TV time 20 month old….realistically what’s the norm?!

[Shleepymummy]

I’ve put tv time as opposed to screen time just because my 20 month old doesn’t have a tablet etc. But she loves Peppa Pig and asks for it, which makes me think maybe we let her have too much tv time? They say if you HAVE to use screens, 1 hour a day max. I would say she has more like 2 hours a day, spread out in intervals from 07am-6pm 40 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins etc.
Realistically, what do other parents do? I use it when I’m cooking dinner to give me 2 hands, in the morning when I’m trying to get myself up and sorted and sometimes in the day if I’m knackered and just need 15 mins to sit.
Thoughts? And if others do 1 hour or less….how?! My toddler won’t sit and do a puzzle, she will play independently for a 5 mins but not long. Arts and crafts don’t work, she just wants to throw crayons, draw on herself with pen. Nothing lasts long in terms of distraction/entertainment!
Thoughts from parents who try but also have to do other stuff like housework, work, general adult duties!

If everyone is so convinced a few hours doesn’t matter, why do you think the recommendations are so much lower?

That sounds pretty similar to what DD watched at that age, although a bit less on nursery days. We used to watch In The Night Garden before bed and even now every time I hear the theme song I get such a strong sense memory of her little body nestled against me and the smell of her baby shampoo!

Officially tv has no benefits for kids that age (the benefit is mostly for the parents getting 20 mins of peace!) and I think that’s fine- so long as they’re doing plenty of other things like playing outside and being read stories during the day then not every minute of every day needs to be “beneficial”

Ds 19m usually has about 1.5hrs a day split into chunks. He also goes for a walk a day, even in the rain, attends a group or other activity - eg playgroup or going on a short train trip - and has plenty of time rolling around on the floor, or playing with his cars, or reading books etc. I do worry about the TV time, but the other hours in his day are busy. We watch a lot of nursery rhymes and sing along, he joins in with the actions. I know it's not ideal, but he's another child who ransacks the kitchen cupboards if I try to get him to help in the kitchen.

CBeebies is fab at bedtime but have to admit all 3 of mine loved watching it with me during the day. We played and did Mr Maker things too. Happy days.

None, very occasionally maybe 20-30 minutes. I found when I did put a show on my DH wanted more so I stopped. I'd rather they play or read books. Mine is 19m.

I think that everyone has to take all recommendations for everything and do what works for them. I think if you go massively against recommendations for absolutely everything you’re not doing the right thing for your baby but if you generally go with most recommendations but allow for flexibility for your family then that’s probably ok.

We do no screen time till 2, then maximum 1 hour a day (or 1 film) of good quality, ad free TV/games till 6. DD1 is almost 8 now and can take or leave screentime but absolutely loves books. DD2 is still under 2.

Some of these replies are so funny! We only have netflix and when mine was 2 years old, we would put some peppa on for her whenever she fancied it. Some days she sees no TV at all, some days 2 hours or even more? I'm not sure, we've never kept track of how many hours! Now she's 5 and not at all fussed about TV, it's rarely on. But if she wants to watch something, she can whenever she wants to. Just do what works for you.

How do you stop the younger one from seeing a screen if the older one is using it?

We didn't do any screens until 24 months for both. We started with CBeebies for one programme a day after that.

No tablets until COVID when they brought them home from school. No phones yet. They use a computer at the library for an hour once a week. Now 10 and 8.

Thankfully, this is the norm at their wee rural school.

DD2 (20 months) has half an hour a day because that's what her sister watches and she's just started taking in interest in watching it with her.

Mine is 19 months and mostly zero hours TV time , the exception is when she or I is ill (which tends to happen simultaneously) and I'm that case she likes the wiggles as she has their CD in the car so recognises the songs

I had a newborn when my eldest was that age so we watched a lot of tv together while I was feeding the baby, mostly the wiggles and barney but a bit of spring watch as well. My younger 2 weren't interested in the tv at all until they were about 3 or 4.

My 2 month old is watching a bit of TV 😵‍💫. The older one had nothing until 2, but the wee one is watching because it is on for the older one and the colours are interesting. I don't have the TV on during the day, but after dinner it is in for half an hour.

This thread makes me feel guilty ! Mine has too much but I’m home with her all day every day. We go out every day and do 3 play groups a week. She’ll play intermittently with her toys but inbetween she’ll start climbing and generally getting into mischief/ destroying the house.

I think very easy to not use screen time if your kid is in nursery. Much harder if they are at home (even if taken out).

also to the PP his toddler played on the floor whilst her baby napped. You obviously have 2 very easy children. No way in hell my baby would nap with the toddler around (no he won’t “get used to the noise” he is just a light sleeper) and my toddler would be climbing all over me and wouldn’t just play on the floor by herself, then exit the room quietly when the time came. I doubt very many toddlers would.

My DC are 5 and 2. We didn’t do any screen time until DC1 was 2.5, when DC2 was born. Then I introduced it when I needed the odd 20 mins here and there to deal with the baby, but it was never more than 1 hour a day. DC1 now watches an hour on Saturday and Sunday while DC2 is napping, and not at all during the week. I actually think it’s quite important for DC1 to be able to watch the stuff that her peers are interested in, but I notice if she watches more (eg in school holidays) it starts to impact her behaviour.

DC2 watched some stuff over Christmas for the first time when we put on a couple of family kids stuff. Still doesn’t watch any at all during the week and isn’t in nursery yet. There’s lots of other stuff you can do to keep them entertained. My BIL and SIL give their 2 year old their phone any time they aren’t directly interacting with her and I don’t think it’s great.

@Eatentoomanyroses I'm also a SHAM and it's prob on too much but we go to alot of classes and she helps around the house but there's only so much a 15 month old can help. It's mostly making more mess. I put hey duggee on to clean/go to the toilet. Have a shower if she woke up early. I feel guilty but I can't be everywhere. She plays as well so not like she's always glued to it. Have got into a habit of giving her my phone to watch in the car if she's crying though!

I’ve also read enough threads about nurseries having tv on at the end of the day / interactive screens / childminders occasionally putting children down to watch a film to suspect that even children in childcare sometimes watch tv!

@fruitandfibreg that's similar to me. I don’t have a car but she doesn’t like being in the pram so to get round a supermarket I need to either give her snacks or my phone to watch. Tried getting her out and encouraging her to help with the shopping but she just runs off. I can only think some people on her have more laid back, docile children