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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Can I ask her to turn the TV off?

16 replies

Harriet81 · 28/11/2011 17:50

Hi,

My LO has been at the child minder once a week for the last couple of months of my maternity leave which has been going realy well and she is a lovely lady. Previously she has said she hates the TV and doesn't put it on however I have found the TV on on a couple of occaisions when I collected him in the past but I have now started back at work three days a week and it really concerns me.

Its a matter I feel strongly about and we don't have the TV on at home when our LO is around as there is more than enough stimulation without it. When I collected him today from her the TV was on, he was sat directly in front of it and when I questioned our CM (as gently and diplomatically as poss) she said that its sometimes on at lunch time and every evening when her teenage daughters get back from school. I reitterated that I avoid the having the TV on with him at home as he doesn't need it and she agreed but saying that she couldn't help it when her daughters watched TV. As I was in a hurry I left it at that. The girls do have another TV in a seperate room which they could watch instead.

He is a very calm and content 8 month old and doesn't need to watch TV for entertainment.

Can I ask her to not put it on in his presence? What should I do? Advice greatly recieved.

Many thanks

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south345 · 28/11/2011 18:05

Depends if she has a seperate room for him to be in, my ds and after schoolers like to sit between getting home and tea and I wouldn't stop them having that chill out time, if you want him away from it then ask but it may be that there's no other area for him to be in?

StillSquiffy · 28/11/2011 18:06

Whatever it is the teenagers are watching is not going to be suitable for your DS.

I'd put my foot down over content, not the fact that the tv is on. If he has no tv at home then half hour of cbeebies every now and then is not going to hurt.

thebody · 28/11/2011 18:26

this is why I made sure that my dd(12) has a tv in her room so if she wants to chill out after school away from littlies she can.

also an 8 month old is far too young to be watching tv imo

what crap my dd watches, , cribs, fat teens, fat families, and friends isnt suitable for toddlers.

cant she put him in a high chair with her in the kitchen while she cooks or on a rug with some bricks if he isnt crawling all over the place,difficult to say when not sure of the house layout and how much space she has for the children.

i think she should be definatly be listening to your concerns, after all they arnt going to be watching ceebeebies are they?

nannynick · 28/11/2011 18:44

She is not your employee so does not need to do as you say. However she should be working in partnership with parents and thus should consider your concerns.

You don't mention any other mindees - if they are not currently minding any other children then I cannot see why her own teenagers can't watch tv in their room, or whereever they have other access to it.

Other minded children however will be more of an issue, as your childminder has to consider each child and their parents requests/concerns so having cbeebies on in the same room as which your child is playing may not be avoided.

Original poster

Harriet81 · 28/11/2011 18:48

Thank you 'thebody', I feel like I have been being overly parranoid but it really converned me when I saw him sat straight in front of the TV. He isn't crawling or moving about much so he would have had to have been deliberatly sat there by someone.

There is another livingroom with a tv that her daughters could go to which is actually their 'family' room. She and I do get on well so I may have a chat with her and see if there is any alternitive for him for that time of day.

Thanks again H

OP posts:

Original poster

Harriet81 · 28/11/2011 18:51

Thanks also Nannynick,
There are a couple of other children so I will certainly take this into account too when I chat to her

OP posts:

xoxcherylxox · 28/11/2011 23:48

I think if ur child isn't crawling she could play him at the other end if the room. As much as she has ti Wrk with you it is her daughters home. My partner is off 2 days while I'm wrking and often has sky news channel on most of the day or sometimes ps3.I know thts there's no way I would be able to tellhim to spend the DAT in bedroom. Watching tv anf expect him ti actually agree. At 8 months. Baby is unaware to understand what is on it whether age appropriate or not.

thebody · 29/11/2011 10:14

yeah it is my home, understand last post, but if you set up a business as a cm then its going to be disruptive to your family(as it would be if you went out to work away from the home)

if family cant accept this then you shouldnt be offering services as a cm.

I wouldnt be happy taking parents money and plonking children in front of the tele at 8 months old its not on.

my dd has to make compromises and I explain that she gets the benefit of my working from home so has to make consessions.

I dont think that sky news on all the time is right tbh, its in your face and often distressing, even if baby cant understand its unnecessary and yes tbh i think your partner shouldnt have it on.

we arnt babysitters but should be professionals offering excellent quality child care and running professional businesses.

PositiveOutlook · 29/11/2011 13:16

It's not really acceptable to sit an 8mo in front if the tv regardless of what's on. At that age they area so easily stimulated and tv isn't appropriate.

Although I don't generally have the tv on during the day, I do watch the news in the morning and I let my dd watch cartoons in the morning before school (as long as she is washed and dressed and ready to go), this means that the tv is on when my mindees arrive. One of my mindees leaves after lunch and once he has gone I put the other little ones down for their naps. Between lunch and my mindee being collected I sometimes put cbeebies on for a little down time which meant that the tv was on when mindee arrived and also when he was collected, his mum raised her concern about this with me and I assured her the tv was not on all the time and she was fine with this (she did turn up 'early' one day but we were all having lunch and of course the tv was off, I didn't mind).

Raise your concern with your cm but as you said, at 8mo your lo didn't sit himself in front of the tv. I would monitor the situation closely.

mrsthomsontobe · 29/11/2011 15:55

oh no i would never sit an 8 month old infront of a tv but may have it on in background if my daughter is watching it after school but me and mindeed children would be busy playing at the back of livingroom and not bothering with tv. tv on for short periods throughout the day i would say is ok but not all day. just now am on maternity leave and have noticed that my tv is on all day but im not watching it i just seem to put music channel on then go tidy up or sit on mumsnet for a bit or do whatever needs doing. its not usually till my daughter is in from school that cartoons go on.

OrwellianNightmare · 03/12/2011 11:07

Not appropriate at that age and I wouldn't be happy either. I don't think you're being precious! You need to be direct about this though - without telling her off - more along the lines of a conversation about how you could make it work together...

If he's not mobile yet it sounds like he could be in a highchair, bouncy chair, walker, sat on a rug with toys somewhere out of the line of the TV instead (even if it is in the same room).

ChitChattingElf · 03/12/2011 21:22

cheryl - really? I would really hate to leave my DC in a house where Sky News or PS3 were on all day! That would be enough to make me change childminders, TBH.

HSMM · 04/12/2011 09:07

I agree with the body. When I am minding I am at work. I have been minding since DD was a baby and now she's at secondary school. If she wants friends or TV, they go somewhere else in the house. She has moaned on and off over the years, but it hasn't been a problem. TV is on occasionally for mindees, but not for babies.

BranchingOut · 04/12/2011 22:16

I am rather shocked that anyone has come onto the thread thinking that it is ok, especially other childminders. Yes, her daughters may need to unwind after school but they should do that in another room if it involves watching tv.

Shouldn't the CM be playing with the baby? Reading? Singing? Sitting face to face and using a toy or activity? Point her to the Talk to your baby website for some resources on developing speech and language in babies.

Just another perspective, but in the US the guidelines from the American Academy of Paediatrics are that under-twos should watch no television at all.

Sarah46uk · 12/12/2011 21:56

OMG is all i can say at all this!

Sarah46uk · 12/12/2011 22:19

I am now a little too tired to comment on all of this, as a CM I started work at 6.30am & finished at 6.50pm with no lunch hrs or tea breaks, but I will try... I am Childminder of 21yrs & in childcare 28yrs. I do have a TV on now & again through the day, only age appropriate. Children should not hear or see anything that isn?t suitable. I have a 21yr old son & 16yrs old daughter neither can watch anything as it wouldn?t be appropriate. So they have their telly's that they have their ps3 on in their rooms & they can watch what they need when they want. They have moaned at this a little over the yrs but I say it would be harder if I went out to work on them.
The CM should be playing with your child but you can?t be face to face all day! It wouldn?t be good for the child!
What does the CM do with your child in the day?
I?m sure he will be fine, if the rest of her setting is good & your child is happy & developing I wouldn?t worry too much.
It is very difficult if you have different values from the CM u use.

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