Confession - I'm a TV Mum. Help!

[freshstart4us]

I don't know whether I'm seeking condemnation or commiserations? I have an almost 4 yo DD and a 4.5 mo DS. My DD loves TV/iPad, and she gets a LOT of screen time these days. It used to be only an hour of an evening, when she is eating dinner on her own I think it's totally fine for her to have something to focus on (she eats lunch with me now I'm home without screen time and when we have early dinner together on Fridays and weekends also). But today for example I put the telly on before 10:30, when she asked although I did offer book or . So she'll have at least 2 hours before lunch and then another couple of hours this afternoon after we get back in from grocery shopping, I'm unpacking that, making dinner and then when she eats her's before DH gets in. And yesterday we did a 1.5 hour each way car journey to visit a friend in hospital and she had Charlie and Lola on loop on the whole time. She is a very well spoken and happy little kid but I just feel so guilty. DS is EBF and I'm shattered without any family or support and I just feel like I'm letting her down. Can anyone tell me that their kids had too much screen time but still turned out OK?

Youre over thinking it. It wont harm while you recover from sleepless nights. Shell be happy if you are happy. Nothing wring with down time.
I set up a table with play doh.. scissors etc in the kitchen it often brought them in.

I'm pretty chilled about screen time. I have to be honest though, that's a shed load of TV!

Having said that, during the holidays my siblings and I would mainline TV with no parental control at all. All well twenty plus years later!

Peace yes half term is my undoing. Normally she does her 3 hr nursery session in the morning, I can have good feeds with DS and then we go out after I pick her up, but he is so distractable now we are struggling to get good feeds during the day so he is eating more overnight... I'm a wreck, who can't even mainline coffee!

I don't restrict screens at all, our tv is on all the time.

Today, they watched tv while eating breakfast, then asked for paper/pencils to draw. They got bored of that after a while and they're currently rearranging the furniture it the living room, draping blankets and sheets across them and building a den

Every so often they'll stop and watch 5-10 minutes of tv (have CBeebies on so short programmes) then they'll carry on playing.

I think as long as they get outside enough, and aren't sat in front of a screen doing nothing else all day everyday it's fine.

Very over thinking it cbeebies is your best friend when it's half term, bad weather also topped off with a new baby to look after too. If she's happy healthy and safe then why worry?. Be kind to yourself if she's happy watching a cartoon and baby is asleep put the kettle on and have a little break. It's tough being a mum I'd of been lost without scooby doo to keep ds1 entertained when ds2 arrived.

When DD was small, DS watched a lot of TV. Once I was more mobile -not stuck to the sofa with my boobs out - I cut it down. But in the short term I don't think it'll hurt. This will pass.

My DD has masses of screen time - I consider it a vital part of her education about Australian mermaids She's doing well at school and is a confident, articulate child. Just relax and do what you have to do to get through the day

I don't limit screen time at all, DD1 (11) barely watches it, DD2 (5) is on her iPad all day (she has Aspergers and is not interested in anything else) and DS (2) flits between watching TV and then will play with his toys for hours. There's never any arguments or shouting about it.

My friend limits her screen time and her DC are always crying, shouting and arguing to watch it.

It really isn't the end of the world imo. My children get plenty of time outdoors and I feel like that balances it out.

Dd1 had the tv on most of the day at 3.5-4 years old. I had twin babies and she needed entertainment and I needed to survive. She's top of the class now at 7yo so not too much harm done. Relax.

I don't limit it. We do lots of other activities but tv is the only thing that keeps ds occupied while I get on with jobs. His speech is excellent and he has learnt lots from the telly!

As long as they're getting out, reading and doing some activities here and there then I think it's fine.
They learn a lot from TV and it gives you time to keep things sorted.
I get stressed if I can't get chores done so my dd watches a few hrs of TV a day too.

I don't limit it either-we have cbeebies or nick jr on most of the day. However, we also get out most days, read together, play together. I swear mind learned to count and know shapes and colours from TV!

Ds 9 has aspergers and is very hard to engage him in much other than iPad or play station. Yesterday he was upstairs from 7 in the morning to 9 at night in various screens only coming down for food. He is not going to do anything else other than scream and cry. I don't sweat it Anymore

Ds has been learning all sorts from Okido this week and I get my parenting tips from Bing!!

I don't limit TV time either, during the week when it's just me and the girls (3yo and 5month old) Cbeebies/Netflix is on most of the time when we're at home. DD1 watches it on and off through the day in between playing with her toys or play-doh, drawing, running around like a loon etc.

I do limit her tablet time to an hour a day though, simply because if we let her have free reign on that she would literally be sitting on that and doing nothing else and whilst she does get a lot out of her tablet I feel she also needs to be up and about too.

Screen time is not necessarily an issue but there is a strong correlation between time spent indoors and short-sightedness in children

Hammertofall

If you don't mind me asking, does your DC have language problems which make it hard to engage with anything else? Or is it sensory / other issues // tantrum img when he doesn't get his own way? Does he not benefit from lots of social contact? Is 7am to 9pm of screen time quite typical for him?

My DS is also ASD.