How much screen time is 'acceptable'?

[Bellabon]

Just as the title says - I'm curious as to how much screen time your LO's have per day? Just to add - my DS is to 14 months - I would say he has 1hr30mins a day which I personally think is too much - (I am changing this from today and trying to think of other things to do with him which is hard with the weather!).
But just curious do you agree this is too much? And honestly how many hours do your LO's have the TV on?
All honest answers are welcome please

Was going to say not all screen time is created equal. But 14 months is young.

BUT we are all hypocrites one way or another and my 2 older kids (now 7 and 5) certainly had screens at that age. My 9 month old maybe has an ep of Baby Club or Teletubbies every other day, but the telly is on lots with other things. I am really going to make an effort to not get into too much screen time too early for her.

Oh, probably too much but in line with everyone else I know to be honest - and all our children seem to be developing normally.

I don’t allow watching things on phones or tablets but we do watch CBeebies morning and evening. No cocomelon though, I hate it.

Haha cocomelon is indeed awful!
When I say screen time I mean just TV on with kids stuff. Not phone or tablet etc. But yes I still think this is too much!

We watch things together on Disney+ at the weekend, mornings before school we don’t have the tv on as it makes us late, and in the evenings after school/before tea they may have 40mins. I usually put one of the animated Julia Donaldson books, or a programme like Inside the Zoo, they also quite like Strictly.

Mine are 4 &8 now but even when they were younger they never ever watched Cocomelon, Peppa, Little Baby Bum, Baby Shark, nothing weird on YouTube either. Preferably no advertisements so channel 5 is out also. Typing that out I realise how controlling it sounds…🫣

No I don't think that sounds controlling at all. I wish I had never put them on to be honest! I suffered badly with PND and whilst not an excuse I did what I could to get through it

@Bellabon I’ve been there- you absolutely do what you need to to get through!

I also don't believe all screen time is bad.

I believe that a parent has to do what is right for them and their family.

My two were 3 and 1 when the first lock down hit. They watched a lot of CBeebies during that time. No guilt at all.

My eldest was 2 when my youngest was born. During those early days he watched a lot of CBeebies while I adjusted to having two. No guilt at all.

My eldest went through a phase of being into rocket launches. We watched loads on YouTube as he was unlikely to see one in real life. No guilt at all.

We watch CBeebies every school morning during breakfast. It helps the kids mark the passage of time. Breakfast during second Bluey, going out wees after Peter Rabbit. No guilt at all.

My youngest is keen to learn French (she's 3) so we watch Caillou in the original language. Added plus that it's main character is like daddy and has alopecia. No guilt at all.

We spend some winter weekend afternoons watching a film together as a family. No guilt at all.

The kids love Strictly so we let them stay up to watch that. No guilt at all.

They've got into Spidey and his Amazing Friends (thank you CBeebies ... not) I hate that programme and try to limit that one... it's not working too well.

@EarlyYearsMe Thank you 😊 I think I am pretty much through the worst of it, hence me now trying to be more proactive in making healthier decisions for my son! I just get a lot of mum guilt

At that age, DD had TV on while I got ready for work and again, maybe CBeebies for half an hour while I cooked dinner for myself -she’d usually be busying herself with something else at the same time though, so it was more of a background thing. As she got older, she learned lots from numberblocks and similar, it’s not all bad

She didn’t use electronic devices until much older (not that we were super strict, we just didn’t really have any suitable devices)

You’re doing ok 🌸

I never had a limit. That's not to say mine were sat in front of screens all day. Far from it. We always had lots of fresh air and exercise and did many different activities within the house. In that context, I felt watching a film or Cbeebies was absolutely fine.

I'm not anti screen time at all but I think 1.5 hours a day at 14 months is a bit excessive. Our daughter is 16 months and if she does watch any it will be 10-15 minutes once in the day. I think everyone is different with their views on this though, so I don't think you will get a consensus! My personal view is they need to learn moderation from the beginning so we don't have the TV on in the background at all she doesn't watch things on our phones, and we don't have any tablets. If the TV goes on it is to watch a certain programme and then it goes off. No idea how long we'll be able to maintain this for though and well aware that once school age tablets often become unavoidable. Will cross that bridge when we get to it!

As a genuine question and not meant to be patronising, I'm not sure how you have time for her to watch 1.5 hours a day?! We always seem to be busy so if the TV does go on it will be for 10 mins while I prep tea or lunch?

At 14 months, with no older siblings, I would say no screen time at all would be ideal. I'd try to get it as close to that as possible.

BUT, sometimes you need screen time! Often if you or they are ill and for those times go for it and don't feel bad! But I would have it as an emergency tool to bring out and not part of a daily schedule.

At a year, my eldest wasn't even interested in the TV, and only did things on the ipad with us, like the games where you touch the screen and fireworks go off.

His younger sibling was more interested, but still preferred real toys (ideally his brothers ones of course)

HAVING SAID THAT - once they got their own ipads at about 3, screentime was largely unlimited, in that I didn't police it, but, it was gone before bedtime, it was gone at mealtimes, or at any other time I asked for it to be gone - and if there was any fuss about it going, then it was gone for a day (barely had to do that, I'm lucky that my kids are quite reasonable in that way)

(I'll add they got their own ipads when we were about to do a massive long journey and needed to be able to keep them occupied during it, and this seemed like a sensible solution)

Superman my days half an hour a day and we are conservative about screen time but still more than this! Our DS has TV in the morning before school and sometimes (maybe often) after school too. What we don't do is screens that are not the tv so no phones or iPads. If we are out somewhere then he just has to behave!

Mine had about 1.5hrs at that stage too.
They loved tv so I took advantage of it and would put something on and be able to quickly get on with some chores.
It just made things less stressful then I could do all the 'wholesome' stuff like taking them out and reading books being fairly relaxed and with pleasure.
As they got a bit older, they loved watching animal and science documentaries (and all the Disney and superhero stuff too) so I don't think it's bad at all.
I kept them away from YouTube and gaming though.

@MGee123 I've always struggled on what to do with him during the day. So he's up from 6.30-6.30/7pm every day with the except of 1 nap now which is between 1.5 to 2hrs long.
So I have about 10 hours of time each day to fill and I honestly just don't know what to do with it. We go out everyday, usually twice a day for walks and fresh air etc. My house is tiny so any housework takes no time at all. I prepare 3 meals a day for him but still have hours and hours with almost nothing to do.
I literally always think 'what do people do all day with their toddlers'. I honestly don't know. He does spend time with his cousins but he does need to spend more time with other children so I must take him to more classes/groups etc

To put it in context - my DD is now a teenager. I can't remember how much screen time she had. TV was on every day at some point, but there were toys out too and sometimes it was just a bit of background noise. She enjoyed programmes like 'show me' and 'octonaughts' - we didn't have iPads or portable screens. She got a fire tablet when she was 8 or 9 and used it briefly. No phone until high school.
She reads a lot, draws a lot, spends hours on games and yet is still a model pupil on course for good results, polite and articulate.
Screen time isn't necessarily evil and can be really helpful, just make sure you mix it up with other activities and human interaction too. A film on a damp day or some funny clips on YouTube is fine.

Neither of my two would sit to look at the TV for more than 2 minutes until about 18 months which was both handy and really annoying when you need to get stuff done. DD1 is 5 and on weekdays probably has 1-1.5 hours, bit more at weekends. DD2 has more at the same age because of her sister but really isn't that interested still so she'll just potter and play with toys or hang out with me while I cook/do chores

At that age they were far more interested in looking through cupboards that TV. As for stuff to do, toddler groups and classes, swimming, rhyme time or story time at the library, park, going to the shops, "soft play" with the sofa cushions.

Which is why during lockdown mine watched a lot of TV.

Without school or nursery we were stuck at home all day.

We did an hour out each morning as per our allowance. We had an hour or so in our small garden in the afternoon.

Youngest was 13/14 months and couldn't walk so not a lot to do outside.

They had free range to play with toys as they wanted inside. There were loads of activities we could do, but by the time I'd set them up for 5 mins of entertainment and then the clear up. That was for nursery lol.

He's doing a trip out most days, Chuck in a class or two to round it out a bit. Then it's fine if the TV is on at home.

Same in our house. We always get out somewhere, fresh air and exercise. Some days the tv doesn’t go on at all other days I’ll let my 3 year old sit and watch it all afternoon. It all balances out I’m sure.

My 17 month old isn’t interested in it yet!

I don’t think an hour/ an hour and a half over the whole day is crazy. The poster who said 10 mins is incredibly low based on the people I know.
DD is 18 months and probably watches about 30/45 minutes in the week. She will have something on after her breakfast in the morning while we get ready to leave the house and then we do something like mr tumble nursery rhymes together after the bath in the evening and she’s picking up all the actions.
On the weekend she might have an extra hour in the afternoon if it’s bad weather, this is just in the background while we play.

I genuinely wasn't criticising so hope it didn't come across like this and apologies if it did. Your schedule is pretty similar to ours really. I find by the time she's up, dressed, played for a bit, had breakfast and we've been out, it's then time for lunch and nap. Then after her nap we usually go out again and by the time we get home it's nearly tea time. Then after tea we play for half an hour and it's bathtime, bedtime etc. the playing time is probably only ever max 30 mins at a time and she will sometimes entertain herself for a bit. We rotate her toys to stop her getting bored of them and alternate between playing in her bedroom and playing downstairs. Activities like reading, colouring, 'helping with cooking' or 'helping with cleaning' are all quite good for occupying time and/or allowing you to get on a bit. I suppose going out twice a day makes a difference perhaps as well?