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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to object to my 4 year old's class watching tv at nursery 'holiday club'

63 replies

toodamnfreaky · 28/07/2009 22:26

Last week my 4 year old went to holiday club twice - the first time she started playing Beauty and the Beast when she got home, the second time it was Aristocats. On both occassions she said it was because she'd watched the movies at holiday club. When I called the holiday club check this out I was told that the kids watch '50 minutes or so' of tv after lunch during quiet time(the movies are each 70+ minutes long). When I pushed and asked how long was it, was it 50 minutes or was it the whole movie, and did they stop the movie in the middle then?, the teacher back-pedalled and said it was 30 minutes...(this was only after I told her 50 minutes was over govt recommended screen time for the kids' age as she had no idea what it was). I think 50 is far too long for 4 year olds to be watching tv in the middle of the day, everyday (she wouldn't do that at home). I also think it reeks of laziness on the part of the teachers (can't they read a story or two?). What does everyone else think?

OP posts:

welshone51 · 29/07/2009 12:45

I have worked in several nurseries and a lot of nurseries do this in order for the children to gain some enjoyment and for the staff to clear up the lunches and have their well deserved breaks.
I can honestly say I personally wouldnt have an issue with this as I am sure they do a lot of other activities throughout the day!

nybom · 29/07/2009 12:47

as it is being questioned by severals MNers that tv is bad, i can only say (without going into to much details) i have a degree in education and studies show consistently that (too much) tv is bad for children. that is a fact. just like smoking is unhealthy, breast is better than bottle, etc. and because someone, from their experience, has only good things to say about it, it still doesn't mean that it's a good thing. it's just like your 95 year old aunt/uncle/neighbour who reached that age despite smoking and drinking. it doesn't make it a good thing!

bigchris · 29/07/2009 12:48

did you know people pay more for dog walkers than for people looking after thier kids ?
yabu imo

pointydog · 29/07/2009 12:49

how much is too much, nybom?

nybom · 29/07/2009 12:49

and, FGS, jsut look at the influence the media have on the kids: 5 year old girls in pink frilly princess dresses, wearing high heals(!), for boys logo t-shirts everywhere (power rangers, transformers, ben 10)...

moondog · 29/07/2009 12:49

Good grief, now Beauty and the Beast is on a par with 20 fags is it?
I don't think so.

EyeballsintheSky · 29/07/2009 12:50

Yes but again, we're not talking about 9-5 tv viewing, are we? No one is saying that is good. We are talking about tv as part of a busy day and as an activity amongst other activities I can't see what's wrong. An hour of tv a day is not the end of the world. If they put tv on for dd, which they don't, I wouldn't let her have it on in the evening for the Night Garden. You have to balance it, not ban it altogether. I still can't see the issue.

squilly · 29/07/2009 12:51

I don't think it's over the top to get a kid to watch a Disney dvd during a holiday club. Even if they do it every day, a 4 year old will generally only dip into the film a little anyway and it's not like this viewing is then compounded by more tv at home.

I think it's unreasonable to expect during summer holidays constant entertainment, crafts, etc and no use of tv.

It's a wet summer. The kids are stuck inside for hours and the nursery staff have a lot to do. I think it's perfectly reasonable for them to let the little ones watch tv.

You don't agree, and that's your prerogative. You have the choice of finding alternative care for your daughter, lodging a complaint or putting up with it. What choice you make is yours.

VinegarTits · 29/07/2009 12:53

of course you are not unreasonable, cos that extra 20 mins over the gov guideline will burn their eyes out wont it

MissSunny · 29/07/2009 12:55

Message withdrawn

squilly · 29/07/2009 12:57

Nyborn, anything done to excess is bad.

I have an 8yo who watched tv when she was younger, more than you would probably approve of, but she isn't over sexualised, she doesn't crave everything in the ads, she isn't obsessed with the TV now she's older and she chooses to watch very little tv now.

Personally, I think the demonisation of tv is a bit far-fetched. Yes, if your kids watch tv all day and don't exercise every day they're likely to get unfit and fat. They can be influenced by programmes which aren't age appropriate, but you ultimately choose what they watch (up to a certain age anyway). So what's the harm?

Computers are by far more threatening in terms of sexualising your kids and being harmful to their health and mental well being. But that's another thread, I guess.

bigchris · 29/07/2009 13:00

my ds loves his ben 10 and transformers tshirts, no psychological damage so far....

nybom · 29/07/2009 13:06

bigchris so does my DS1 (watches those programms at friends) - and it's doing my head in! every couple of months it's a different character. and then it's constantly: "i WANT a ben 10 watch", "i want a transfomers t-shirt/bag/socks/underwear/umbrella", "bush bang pow, i'm the fastest. i'm the best killer. i've got superpowers." all day long... before he hat this friend, he used to wear pink wellies and play with cardboard boxes...

wannaBe · 29/07/2009 13:08

well, having looked on google, there is no mention of government guidelines for the amount of television that should be watched.

There was a conference in 2007, in which a prominant psychologist recommended that under 3's watch no television and under 12's watch no more than an hour of television a day, however he merely recommended that the government issue guidelines to this effect.

So a childcare setting would not be expected to know this as this is not an issued guideline..

nybom · 29/07/2009 13:08

misssunny

no, DSs go to a private nursery where a day costs 35 pounds.

wannaBe · 29/07/2009 13:12

and to compare television to cigarettes is quite frankly barking.

MissSunny · 29/07/2009 13:47

Message withdrawn

WhatFreshHellIsThis · 29/07/2009 13:55

nybom sadly I think that's just called growing up and socialising - my DS1 has never watched Ben 10 or Power Rangers as we only let him watch Cbeebies, but older boys at the nursery he goes to play Ben10 games, and so he picks it up there.

Boys do start playing bang kick pow games as they get older whether they watch tv or not, they're boys.....

I'm with you on the pester power toy stuff though, that's why it's Cbeebies only in this house.

CloudDragon · 29/07/2009 14:01

yanbu - it is too much tv for a young one. This generation is growing up watching so much tv.

It's become so accepted that some kids watch it for hours everyday, and then the parents wonder why their kids have the attention span of a goldfish or get overweight

It's not hard to find the government guidelines as they are quoted in the paper all of the time.

I accept mine watch too much on some days but they dont; watch it everyday and not if I was paying for someone else to look after them.

nybom · 29/07/2009 14:19

misssunny i think you're confusing me with OP ?!

piscesmoon · 29/07/2009 14:34

I think it is just because they want a quiet time-it is probably difficult these days to get a whole lot of DCs to lie down and get a rest.
I was unsure whether it was a nursery, offering quality care or just a holiday club run by volunteers or low paid students.If it is the latter it would be acceptable-if it is the former, it wouldn't be.
When you say 'teachers'-are they actually teachers?

notsoteenagemum · 29/07/2009 14:37

I would hardly say that 'Mum' was offending because I am a Mum, and it seems you are pretty eloquent in your other posts so I'm not convinced that was lost in translation tbh.
I don't think anybody is suggesting children watch TV all day everyday, we are talking a small ammount here. The example I gave was usually a video of songs and nursery rhymes which the children would sing along to.

I think if the op really objects to Television that much she should have researched what the Clubs policy on it was.

mumeeee · 29/07/2009 14:54

She was watching a childrens film not something that was unsutable for her. It's a holiday club not school or nursery.Lots of children watch films at home when during school holidays. I know mine did when they were small.

wannaBe · 29/07/2009 15:02

I really don't get this argument that because someone is paying for someone to "look after their child" tv should not be a part of that.

Looking after someone's child doesn't equal constant 1-1 interaction, children would possibly play freely with toys/listen to cd's/be given something to do while the staff did other things. If you send children to a childminder they would be expected to sit around while cm waited for other children who did after school activities (which certainly isn't stimulating),television is almost certainly a part of a child's life at a childminders, and yet parents are still paying for that.

Parents who think that sending their children to paid childcare (any paid childcare) will mean they are constantly stimulated are a bit naive imo.

BonsoirAnna · 29/07/2009 15:14

My DD is 4, and not in any kind of holiday playscheme. She has a nine-week summer holiday, of which two weeks were spent in Italy and two weeks will be spent on sports courses. The rest of the time I am looking after her.

Yesterday we had lunch with DP and visited his office, followed by three hours at the Jardin du Luxembourg with friends. We were out of the house from 12.20 until nearly 7 pm. This morning we met up with friends at the park at 11am for a couple of hours in the sandpit, playing frisbee etc, followed by a quick lunch out and a bit of shopping.

By 3 pm DD was desperate to get home and watch a DVD. Out and about is fine, and DD can play on her own for hours, but some down time with the TV relaxes her. We are going out again this evening, for pizza with friends. She is getting plenty of fun and exercise.

And she learns masses from her DVDs - lots of vocabulary, understanding story lines, new concepts.

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