TV before school!

I tend to agree with this but don’t think the school can actively make you do this

In this house they have to be clean, dressed, fully ready before watching any devices.

We dont have it on because we go to breakfast club and so its up, dressed and out the door in 45 mins. We'd all rather have longer in bed. However, if it works for you, carry on. Schools can give advice but they cant dictate what you do with your own children in your own time.

I would give it a try and ask the teachers if they notice a difference. It's a small thing to just turn it off and if it helps them at school why not?

I always watched the big breakfast before school.....

Radio here, no tv

I don't think you're being unreasonable. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 states;

"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."

That's what we do - DC (5 and 7) can have some TV if totally ready for school - some days they aren't, so don't get any.

We've found it's a great motivator to reduce the faffing, also when we banned TV completely they would just start some complicated game with their toys that actually made it much harder to get them out the door on time.

I don't think anyone needs to invoke the HRA, unless the school are proposing to expel or arrest kids who don't comply...

I can't remember if was the Big Breakfast or another show but I have a vague memory of at about half 8 the presenters pretending to do something really dull and boring as a "you need to leave now for school/work" skit.
I used to do the exercise thing on TV am with the Green Goddess (was it?) when I was about 9 years old.

I agree with the idea, I think music or radio is better, but it’s not the school’s job to tell you this unless it’s seriously affecting behaviour (which I assume it is or they wouldn’t have said it). I think we’re only just now seeing the effects of toddlers with tablets and 24/7 parent access to kids content, so I can imagine it’s a shock for some reception kids that there’s no Bluey allowed at school

My 5 year old som watches TV in the morning whilst he eats his breakfast probably around 20 minutes, then once he’s washed and dressed he typically plays with his toys/lego whilst waiting. Never done us any harm 🤷🏼‍♀️

Mine has never been interested in watching TV so it’s never even an issue.

However, just getting them up, dressed, breakfast then teeth is hard enough so god knows when they’d even have time to watch TV even if they wanted to? 😳

Mine get up at 6-6.30 they’re allowed TV whilst we eat breakfast etc. It usually goes off half an hour or so before we leave and there’s breaks like going upstairs to dress or when they play instead. Sometimes they start to play and it goes off. This morning they played outside for a bit before school. I’ll be honest I never considered it being an issue. I will reconsider after this thread though.

Dc watch tv while eating breakfast here

Well it’s entirely up to you - it’s just advice. But good advice imho.

My DSS (nearly 7) has his switch to watch videos in the morning and he has that before he gets out of bed, then it’s up breakfast and dressed. It helps him regulate in the mornings as they can be difficult (he’s neurodiverse) but I think what helps is we have a 20 minute drive to school where we play pretend games like aeroplanes or cars so I genuinely think that helps switch his brain on as it’s purely using imagination.

I’ve only ever had the radio on in the morning - it would never have occurred to me to put the to on when my daughter was getting ready for school.

If it works for your family no need to change anything. Are they struggling in the mornings at school?

We use cbeebies as a bit of a prompt - eat breakfast whilst Bluey is on and as soon as it finishes TV goes off and it's time to get ready. If you get yourself washed dressed and teeth brushed in time then you'll be able to watch all of Octonauts before we have to go

Surely they can't dictate things like that? I mean where does it end? No TV before school, no juice before school, no sugary breakfast before school, no present opening before school. Any number of things can over excite a child or make it harder for them to concentrate on school. Birthdays are a nightmare! Around Easter and Christmas too, loads of accessible chocolate. To pin it down to just TV is a bit ignorant.

We watch CBeebies in the morning, both my kids enjoy watching cartoons whilst eating breakfast, they get dressed when told and get shoes/coats on when told. Never been an issue

No tv here either. I’m surprise anyone got time.
Between getting up, getting ourselves ready getting D ready, making sure morning wee and teeth are done etc. There is not much time to sit down. I do packed lunch night before so in the morning it’s just a case of getting it all out from the fridge 🤷🏼‍♀️