be honest - how much TV does your toddler watch?

[milkyman]

My ds is 18mth and sometimes its 1.5hrs overall on bad days! Usually postman pat dvd and cbeebies. Feel sooo guilty!

Nice to know sarinka that my ds has a future of being excluded and pitied by delightful TV watching children.

Bingo!

My DD asks for 'Jeremy' In my defence, I am at work full time, and it is her dad that subjects her to that!

As for not having a TV, we didn't have one when I was growing up, and I do feel I missed out on bonding experiences with my peers. They would be talking about what they watched last night, and I could never join in. I was the pitied one

amelia, if it makes you feel any better then DS had a stupid plastic cat toy that he named foxybingo.com when he was about 18mo, that was when his father lived with us!

Up until he was 2 my DS barely watched any TV, maybe 20 minutes now and again but nothing regular because it just didn't interest him. I'm not a big TV person myself but would listen to the radio / podcasts sometimes.

Now that he is 2.5 and I'm expecting DC2 though that has changed! He is interested in his own shows now, mostly 2 cartoons with characters that he likes and also has iPad games that he likes to play.

I try to limit him to 1 hour per day of TV and only between 5-6pm when I'm cooking dinner. When he is sick or has skipped his nap and is cranky it's probably more. iPad varies and I am less strict about time limits with that as the games he plays are brilliant, very interactive and educational. He has improved his vocabulary with them and is recognizing letters of the alphabet now and so on.

I think screen time can be beneficial as long as it's balanced with lots of outdoor stuff and creative activities.

An hour on the laptop per day, either Thomas or Trumpton. DS1 is nearly three, and saw no TV until he was two. But then along came DS2 and I need that half hour in the morning of quiet to get us moving, and half an hour in the evening while I juggle breastfeeding DS2 with cooking dinner for DS1 etc.

DS watches 20 minutes of Thomas and 20 minutes of something else, by himself. Most days we will watch something as a family, eg Doctor Who. Occasionally we will watch a film.

At his dad's though, they watch so much more. They get up and put the telly on straight away, and keep it playing in the background... in two rooms...

Most days - zero (honestly). DS is 18 months. It will change a lot though when DC2 arrives in a few months, I'm certain

On whingey days when I need to get dinner DONE so I can get the cranky toddler beast fed and put to bed - like yesterday! - 4 episodes of Peppa Pig in a row! It the only thing that will actually maintain his interest on TV/computer, for some reason?! Peppa Pig witchcraft....

See, now I feel a bit abnormal in that my 22 month old ds doesn't watch any TV, and hasn't ever done so.

DD1 didn't watch any TV at that point, PFB you see. We started introducing regular TV when she stopped wanting to nap after lunch, I would put the TV on and she usually fell asleep on the sofa and then gradually started staying awake for longer and longer. DS (DC3) has always been exposed to TV because his sisters are watching it. It's like chocolate, you delay your first born doing all these things and then the younger ones get exposed much earlier.

The 'not being able to take part in conversations in the playground' I think won't be the same as it was for my generation. We all watched the same thing because there was only one thing to watch, now different kids will watch different channels at different times. The DDs seem to have no trouble playing games with their friends based on TV shows or films they haven't seen.

Hardly any here either. He is only 19 months though. I don't watch much tv (no linear tv) and hate it on in the day so that's why. I like having music on or the radio.
However the couple of times I have put it on, I can see it is like magic. He just stops everything and is engrossed. So I reckon when naptime finally goes, I might be changing my mind about having the tv on in the day. I am also looking forward to being able to watch all my favourite kids films with him when he is older.

2 year old watches occassional peppa pig - maybe once or twice a week while I get stuff done close to bed time. But she loves youtube for the songs and the ipad in general. Total screen time probably would average out at about 15 minutes a day.

My living room tv is on Disney Junior all day.. TV in the kitchen on random TV all day. I hate silence and it masks the sounds of the dog barking or outside noise that might wake DD2 up if she's napping (11 months)

DD1 watches TV all day, essentially. But we also play, go out to loads of activities and see friends. She's pretty smart and well rounded.

I don't understand people who's children get to 2 even and don't watch TV. 1) is your house silent?? And 2) how do you fill time??

CuriousGeorgie, yes sometimes the house is quiet, like now for example as it happens. Other times I have the radio on, or play music.

We fill the time by going out and doing outside activities (as simple as pottering round the garden), playing with toys, reading books, etc etc. My ds will play with his toys (particularly the "let's pretend" type stuff eg toy oven, cooking equipment) on his own quite happily as well.

Didn't really watch anything until around 18 months, now probably 1-2 hours a day (DS now 2.3). I am very picky about what he watches though, I try and keep it 'low octane' so Peppa Pig, ITNG, Tractor Ted. I don't like whizzy noisy programmes like Chuggington/Mike the Knight for under 3's they're just too much.

Totally honest answer? When she was a toddler she watch a lot, and while it hasn't doomed her, I don't think it's been good for her either. She is bright, lovely and has plenty of skills, but I recognise now that when she's watched too much her attention is all over the place, she's moody and can't settle to playing so easily. We've always read lots, she always has access to drawing materials and some great toys, and an adult is always available to chat or help with something. But still, there was too much telly.

With hindsight I was a bit depressed when she was a toddler (my parents divorced when she was born and soon after we relocated a hundred miles from 'home', it was a really tough few years) and stuck the telly on as a way to keep her happy while I sat on the sofa sulking...

Luckily for me, she is now 4 and moving away from it of her own accord. We have it on for half an hour in the morning and she may veg out a bit at the end of the day if she's tired, or we put a film on to watch together, but some days it's just that morning half hour and that's a big improvement.

I'd rather have her watch too much TV than have me shouting at her all the time. But I still wish I'd done better. :(

This interests me as we have recently changed our routine quite a lot.

Up until about 2 weeks ago, my kids (5 and nearly 4... I have a just 2 year old as well but he doesn't really watch in the same way the older girls do) watched about half an hour in the morning before nursery, and then maybe another hour before bed. On the weekends it could be anything up to 4 or 5 hours a day, given the girls get up at 5:30 some mornings, and so it was 3 hours by breakfast time! And then we would watch a movie later on in the day and then another half hour before bed etc...

And then my husband read "raising girls" by Biddulph and it all changed.

They now watch maybe 30 mins before bed during the week (and sometimes not even that), and one film on the Sat and one on the Sunday whilst the youngest is napping.

My eldest is tantrumming like a bugger at the moment and I can't work out if the ban of TV has caused it or whether we are genuinely happier as a family now we don't have Mordecai and Rigby bleeting in our ears all day...

Will let you know how we get on...

I don't like DD to be sat in front of the TV on her own, and only do it - CBeebies - when I absolutely desperately have to get something done that I can't have her involved in, and then it is off again as soon as possible.

On the other hand, I am keen for her to watch movies 'properly' (which to me means full attention and quiet) and we do this together and talk about what we watch.

She does watch about 20 minutes of CBeebies, with me, in the morning. And we watch Big Bang Theory together after her dinner, before storytime and pjs.

I think the key is talking to them about what they see and making it a mentally active and a social activity, rather than a passive and antisocial activity.

I will not be letting her have a tv in her room, or gaming systems, or her own 'screens'...not for a long, long time.

I don't understand people who's children get to 2 even and don't watch TV. 1) is your house silent?? And 2) how do you fill time??

DD didn't watch when she was under two, apart from some music videos/singalong type things, and it wasn't a difficulty. I just listened to my music. We filled time by getting out of the house, mostly!

Same here brdgrl - up until 2 we were out of the house a lot and went to a lot of playgroups. I hate those bloody things now and never go anymore, since he's old enough to meet friends at the park and just play so no need to sit in a circle with a forced smile, trying to make him join in doing the actions to stupid songs while wishing I was a million miles away!

DS just wasn't interested in TV prior to 2, maybe 20 months at the youngest. It never held his attention much so it just annoyed me to have it on as I like a quiet house.

A little bit of tv is ok - an hour a day when you are busy. It's better and more educational than it was in the past, if you choose wisely! However, it's a pretty passive activity and not something children should be encouraged to do, when they are at the very active learning stage. Giving them some lego/duplo/playdough/books/puppets will keep them busy and help develop lots of skills that tv can't give them. Children need to be DOING not watching. This will make them independent learners and help with their concentration. This will be invaluable for their academic future.

Basically it's lazy parenting. You can't say you are staying at home to do a really good job of bringing up your children then say you worry about how much tv they are watching! You know for a fact you are sticking them in front of the tv too much, just by asking the question! It is generally bad for a child's development to be passively watching, not doing. Do what you can to give them making and doing experiences. They only have one childhood and developmental phase.

We watch about an hour in the morning while we come round, the same after nap time and the same at bedtime.. So three hours on a normal day. A bad day would get more obviously.

He goes to nursery one day a week and they often watch one programme while the staff clean up after tea... And I assume they are all exhausted.