Toddlers and TV

[spacegirl81]

How much TV do your DCs watch and what time of the day? How old are they and does it effect their behaviour?

I have quite a lot sky+ed, but here's no ff-ing allowed here anymore, those stolen moments from other programmes are precious to dd - she's stimulated beyond belief by new tv, the effect on her behaviour is that she wants to act it all out and rehash everything she's seen, it's manic. I feel a bit safer with re-runs of old favourites.

oh yes forgot all the sport at the weekend!

God I am so glad I am rid of television guilt. I used it a lot when DS was a toddler because he was just SO demanding. He would not potter about by himself at all, unlike DD, so tv was the only thing that enabled me to have even five minutes head space. I used to feel so guilty, it was like an addiction I couldn't break.

Now they are five and six they watch a bit when they get home from school and a film in the morning at the weekend. Some bits at other times too. But I just don't stress about it at all. They are fine and doing well. I think the negative effects of watching tv are overstated. If you do nothing but watch tv then there is going to be a problem, but I don't think many people are like that.

I've had to stop dd watching tv especially kids tv. It was over stimulating her.

We have no tv on at all 1 1/2 before she goes bed otherwise she is manic!

My SIL lets her 3 year old watch kids stuff ALL day and DVDs in bed. He dosnt settle till about 12am!!

Why is kids tv so wild Nowdays anyway? I'm sure when I was a child it was much calmer!

I wish I could say my DS (2) doesn't watch tv, I try to limit it and we play and go out a lot, but I'm an lp and sometimes putting him in front of a dvd is the only way I can cope. The guilt is enormous.

We have ours on a fair bit. In the morning before and after breakfast although quite often I stick the radio on instead. It goes on while I have a shower though otherwise I tend to come out the shower braced to see what naughty thing they have done this time . The witching hour before dinner when they are tired but I can't let them nap is when I stick a DVD on. DD goes through phases of what she likes and for the past 2 months it's been The Heffalump Movie, before that it was The Gruffalo. She's a perfectly normal child, her behaviour is no different whether she watches none or lots and if I didn't stick it on we would never have dinners cooked and I'd have to get up at 5am to shower before they were up!

I often have the news on at lunch time and if we have a day at home time team and similar harmless background stuff will be on most of the day. I can't have a quiet house. If the tv isn't on the radio is, we often communicate in song, DS is 8.5mo and can already bob up and down whenever there's music on. I think all this hand wringing and guilt about tv is plain daft. It has no bearing over the gcse results your DC will get, the careers they chose and whether they have happy childhoods. Watching a lot of tv doesn't mean they don't play, it means they play really well with something in the background, they certainly aren't mindless drones. I do think it make a difference if they've never watched much and you suddenly increase it mind, but if they've always been used to it then it isn't a big deal.

My 17 mo doesn't really watch any, certainly less than my first DD did at her age. My 5 yo gets TV on to unwind after school usually 4-5 or 4-5.30pm so the TV is generally on during those times but my youngest does not sit and watch.

I plan to reduce DD1's TV time after Christmas (when they have lots of new toys and DD2 is finally walking/more able to play with her sister) around 45 mins total each day would be just right I think. She watched more before she was at full-time school.

The only show DD2 is interested in is In the Night Garden so we put that on maybe 2-3 times a week and sit and watch together.

My ds watches loads of tv, always has done. He loves Mickey Mouse club house and has had excellent speech from a really young age and visually knew the numbers 1-10 before he was 2 so if anything these educational programmes have helped him learn! He loves number jacks now, he's almost 4. Every day he asks if it's 11 o'clock yet. He loves doing lots of other things too, crafty things and he is also very active. If I thought it was do gnu any harm I'd put a stop to it.

Sometimes it's the only time you get peace to indulge yourself in selfish pleasures like washing dishes, peeling spuds and making beds. Don't feel bad about it., an hour or two is fine. Just don't let him spend hours in front of crap.

I leave it on. Both toddler and baby ignore it mostly. Depends. Worse things to be worried over.

I am really desperate and struggling with this at the moment. Ds is 2 and it's all he ever asks for / wants to do. If its not tv, he wants my iPad to play utube clips. I know I'm the mum, but I end up giving in. Help, I feel so shit about it!

Do people, that have no tv, care about the silence? I feel like I am going out of my mind when I don't have any on.

Plus with a 2.3 year old and 5 month old, I struggle to entertain the eldest constantly without it. Especially when I'm trying to get ds2 to nap. I feel really guilty as he never watched tv before I became pregnant again.

Do people, that have no tv, care about the silence? I feel like I am going out of my mind when I don't have any on.

Plus with a 2.3 year old and 5 month old, I struggle to entertain the eldest constantly without it. Especially when I'm trying to get ds2 to nap. I feel really guilty as he never watched tv before I became pregnant again.

Do people, that have no tv, care about the silence? I feel like I am going out of my mind when I don't have any on.

I love silence!

We don't have silence with no tv. I put music on often usually through iphone bluetoothing to speakers. Everything from everyday charts, childrens story tape style and classical music. Depends on whether I want them awake or asleep! Never really had nap problems as always put both children to nap at the same time and they both still nap now at almost school age

Having the TV on when i'm not watching it makes me feel very stressed. I have to ask family members who put it on for background noise to turn it off or I feel like my head is splitting in half. Sometimes I need some distraction when washing the dishes our sorting similarly dull, that's what radio 4 is for.

So the silence doesn't bother me.

DS is 3 and seems to have gone off TV. He used to have up to an hour of Abney and Teal after dinner but lately he just doesn't ask to watch it. He does watch some Youtube clips, mostly of nursery rhymes, on DH's phone at bedtime. I never put the TV on as background, but turn it on if he is going to watch something. DD is 10 months and sort of watches it on and off if we have it on.

dd watches about 1 hour a week of cbeebies, usually when I'm trying to breastfeed her brother and she wants to sit on me or yank him off. She will sit quietly for about 10 minutes before she gets bored and goes back to attacking her brother.

On Sundays when its my turn to lie in she watches MOTD with daddy.

I can't bare to have TV on as background noise. I do care about silence, and I try to have the house calm and quiet.

I like silence if I'm reading a book or doing something I enjoy. Playing with cars or dinosaurs just makes my brain turn to mush. I try to compensate by getting out of the house as much as possible. Maybe a radio is the answer.

I put the radio or a CD on if I don't want silence. Don't mind really. Silence for reading, though. I couldn't bear having the TV on all day, and particularly children's TV! I would rather fry my own eyeballs.

IME a lot of people fib about tv viewing and kids, often unintentional but it can be hard to see how much the tv is on (I include myself in this before I realised)

Dd (2.3) watches tv in the morning before breakfast (30 mins -1 hour) then before we go out while I wash up (we are out every weekday by 9 at the latest) then normally from 11:45 until lunch (say 30 mins max) then again when she wakes from a nap 4:30 until dinner at 6 but often this is alongside an activity like sticking/playdoh or she joins me in the kitchen to cook.

This is a lot written down but we do a lot of active viewing if this makes sense, as in we watch together and discuss the programmes (in as much as you can with a 2 year old) lots of "look it's raining it rained yesterday, do you remember we got wet" and "what do you think will happen next?" and as she has got older she interacts with programmes more of her own accord (I.e if get squiggling letters is on she gets her drawing pad and "writes" the letters commenting on what she is doing.

All that said Peppa pig is a godsend when my brain is fried and weekends are unrestricted when we are in the house.

Welshwabbit. Love that word. Ours is mukkapac

TV is good till it is limited. Some screen time can be educational, but it's easy to go overboard.

The effects of too much screen time
Obesity: The more TV your child watches, the greater his or her risk is of becoming overweight. Having a TV in a child's bedroom also increases this risk. Children can also develop an appetite for junk food promoted in TV ads, as well as overeat while watching TV.
Irregular sleep: The more TV children watch, the more likely they are to have trouble falling asleep or to have an irregular sleep schedule. Sleep loss, in turn, can lead to fatigue and increased snacking.
Behavioral problems: Elementary students who spend more than two hours a day watching TV or using a computer are more likely to have emotional, social and attention problems. Exposure to video games is also linked with an increased risk of attention problems in children. Watching excessive amounts of TV at age 4 is linked with bullying at ages 6 through 11.
Impaired academic performance: Elementary students who have TVs in their bedrooms tend to perform worse on tests than do those who don't have TVs in their bedrooms.
Violence. Too much exposure to violence through media — especially on TV — can desensitize children to violence. As a result, children might learn to accept violent behavior as a normal way to solve problems.
Less time for play: Excessive screen time leaves less time for active, creative play.

As Tractorandtree has noted, it is important for kids to be out in the open air rather than watch TV all the time.

I find it hard to fathom why people have it on for background noise. Why? Children are not silent....you talk to them!!! This is not silence. Mine watched a tiny bit as toddlers. Loved Pingu. Why do people give toddlers iPads? This stuff is addictive and barely educational for a toddler. ThTs why they make a fuss to get it and parents give in. Cue problems with the computer games later! Why not read a book? Point out pictures and discuss things. Go out. Visit something and talk about it. Teachers continually say more and more children have language delay. Sitting watching tv will barely improve language. Sitting with an adult watching tv for a bit will help if you discuss the programme. I think no-one really knows if their individual children could have done better without the tv on all the time, but I do agree that studies show it hinders development on a number of fronts as Chris has indicated.