TV's at nurseries

[GroovyChic]

I've seen a good nursery for DS but the only thing I'm not to sure about is that the children watch 30-40mins of educational programmes/cartoons every afternoon. What are you views on this?

noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! why do they have to watch TV - totally inappropriate IMHO - what age are you talking about anyway? My DS goes to a nursery and there are no TVs anywhere - education at nursery age is being with other kids, playing outside etc etc not in front of a TV (I have nothing against TV per se but i do in nurseries)

30-40 mins is totally unnecessary

is that when the staff have their teabreak?

id say tens mins max but i was very pleased not to see a telly in dds' nursery/pre school

The nursery is for 2 to 5 year olds. I think 30-40 mins is a lot esp as its every afternoon. They say about 4ish som staff go home so 2 clear/clean up while 1 supervisors the 2-3 yr ols and the other supervises the 3-5yr olds.

If the children are there being active and involved in lots of exciting indoor and outdoor play all day - and some children are at nurseries from 8-6 - then I really wouldn't see any problem at all with the tv being used in a controlled way as an aid to a quiet atmosphere, especially if calming videos/dvds are put on.
I often put on something like March of the Penguins in our afternoon quiet times and find it brilliant at helping to create a calm atmosphere. It's not compulsory to watch but all the children I care for love it and ask for 'quiet time'. They like to snuggle up with their blankets and cushions and tell eachother off if someone forgets to whisper.

goose

quiet time at nursery should be story telling IMO

I have lots of story times too and they are often anything but quiet times.
Today we read a story about a train and the children all charged around doing train impressions between pages.

ive already posted on a different thread about this.
we have a tv in the dining room (split into 2 halves) this is put on for 10-15 mins max every day straight after lunch
this helps settle the stomachs to stop them charging around.
they take it in turns to choose a video and staff sit with them and talk about it
whilst this is going on 1 x staff will tidy the dining area.
this works really well for us.
i do not agree with tvs in the "rooms"
i remember couple years ago for some reason or another the tv had managed to work its way into a room whilst some work was going on in the dining room.
the times of the tv got longer and longer
i found the staff sitting the children in front of the tv for up to an hour so they could tidy up.
needless to say tv immediately removed staff reprimanded and tv put back.
so yes in small doses for benefit of children (remember some children there for 10 hours) very long day for them need some time to watch video.

I think it depends on how long the child will be spending in the nursery.
If they are there for half a day, or a few hours, then I don't think it is appropriate for them to watch television.
If they are there from 8am to 6pm, then I think it would provide a calm period during the day for them to rest.
I would imagine that the 2-4 year olds don't have a nap, so this would be an acceptable alternative.
I don't agree with doing it with all the children (irrespective of the time they spend there) just because the staffing ratio drops at that time though.

HumphreyC - I agree. I don't think I would be so bothered if my DS was going be there all day but I'm only thinking of 2 afternoons (1.30 - 5.30) a week, so that's a large chunk of his time there watching TV.

NO i wouldnt be happy with that. Kids are supposed to be their to be educated not sat infront of tv.

Jigsaws,storytime etc is much more beneficial! IMO

Mine have dinner at 4.10pm then at about 5pm, go into the surestart room where a video/dvd is put on. some watch it, the others play.
I dont mind at all tbh as its only for a maximum of 30 mins and its not going to kill them

Hello

I started a thread on this topic a couple of weeks ago. You can read the responses here .

I had exactly the same concerns that you have and I'm still agonising over it! My husband went to see the pre-school today so I'm keen to hear what he has to say about it tonight. Will report back.

I must say, I'd be less concerned if it's a day nursery rather than a pre-school. I can see that a child who's at nursery for 8-10 hours needs a bit of down time. But then my dd's down time at home doesn't consist of telly so why should it elsewhere?

Thanks every1 for your replies.

After discussing it with DH, we've decided not to send DS to this nursery. There's a discrepancy in the times when the TV is on. The lady on the phone said that the TV was only on in the afternoons but when I went to visit it was 10am and the tv was on then. I have now registered DS with another nursery.