Be honest - how much tv do they watch?

[bonkersplonkers]

As the title says - how much tv/ipad/phones do your kids watch and what ages are they? My two are 2 and 6 and they watch about 2- 2.5 hours per day 😑
Is this really awful?

DCs 5 and 1. We don't have a TV so no TV time. Fire tablet is locked to use only for homework apps, 5yo can use it for 30 mins a day for homework only. Very occasionally (few times a month) allow them to watch a relevant video on my phone (showing them a specific song etc). But I need to access my phone so I don't leave it with them. We allow unlimited tablet use on long journeys (holidays a few times a year).

DCs are happy to play and explore while I cook etc. I do lots of prep and other chores while they sleep, including slow cooker dinners that I just put on in the morning, so I don't need to worry about keeping them occupied.

It’s been an ongoing struggle here since DS was about 18 months. Before that, his night sleep was terrible. Implemented gentle sleep training and worked brilliantly except while he slept through, he woke religiously before 6 and often between 5-530. And so he’d watch Mr Tumble’s Nursery Rhymes which didn’t seem too bad, and CBeebies stuff and that seemed benign enough. He no longer wakes at 530 but he does have a baby sister and I do use the TV when she demands my attention which is too frequently. We’re generally better out of the house otherwise the TV ends up on.

My 1 year old gets 30 - 40 minutes top, but ideally I try to keep it closer to 20. My 3 year old gets 40 minutes most days. But I have my hang ups because my 3 year old when 1-2.5 watched a hell of a lot, after lockdown I just had no idea how to parent socially and she was tough to parent at this age, and loved nursery rhymes! She’s creative, imaginative and plays well independently so I do think it’s probably just fine. So many other factors contribute to good outcomes.

5&6, 40–50 minutes per day (they choose one episode each, so 20–25 minutes each episode). I sometimes don’t get much done around the house while they are awake but I don’t care. 40 minutes is enough to cook while doing the dishwasher and putting a wash on.
They have a yoto player they can put on as much as they want.

3 year old asked to watch TV at 10:30am. Firmly said no and used the reason that it was 'too early'. He seems to just ask for it when he's briefly not sure what to do next. He watched TV for a half hour at 5pm while dinner was being cooked and then two Peppa's having his teeth brushed for bed.

7 year old didn't watch a thing and enjoys reading during his down time. Trying to push out phones/tablets/gaming for as long as humanly possible, he's great at using his imagination and pretend play.

Occasionally when we have shit to do we'll stick on a movie for an hour and a half.

For us, TV seems to have too great an effect on their moods, and it's just not worth the hassle.

If you want them to sit at the table at meal times, sit with them and talk to them.

Yes, you haven’t got enough time to do everything you need to do. But this is an opportunity for a really nice moment together each day.

There’s something really sad to me about children parked in front of a screen while they eat their meal.

On weekend days my two (8 and 5) definitely have 2-3 hours easily - they don’t have TV on weekday mornings but on weekends they’re allowed to have Milkshake, CBBC etc on for an hour in their PJs. Saturday night we often watch a film as a family so that’s probably another 1.5 hours. DS1 also has a Switch which he’s only allowed to play on weekends. He has ADHD and I do feel the Switch helps regulate him sometimes, but also he does A LOT of sport and organised activities through the week, so on week nights he probably watches an absolute maximum of an hour of TV, I feel with that and school he should be allowed to relax in between.

DS2 doesn’t do sports clubs in the week but he goes to bed earlier, so weekdays it probably is limited to 1-2 hours maximum.

If it’s making you feel guilty but you’re struggling to reduce it, maybe have a think about what they’re watching - my DC watch rubbish sometimes, or DS2 will watch the same film on repeat, so I’ve been trying to steer them towards stuff from iPlayer mainly. DS2 will watch several episodes of Bluey back to back which I feel like has good messages and isn’t just trash like some of the cartoons my two find on Netflix!

DC are 5 and 2 and have no screen time Monday to Friday.

At the weekend the 5 year old watches TV an hour or two while the 2 year old naps so that's my me time to relax or get stuff done.

They are pretty easy though and if they weren't I'd be happy to resort to more screentime. My 2 rules were just no screen time in the morning as I didn't want to have a fight to get them to get ready, and no screen during meals. Anything else would have been fair game.

6 & 3.
15-20 minutes in the morning while I prep breakfast and sort bags out
20-40 minutes at 5.30ish while I prep dinner
3yo has a quick 20 mins on the days we're off together while I make lunch
They have more in the mornings at weekends because we don't need to be ready by 8.15am.

They only watch cbeebies or milkshake in the mornings and then they pick something between them for their later session. 6yo usually has a hour max of game time a week on the tablet or PC. The only time they watch anything on YouTube is when I'm cutting their nails!

From the timings you’ve given, it seems as though they are basically watching screens almost the whole of the short time they have at home on weekdays?

I would say there is a place for a bit of screen time in the evening. They will be exhausted after a long day at school/nursery where they will have been on best behaviour.

I think the morning screen time has no benefit (from their point of view).

Are they capable of pottering around and entertaining themselves?

Also, the 6 year old does not need to be in the same room as you, supervised, the whole time.

Absolutely loads.
A half of their waking time probably.
Sometime more sometimes less. 3 & 7.
Both independently and with adult help.
Not much passive TV watching.
Lots of watching run throughs/how to of games, mainly used for collaborative game play either within the family or online with friends via voice chat, online classes and game groups, learning apps, annotate pdfs rather than printing, love those brain break vids on YouTube, researching whatever random question we’ve come up with, camera use, learning how to use a computer like word processing and spreadsheets, use tablets to choose and play music (not sure that counts).

They also do plenty of other things too and get out a lot.

DD is 6 and it really depends so much on the day and the weather! In summer she watches very little because she’s outside on her scooter or bike or whatever. In winter when the weather is crap she will watch more. That said between clubs and homework during the week it’s probably an hour or less. Weekends more if we don’t have too many plans.

mine (teenagers) are on them pretty much all day tbh.

Not TV.. tablets/computers/gaming consoles.

DD is doing art gcse, so also uses her tablet for drawing/artwork.

They watch a lot of videos. DS has ASD and uses his computer/console for gaming and keeping in touch with friends as they're always playing co-op stuff or playing around with some coding he's learning.

It's not mindless for either of them, there is purpose.. but i'd be a hypocrite if i said anything as i'm on them all day too. Forums, talking to friends, doing work/answering emails, playing games, learning about stuff. getting the news.

Its not the watching that is the issue in this day and age. its WHAT they're watching that counts.