Be honest - how much tv does your toddler actually watch?

[milkyman]

Ours has crept up during the winter - 1.5 in the morning and 1 hour in the evening

We've had it on hours every day this week as its the only thing that will stop dd crying as she's got a stinking cold!

Probably more than that. Sometimes I feel like the TV is on all day. I need to do more out of the house so the temptation isn't there.

4 year old:
Nursery days x2 - 10 to 20 minutes
Weekdays x3 - 40 minutes
Weekend x2 - 60 minutes
So, 4 hours 20 minutes a week with the odd film here and there.

I ditched the tv guilt a while ago. My older children watch a fair bit but do a lot of other stuff too. My 15 month old ds watches what would possibly be considered too much in an ideal world but I don't think it does any harm as long as there are plenty of books, activities, outside time, groups etc going on in his life too.

Loads! It goes on for twenty mins in the morning then on again for half an hour or so whilst we get ready to out. Depending on what we are doing it will be on for at least two hours in the late afternoon. Keep thinking I should start feeling guilty about it but I never get round to it.

Most days nothing. Maybe an hour on a special occasion. It helps not having a tv in the playroom so the temptation isn't there.

Having said that, ds (3) is obsessed with tv as a result although dd is not bothered (16 mo)

We've just bought our first tv today! Smug as that sounds, DC have been watching iplayer and Milkshake (Thomas!) on the enormous computer screen forever.

They watch too much. DS (2.5) likes to talk a lot about what he has seen on TV. DD (5) likes to do whatever her brother is doing.

I've dropped the guilt. I censor heavily. They both talk too much anyway. It's nice to get away from it sometimes.

Not too dissimilar to yours, OP, and I'm not best pleased either. Depending on what time he gets up, one to two hours in the morning, then 30-45 minutes in the afternoon with DM. She (and I) would infinitely prefer him to be read to during this time, but he won't have it, and, as she's disabled and can't run around with him at all, it's the only one to one time she's able to have with him. Her Peppa Pig knowledge is encyclopaedic

God, hours, the tv is always on in the background with something or other on (I hate a quiet house, radio always on in the kitchen as well) she plays while it is on, but will stop to watch certain things. All my children have watched tv (I've got older ones) without any apparent side effects. People get pretty stressed about this though, and I always get the feeling 'smug' if they don't have a tv or don't watch it. I always feel it's 'common' to have the TV on.

Interesting, my ds used to love reading books but he won't now

on weekdays, 4yo watches an hour or so of milkshake in the morning
nothing in the evening

weekends, it depends more on what's on - sometime none, sometimes loads - and we'll often watch a DVD together if not going out much.

morning TV gets me a good 30mins extra snoozing, and that is a Very Good Thing for all of us.

Our TV is always on. Sometimes he watches, sometimes he doesn't.

OP, the reading will come back. My older two are mad for reading. They don't watch TV these days, and are always upstairs reading books by 8pm!

At the risk of being judged smug, my 2.5 yr old watches no TV at home and hasn't ever. He has watched some occasionally when at his cousin's house, but it doesn't hold his interest for long.

Weekdays less than 20 minutes, if at all. He is in childcare and when he is home I don't really switch it on. But I hate background noise, it bothers me, in an almost physical way so I cannot have it on. On my day off and the weekend maybe 30 mins to 45 mins. Again I think this is not because of brilliant parenting (hah!) but because I don't deal well with background noise. We are sports fans so we will watch sport so sometimes now in the morning the Aussie Open is on- but DS who is 3 can already play a bit of tennis so he practises his strokes, ie imitates the players. We do several long haul flights a year and he is free to watch whatever he wants for all ten hours of it!

I've just started letting the kids watch one peppa week day mornings while eating (freeing me up to get ready for work in relative peace).

weekends/holidays....for our toddler maybe an hour/day on average - sometimes less and rarely more.

I have no tv guilt or rules as I think I spend enough time doing other activities for it not to be a problem. On school days the tv is switched on first thing and goes off when we leave the house. I have to beg them to watch it though as otherwise they are running around making a mess and getting in my way while I am trying to tidy up/pack bags/put washing on etc.

I do lots of activities such as playgroup, music classes, walks, swimming etc. I play with them at home for at least an hour a day too. So any time at home if they want to watch tv they do. They both have iPads and play games and watch videos on there too. They don't actually choose to watch tv that much and would rather play with me.

I actually can't imagine what children do if they don't have tv. My school aged DS is shattered after school and if he couldn't collapse on the sofa and do nothing apart from stare at a screen he would be in bits. If your children aren't watching tv are they playing all day? That sounds like a lot of effort.

Ours is always on, usually on cbeebies. I think people get way to worried about tv. It's all about balance. We go out every day until about lunchtime doing things and he gets lots of physical exercise. We all like downtime, I think limiting tv just makes it a bit more of a holy grail. By having it on in the background all the time and not very loud I think it just allows them to dib in and out of it.

Ds is 2.7 and my eldest (dd) is now 12. She was brought up with tv on all the time and is in the top sets at school and has lots of outside interests and is very outgoing.

About 2 hours a day.

DD is 5 on schooldays cbeebies in mornings with breakfast etc about an hour 7.15 h8.15 Monday and Fridays about 2 hours after school in background mostly doing craft at same time as we need to work in office, Tues, wed, Thurs in afterschool care so OK only 20 minutes Max while getting dinner, weekends it varies couple of hours in morning and 1 film later in day, at weekends gets to play games on tablet as a reward

My parents never let me watch TV so I never understood playground conversation, I am not that bothered about frozen etc but would not want DD teased because she had no idea who Elsa and anna were

Not much. I like music being on or the radio. I reckon we might put it on for 30 -60 mins 3 times a week. Always for the cbeebies bedtime hour.
I am sure that will creep up, but it's fine as it is for now. DS is only 2.3 though and doesn't really ask for it to be out on.
I have tomsay, as he doesn't have it on much, the effect when it comes on is amazing. He is lobotomised. Great if I need to do a work call!

20 mins every evening for 3yr old and just turned 5yr old. I hate it when we go to someone else's house and they have the tv on all the time!

The only way I avoided this with my dd was not having a tv in the house. I knew if I did, I would be using it too much to entertain her. Still don't have a tv, but yes computers and my toddler dgd watches way too much. Am thinking of "breaking" one of the computers as I am concerned about this.

This thread is making me feel so much better. Last time i discussed tv watching a group of Mums talked about how bad any was for them and my young toddler watched a lot

Doing better nowadays '?- some days only 20 mins. Other days 1.5 hours spread out.

I used to watch TV all the time. I always did all my homework in front of the TV. I'm an Oxbridge graduate with postgrad degrees too and a successful career. I rarely watch TV now. I realise this isn't evidence but I remind myself of it when I fret about the hours my dcs spend playing video games.