TV at nursery

[tomps]

Do you think that watching an hour or so of tv at nursery every day can be justified when there are paid staff watching who could easily be leading a singalong or reading stories or just encouraging the kids to have a lie down and relax if necessary ? I don't, so I'm going to complain, but I'd appreciate your views.

Same here.

I teach secondary and only now looking for a nursery have I glimpsed at the world 3 yr olds. I was scared and don't know how the staff do it! I wanted to make them all sit down so I could pass out glue sticks!

Yes, television has educational value even in a nursery. A lot of parents plonk their children in front of the telly and never use it as a tool to provoke discussion. Nursery may be the only place many children - including some of our MNers - ever use telly as a stimulus for conversation. Lighten UP! That is why you need to make it your business to ask the nursery how and if the children watch telly.

Thank you and well said

Message withdrawn

Still don't see why they'd need TV to relax - children's TV is designed to by hyper and adults' TV, though designed to be soporific, isn't appropriate. What's wrong with 1 person reading a story with some music on in the background. That's what my kids' nursery does.

As said before we do that too

Is all television for children hyper? Not from my limited observations. I have seen very clever children's television that even I have watched willingly - and it wasn't for the storyline. Do the children live in a multimedia environment? What the nursery chooses for them to watch may be infinitely better than what some parents undoubtedly choose. It is a method of telling a story, just like a book is - and I love books a helluva lot more than television.

Is all television for children hyper? Not from my limited observations. I have seen very clever children's television that even I have watched willingly - and it wasn't for the storyline. Do the children live in a multimedia environment? What the nursery chooses for them to watch may be infinitely better than what some parents undoubtedly choose. It is a method of telling a story, just like a book is - and I love books a helluva lot more than television.

maybe the television you watch is hyper but not the TV I put on for my children. In my house I limit and monitor TV but I don't exclude it. Some TV does make them Hyper but not all and selection and discussion make the TV a useful tool.

PS. Prior to half team we were talking about builders and used a time to watch short bits of Bob the Builder and the work the characters do? It linked the story with the topic in a way the children could relate to, was educational and none of our children were hyper after the experience. If fact some children who are normally more reluctant or able were able to contribute more because they felt it was a topic they felt they knew about. This is how we use the TV in our nursery environment.

I just don't want to pay 700 pounds a month for my child to watch tv. Of course they need time to relax, but story-time is relaxing and so is doing activities like arts and craft. Not so stressful.

my ds is 3 & goes to nursery 2 days a week. he does long days, 8:30-5. when i pick him up there are only a few children left & they are quite often watching a video. they all have a lovely relaxed time, lots of cuddles with the staff. i am more than happy with the nursery, it's an early excellence centre which often has visits from government ministers, & don't have a problem at all with 20 minutes of chilling out in front of a video.

Do you object to your children using the computer?

DD's new nursery doesn't have a TV at all, but her old one did. IThey would watch it together before lunch and afternoon snack. It would be an age appropriatte programme, and the staff watxched with them. It might be singing and dancing - with everyone joining in, or it might be somehow educational, with the teachers stopping it every so often to talk about something and doing a little Q&A session.

TV can be a fantastic educational tool, along with computers, books, interactive games, etc...

TV does not have to be something bad.

Message withdrawn

I work in a nusery and we do use the TV for quiet times after lunch and at the end of the day. it is only on for 15- 20 minutes at a time and at least one member of staff sits with them. They either watch C beebies or a suitable video ( well part of a video as ther is not time to watch a whole one in that time). The children often bring them in from home and will ask to watch their video.

'I just don't want to pay 700 pounds a month for my child to watch tv. Of course they need time to relax, but story-time is relaxing and so is doing activities like arts and craft. Not so stressful.'

Arts and crafts are very stressful and difficult and while they are doing they are concentrating hard and thinking about what they doing. If I did that all day my head would hurt. Also if you have 1 nursery nurse to 8 children (the OFSTED ratio for 3-5yrs) if you have an activity for 5 possibly the other children are milling about (not relaxing/resting).

I think this thread has shown me that TV is demonised and that the work of childcarers is completely unappreciated by some parents. I work with children because I love it. I love the successes and working to get those achievements. I love my job so much that when my son was 6 months I went back to work and because the nursery I worked in would not allow me to enrol him in the same place he had to go elsewhere. Which was very inconvient. Parents who work with children (this includes teachers and all other childcare workers) get a rough deal when talking about work conditions relating to being a parent. You are expected to work long hours, often your children cannot attend where you work, if they do you have to pay a much as everybody else (no perks there), your professionalism is always called in to question to a point where your children is often ignored by yourself where if was any other child you would give them the time etc. if your child is sick and you take time god help you and if you are sick them your neglecting your job. When I deputised for a nursery the paperwork was such that spent hours (on top of my working week) doing paperwork (unpaid) and neglected my family life and the hours I did work was barely above minimum wage.

I am very lucky I work in great nursery where we have 2 rooms and my 3yr old goes in the room I'm not working in. The staff are all parents themselves so very understanding and I love going to work.

I sorry to hear that some parents feel unless we are jumping up and down, stimulating the children until their growing brains cant stop that we are not doing our job. I think it shows a complete lack of understanding of the work of childcarers and the committment we have to have to remain in the job.

Rant over

'Arts and crafts are very stressful and difficult and while they are doing they are concentrating hard and thinking about what they doing. If I did that all day my head would hurt. Also if you have 1 nursery nurse to 8 children (the OFSTED ratio for 3-5yrs) if you have an activity for 5 possibly the other children are milling about (not relaxing/resting)'

Sorry I meant can be, not necessarily.

Message withdrawn

I havent read the rest of the thread but I dont think it can be justified. Did you know this when you chose the nursery?
We avoided nurseries which showed TV and chose one without.

I think TV in moderation as part of a nursery session is not out of order. They watch it at school too! It can be very educational. Think moderation and emphasis on learning are the keys things to check for.

SJ x

Yes, but is an hour a day moderation? I think the odd 10 or 20 minutes is fine. I wouldnt have dd watching tv for an hour at a time at home.

No you're right I think an hour for pre-school children is a bit much. Sorry, I missed that bit.

Hercules, I think you should read more of the thread.

Television is a tool that childcarers can use very effectively - even in a nursery. I have outlined a couple instances below which may not have occured to people who don't teach.

I find that some parents think that teaching (and childcare) is easy. Judging by some downright rude letters I have received from very intelligent professionals, many think that we went into teaching or childcare because we can do nothing else. They inadvertently (and many times deliberately) pass on their negative attitude to their children who bring it to the classroom.

Well said that woman.

I am a teacher alux and I dont put tv on for an hour for teenagers at school so wouldnt expect my 3 year old to watch it for that long either.