To ask honestly what time the TV goes on?

[mangoandbanana]

I know I’m going to get a load of ‘never, were a screen free house’ but … especially if you have under 5s, what time does it go on?

Half four here. And it is on in the morning too.

Goes on after school for an hour or so, but not always. I let them if they ask but if not they’re happy playing. We have the radio on in the mornings, although around age 2 I remember a period of CBeebies in the mornings before breakfast. Long enough to have a cuppa in peace!

We don't ever watch in the morning because it just makes us late and stressed. None at all on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays because we're all out all day until 5pm then doing tea / bath / bed. On Fridays we watch a family film at 5pm. Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays my 4yo sometimes watches an hour or so in the afternoons, unless we're out and about. If he's ill or I'm ill he watches more while we rest and recover.

DDs are 4.5y and 18m.

Weekdays, we allow 7.20-7.35am ish (ie two Blueys on CBeebies) - by this time both DDs are dressed, hair done, teeth brushed and i use the time to do my hair, teeth, make up in the bathroom.

DD1 occasionally might get 20-30mins of something between 4-5.30pm whilst DD2 is still at nursery. But she doesnt tend to ask for it and i only offer it if I think she is really tired and just needs to sit and chill for a bit. Its probably only once a week? This week shes not had any at all after school.

Then again from 6.30-6.45 ish in the evenings. Maybe a couple of Hey Duggies or something on iplayer. Usually this is after everyone is in pjs, having some milk. When the tv goes off, we do teeth, story (1 or 2) and then bed.

On a weekend, im more relaxed. We might watch a Julia Donaldson adaptation or a Disney 30mins something.

I tried to avoid DD2 watching too much tv, but she definitely gets more via osmosis when DD1 is watching, than DD1 ever did at the same age.

DH and I on the other hand put the tv on after the DC are in bed and weve eaten at around 8pm and it stays on until we go to bed.

Shed loads. all kids doing brilliantly in school and great readers so I could care less what anyone thinks

Under 5 (but over 2) we did Balamoray before lunch on CBeebies to give me time to prep it. Then on after 3pm for an hour. Again, only CBeebies.

that's a lot of activities before breakfast 😂

Goes on about 7am, off around 8/8.30 On a day I'm off it might go on for an hour again after the school run for my todler mid morning while I do jobs. Then about 4ish - 5.00 then again for half an hour after bath 6.30ish . Then I watch tv 8pm - 10.30.

I see no harm in it, no ipads though. Just tv.

I have a 1yo and a 4yo, it goes on around 4/4.30 when they are grumpy and ready for tea. Sometimes on a morning for 10 mins while we get dressed but rarely. I live in a townhouse and it depends we don’t have a tv on the bottom floor

What's funny is the outrage from parents when a pre-school or nursery does put the tv on.

Kindly, it's not a strange question if you have children that wake up at the crack of dawn (ours are 5/6am and yes, we've tried everything), and you therefore have 2-3 hours to kill.

OP, we have the TV on from 6am until 7:45am. It's often just in the background whilst we get dressed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, complete homework. Most evenings we have a club or will have a friend over, when we don't it's on from about 4-5, then we'll play in the garden or get a board game out and then it might go on again before bath and story time 6:30ish).

I let mine watch it once they’re dressed. They get dressed straight away after waking at 6 and I’m not gonna ruin my own life by saying no tv 🤣. My kids are doing really well at school so if you’re asking because of the thread the other day, it doesn’t always equal brain dead at school if you watch tv in the morning

Never goes off. It’s on in every single room I go in. I cannot function without it. I sleep with it on and on my phone with headphones. I put the downstairs one on at about 6:30 when I go down… I don’t know why or what it is but I genuinely need it on. On holiday I start getting funny about lack of tv to the point I watch foreign programs. But then I love a foreign film/show anyway.

Not a strange question at all. Kids can be up for hours before they need to leave for school!

Exactly. My 2 year old can be up for the day from 4 or 5...!!!!!

Nursery days for 3 year-old: 7.45am until about 8am while getting ready for nursery. After nursery about 10 mins between arriving home and having dinner.

Non nursery days: a bit longer in the morning but generally no more than 45 mins. Then on again for a bit just before dinner.

Never before breakfast or after dinner with the exception of a film night every few weeks.

For us as a couple after child in bed: on about 8pm until 10pm or later but we also have nights where it's off.

I find TV pretty much unwatchable these days. I am seriously considering getting rid of mine and making do with a laptop. I watch YouTube far more than the TV. People no longer make TV shows; they make woke propaganda. They’re far more interested in ticking boxes than making something good. Same goes for films.

what time does he go to bed?

It's rare that 2 year old survive long on little sleep. I have seen mums complaining that their kids were up early, they were putting them to bed at 6pm!, Of course the kids woke up when they had slept enough.

If yours need very little sleep so young, it's hard, but I am not sure tv helps.

You can stream YouTube to your tv. Thats what i do.

He goes to bed about 8pm- basically between 7 & 9. Depends how long of a nap hes had in the day. Which could be anything from 30 mins to two hours.
Generally if he wakes up stupidly early I encourage him to go back to sleep but if he really wont then tv goes on and we have quiet time, and i know he will be down for an early nap that day x

I work mostly from home as does DH. I have the news on the whole entire day. I wake up around 5.30 it goes on and is never off. Its basically background noise. We switch over to Countdown just before 7 am. Then back to the news.

DCs don't have tvs in their room. They are 15 and 14, I think we use the tv like the radio tbh.

My DS was a 5am riser. I hated it; I tried so many things to get him to sleep later but it just didn’t work. Eventually it stopped when he phased the nap out but it had to come from him if you like; forcing him to stay awake didn’t have the same effect.

I wish it was as simple as (say) 6pm bedtime = 4am start so 7pm bedtime = 5am but it just isn’t for a lot of children.

For the kids: never on a school day. 1 film at the weekend.
For us: after we both wrap up our wfh job after kids are in bed, so 9pm ish for a couple of hours.

Exactly. And i know sooo many people will tell me to drop the nap but sometimes you physically cant- they are going to fall asleep if you are driving or pushing a buggy so may as well get it over and done with early in the day. He will grow out of his naps in his own time. I counteract the early morning screen time with reducing it during the day and in the evening as best I can. Like I say, I pick my battles, and as a Mum of 3 my sanity comes first!!

We have it all backwards in our family. Mine are 6 and 10 and we always have the TV on at breakfast and tea time, which is dreadful - but DH is always at work and I use the kid's meal times as my time to run around like a loon sorting washing/tidying up/getting stuff ready for bed. But mine never watch it outside of those times, they have zero interest other than the very occasional film at the weekend or when they're poorly. It was the same when they were toddlers. They would much rather be off playing with their toys, in the garden, or doing crafts. We have the Alexa on most of the day though.

Edit: And my eldest just got into the local Grammar, and my youngest is age 2 and reading at year 4 level, so it doesn't seem to have done either much harm.

Ours varies depending on getting up time and after school clubs which dictates if we do reading before or after school but today DS3 got up at 6:15 and watched TV until DD6 got up at 7
both into the other room for breakfast although TV stayed on then dressed and intermittent watching while getting ready until 7:45 when DS and DH left for nursery/work, I then did reading with DD and she wrote a bday card for a party before leaving for school at 8:30, however sometimes she watches tv from her brother leaving until she goes to school

DD had clubs for 2 hours tonight from 5:15 so she’s allowed freezer tea with cartoons on a Thursday from 4-5 then it went back on about 7:15 when we got home, DS hadn’t wanted it on when he got home from nursery and she watched the rest of Bake off (which she loves) sometimes it’s nature programs, but anything after 7 is what she calls grown up TV (so not cartoons) and it’s still on now they are in bed

very much depends on the day for how long it’s in but typically both in the morning and end of the day

I also grew up in a house where the tv was on all day every day and still is at my DMs