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How much T.V. do your kids watch in a day?

47 replies

batey · 04/05/2002 20:07

Just wondered what other people do. My dd's are 2 and 4 1/2, how much they watch varies on weather etc, but I would say their average is about 1-1 1/2 hrs. Is that awful?!

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angharad · 29/05/2002 10:39

Have to admit to being a bit inconsistent about TV-I'd be horrified if the kids were watching it at nursery but ds2 probably sees quite a bit as he starts the day at 6.30 am and teletubbies videos allow me more time to wake up! Also last week's David Attenborough programme about ostriches had them all entranced, esp ds2 who kept dancing and kissing the screen (think i'm doing something wrong!)

judetheobscure · 29/05/2002 11:24

I would love to be able to subscribe to sports channels and terrestrial only and not anything else. Then there wouldn't be so much junk TV the children could watch. I'm quite happy for them to watch up to an hour of suitable TV but am not so keen on eg. "Dexter", "Powerpuff Girls", "Ed, Edd & Eddy" etc. Haven't decided yet whether I am actually going to ban these programs. (Children are 6, 4 and 2 by the way and they all watch them).

Bozza · 29/05/2002 21:48

What age did your kids start watching TV? DS shows no interest. I have put on a Tweenies video he got for his birthday and he goes over pats the screen a couple of times and then goes off to play with his toys or the settee cushions.

Enid · 29/05/2002 21:56

Bozza, how old is he? Dd watched Brum with fascination from about 8/9 months. She hated the Tweenies until recently (shes 2 + 5 now). She does love to watch tv but only particular shows - Little Bear, Dora and Clifford being the current big 3. She's also got the Beatrix Potter videos (which I thoroughly recommend, they are lovely and very mellow) which she likes to watch. She says Bob the Builder is 'too noisy'.

jessi · 29/05/2002 23:15

Bozza, your ds's got taste! I LOATHE the Tweenies, and luckily so does my ds! Sorry any Tweenies fans out there, but to me they are gross! What about Spot the Dog, or Maisy? My ds only got into watching stuff around 10/11 months so maybe yours will soon.

Tinker · 29/05/2002 23:20

'Tweenies' are horrible though - so bloody LOUD! My mum made the mistake of buying the 'Tweenies Live' video. There are audience shots of parents in pain with boredom.

Demented · 29/05/2002 23:39

My DS was between 2 1/2 and 3 before he had any real interest in TV, he's making up for lost time now mind you!

susanmt · 29/05/2002 23:50

My dd's current favourite is the Bear in the Big Blue House! Nice, as long as you remember to switch off before the ghastly purple dinosaur comes on afterwards!!

starmoon · 30/05/2002 12:42

My little girl is 2 1/2 and used to love the Tweenies but I really think she has gone off them. We took her to see them at London Arena cost us £45 for 3 of us and I think she was bored after 20 minutes. Phoebe loves Nick Jnr, especially Dora The Explorer, in fact I think she has learnt quite a few things from that channel especially songs. She also likes you do too.

zebra · 31/05/2002 07:02

We don't have a telly... but the kids get about 1/2 day at nursery.

zebra · 29/09/2002 05:33

Maybe I can restart this thread?
After my last post... DS (nearly 3yo) has discovered videos in a big way. He's clamouring to watch them all the time. I think he watches 2-5 hours most days.

We also go out of the house for 2-5 hours/day; DS rides his bike all sorts of places, lots of mums+tots groups, too.

Because of the 1yo baby there are all sorts of activities I can't manage to do with DS; puzzles, painting, building train tracks. It just becomes impossible to keep the baby from playing godzilla. Then, sometimes she needs a nap and I really need to pin DS down somewhere else in the house, quiet, in order to get the baby down.

DS does not want stories instead; sometimes I manage to get him sitting at a high table doing crafts or activities, but usually he gets bored fast and I can't give him much direct attention because the baby needs constant attention, too.

I just wondered if there's anyway to stop DS from sliding into a total video addict?

ionesmum · 29/09/2002 11:50

Zebra, I haven't been through this yet as dd is only 7 mo but I can remember watching lots of t.v. when I was little and I still have very fond memories of it. I still liked reading, crafts, playing outside etc. Providing that your ds is watching something appropriate for his age I wouldn't worry too much - you say that you are doing plenty of other things, and recent research ha sshown that selective viewing of appropriate t.v. can be good for children. HTH

FrancesJ · 29/09/2002 14:46

Well, in the last three days mine's watched way,way,way too much. This, to be fair, is because she's got a streaming cold, and at nine months preg, bus trips out have temporarily ceased in the last week.

Usually we have a house rule that the tv is defn off between the hours of 8ish-3.30, then on for half an hourish, and then off again. But if she's feeling ill, she does want to sit in front of it. I don't fret too much, to be honest, if she's poorly. Oh, and she is an early riser, so does tend to have at least an hour in the morning before the 8ish cut-off. And sometimes I'm tired, so we both cuddle up and watch a bit more than usual.

I worry about it a bit, but when I haven't got my 'guilty mother' hat on, sense says that so long as children are happy and busy and doing other things too, it isn't the end of the world if there are occasional 'tv' days.

Zebra - the one thing I've found with mine that winches her happily away from the box when she's into 'tv watch' mode is to teach her to turn the thing off, praise her to heaven when she does, and to tempt her with loud exclamations from another room about something exciting I'm doing. She goes bonkers if I try to turn the thing off when she wants tv, but doesn't seem to mind turning it off herself. And as for video's.......well, we cracked that one because, err, 'Only Daddy can use the video machine'. I know this does absolutely NOTHING for gender stereotyping (and, for the record, I can use the video machine) but it does mean that she never watches them during the day. I really should think of something else, though, otherwise she'll grow up thinking that Mummy is a complete banana

WideWebWitch · 29/09/2002 15:15

Zebra, I really wouldn't worry about it. If watching videos was ALL your ds did then yes, but since he does other things with you and you have a 1yo to deal with too I'd say cut yourself some slack and stop worrying about it if possible Doesn't sound disastrous to me anyway.

arizona · 29/09/2002 16:17

When my dd was born, ds was 2 and I remember getting so p**d off with watching videos over and over again! ds just needed to be running about in the park but in the first few weeks dd was feeding all the time, the weather was bad and I just had to let ds watch as much as he wanted. Even now, the Kipper theme tune makes my stomach turn over as I remember that awful "get through the day" feeling. Anyway no harm done, ds is a very articulate 4 year old and now it's Thunderbirds. I keep thinking I'll allow 1 video each per day but keep putting it off!

Snugs · 29/09/2002 16:21

My ds (5 yrs) went through a phase of video watching - any attempt to tear him away from the umpteenth rerun of Thunderbirds would end in thrashing arms (his) and tears (mine).

I finally resorted to ignoring him completely (god that sounds awful now) whenever the tv was on - if he wanted to get my attention HE had to turn it off first. Meanwhile, I was lavishing ds2 (15 mths) with so much attention he was practically begging for mercy. DS1 soon started to find this immensely irritating and gave up watching to come and join in whatever we were doing.

Yesterday I realised how long it was since he had watched a video - I had to dust the cases

CAM · 29/09/2002 16:45

I'm a crank in that I deliberately don't own a video player so dd has never been able to watch them at home. She has watched age-appropriate tv since 18 months/2 years old though and has enjoyed moving from teletubbies onwards. She's now 5 and rarely chooses to watch tv, and it is her choice, I wouldn't mind her watching kid's progs after school.She is quite fussy and prefers things like Blue Peter.

zebra · 30/09/2002 04:59

Thing is, we don't actually own a telly or VCR either -- we watch DVDs on the computers. And alas, cat is out of the bag in that DS knows that I know how to get the computer going.

Plus side is, it's a headache of things to get the computer fired up in the right OS and playing the right player to play the DVDs. So DS has to ask. Believe me, he'd have sussed how to play videos on a VCR & telly setup by now, if we had them.

It's just really tough to not let the toddler video-binge because the baby is 1 year old, climbing everywhere and needs constant supervision -- her face has loads of bruises & cuts & scratches as it is.
And deprived of videos, DS does things like scale the filing cabinet to get at the DVD stockpile.

I swear safety is the most stressful thing when you have two or more kids.

GillW · 30/09/2002 09:47

I almost wish my DS (only 12 months admittedly) would watch more TV, so I could get things done while he watches it - but his maximum sitting-still time is about 4 minutes tops, so he doesn't get much beyond the opening credits before he's zooming off in another direction to do something more active.

robinw · 30/09/2002 18:35

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FrancesJ · 30/09/2002 21:07

I bet mine'll watch more tv when I've got two, Zebra. I'm just trying to imagine a climby one year old together with a toddler, and feeling a bit white-faced at the prospect. Think what you say about safety is totally relevant - I mean, if it's the choice of safety, or a bit more tv watching than you'd like, then there isn't really a choice, is there!

What about trying to interest him in something else that will give you time and keep him absorbed - thinking on the lines of good children's computer software? I know mine loves playing very simple matching, colouring games, stuff like that. You've probably thought/already done of all that anyway, and it wouldn't get him away from the screen, but at least would be an alternative to the video's. Mine loves printing things out herself to colour in - which keeps her beautfully occupied - then, when I'm with her (easy for me at the moment with just one child to look after, I know), we put all the pictures in a scrapbook - I'm trying to think of things that could be a natural progression from looking at a computer to sitting at a table without toddler realising that they've been taken away from watching something.

But from what you say I wouldn't worry anyway - you sound like you do lots of nice things as well as watch vids

berries · 01/10/2002 13:38

I Had a square eyed 3 year old (little sis was 1) so I know how you feel. They are now 7 & 5, and altho' eldest dd would still watch tv all day given the chance, I just tell them they can have 1 hour (or 30 minutes) & then its off & she doesn't complain too much. Definately easier to do now they're older & I don't have to try & entertain 2 vastly different age ranges.

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