So, oh Mumsnet Jury, how much telly is ok for a 2 year old? And how much do your DCs watch, honestly?

[LittleMy34]

Our DS1 didn't watch any TV until recently (just turned two) and now he watches maximum of 45 mns a day (Charlie and Lola after tea through to the Bedtime Song on Cbeebies) unless he's ill....or I'm ill.....or it's a very bad day.....or Daddy's in charge....etc etc

So how much is too much? And how much do your DCs watch?

I think that's reasonable, LittleMy. My ds is 21 mths and watches a 'Barney' episode while I make the dinner. If I'm poorly, I sometimes stick it on early though.

bump

DS watches Teletubbies in the morning and perhaps something else when he gets home from nursery at night

he loves Big Cook, Little Cook on the weekends and that is about it

I think that some TV is absolutely fine

I think what's worrying me is that he flipping LOVES it and keeps asking to put it on.....

and sits there in a complete trance while it's on.

Scary.

DD1 watches an ok amount, but because of this I fear dd2 watches too much. What can you do?

It's on an hour after breakfast so I can get myself sorted and maybe do a bit of housework

I put it on when dd1 gets back from nursery so she can chill out a bit (about half an hour)

Often it's on when I'm making dinner (so about another half hour or so)

THANKFULLY Night Garden isn't on at night anymore so tv out the window after dinner

I have to admit DS1 watches more than I am comfortable with. I have a DS2 who I am breast feeding and DS1 wants the tv on whenever I feed which is currently still quite a lot. Im hoping its partly novelty - he watched none until he was over 2 (ie when baby arrived)so it still seems great I guess. So, to answer the question (cringe) about 3 hours a day at the mo...have to say I am pleasantly surprised by whats on CBeebies tho - nice gentle stuff!

My dd loves beebies and would have it on constantly if she couls, she is ALWAYS asking for it to be on. I go out a lot, but was potty training the last couple of weeks, and it was on a LOT!

My 3 yr old watched about 30 min-1 hr a day before I got morning sickness 3 weeks ago. Now he watches about 4 hours a day . It will pass, hopefully..

Some days my DD1 (nearly 4) watches loads, sometimes has Cbeebies on for a whole morning and doesn't move from the sofa.

I tend to think that since she plays happily most of the time and does loads of activities out of the house once it while it's ok to watch a lot in one go.

She has beebies on in the morning (breakfast/getting ready) and at bedtime (before books and milk) every day.

None or very little according to this recent book which is very well researched and backed up with proper science.

However, in reality, without a big extended family set up, I think it's extremely hard to follow this advice.

my 4 year old (and in short bursts if it catcehs her attention his younger sister) watches Milkshake from when he gets up (7ish) until it finshes. Then sometimes watches a dvd when dd is having a nap
so quite a lot really but around that he goes to playgroup, park etc so I don't worry too much

ds is 2.10. I've recently introduced a 45 min limit (roughly) per day. He seems fine with it. It's two Big Cook Little Cook's worth and that's his current telly obsession!

I think CBeebies teaches little people things in moderation, too much and they lose the abolity to entertain themselves.

don't remember how much at 2, littlemy but probably an hour or so?

however, dd (3.5) hardly has any these days - because my experience was like yours, she kept asking for it, sat in a trance, got grumpy, moaned when it was switched off etc.

so I'm pretty strict now and life is so much nicer! she gets up and plays instead of asking for telly and is generally a lot happier, more energetic etc (fwiw Spidermama it is possible without an extended family, I'm a single mum to an only child)

DS (nearly 3) actively watches about an hour a day, usually a bit in the morning and a bit at night (out all day at nursery or with me on our days off). A bit more at weekends (esp when DP gets him up! ) and a lot more when one of us is ill and we can't go out. We also have news on a lot but he tends to ignore it and play instead.

I don't argue with him about telly time - I just furtively switch it off at a suitable point between programmes and say "Oh DS it's finished now, let's go and do XYZ instead".

How much is okay for a two year old? Don't know....not more than a couple of hours per day? (not in one sitting). However a 2 year old's day can be 12 hours long and as a parent you might not get much respite from your 2 year old (if they don't do any formal childcare - too young for Pre-school etc), hence sometimes an electronic babysitter is a necessary back up for the parent when caring for children of that age. I think my children's tv consumption was perhaps higher when they were both at home with me all day.

My 4 and 5 year olds watch between 30 minutes to 1 hour on an average week day. Weekends are usually more - especially if the weather is 'inclement'. I tend to get a huge attack of the 'guilts' however if they top 4 hours on any given day and would generally eschew all telly for the next day to sort of counterbalance it. However as they have grown a little older they have a longer attention span for other activities so tend to default less and less to asking for tv, and play together or solo for longer periods now

TV is imo great, fab and highly necessary - but when they watch too much they do tend to go all slack jawed and catatonic

spidermama - thankyou for the link - so do your ds's not watch tv?

my ds4 does not watch tv per se although he can watch dvds...when the bigger children do

i am a huge huge fan of the NO tv rule and feel the implications run far far far deeper than we first think

my first three children did watch tv but i changed my philosophy on child rearing and now ds3 and 4 do not

occasionally ds3 (5) asks to watch dvds and i always say yes

it is less than once a week. with the big ones they asked every day at least once

i am pg and doing uup a house and my 2 year old is a beast! i wish he would watch it sometimes but know that the grief now will be worth it in long run

will look at that boook Spidermama

from peppa pig til bedtime two, rarely three, days a week.

That's 8 hours a week or there abouts for my 3 year old and my 21 month old (although the baby only watches some of it and is still hanging off me the rest of the time).

tbh... judging by the things she comes out with i think she picks more up from tv than from me and playschool put together so don't see much harm as long as it's limited and she gets plenty of outdoor play

I reckon about 45m - she'll watch Noddy, Fifi and Peppa in the morning (half-heartedly) while we are getting ready. More Fifi around dinner time. We don't stay in a lot. Maybe a little more weekend mornings.
On a long journey she would watch a Peppa DVD in the car, max 1 hr without a break. These are rare. I really don't see how you can distinguish between TV and a DVD - in fact I think something like CBeebies is a bit better than a DVD, as there is variation and a natural flow and they at least try to make it educational.
My mum let us watch a little TV when growing up and didn't affect my educational development so I am relaxed about a little bit of what she fancies!

Agree PinkTulip - am slightly concerned about daughter's penchant for jumping in muddy puddles, spaghetti, "I'm going to turn you into a frog" and insisting we call the next baby Alexander, but I daresay it won't last...

we have regular shrieking of 'oh no, there's a humpback whale/baby tortoise/rubbernose dolphin in trouble! we have to save him' and thankfully we have a garden that seems to be mostly bog so muddy puddles are in abundance round here... but always with boots on

It depends on the circumstances, if I am trying to do something (sewing, making an important phone call), which would be severely hindered by my DS, he gets to watch Cbeebies until it is finished. If the weather is awful then he might watch two or three hours.
TV is pretty useful when you are a SAHM isn't it!
I can't say I have seen any conclusive evidence that TV actually damages children, are there any published, recent studies?
I would be particularly interested to hear what researchers say, about children watching children's programmes. Sometimes research seems to be about small children watching 'Saw II' or something similar, rather than programming specifically aimed at young children.
The argument that TV provokes a physical reaction could equally be applied to reading, but I haven't heard a lot about the damaging effects of reading a gripping thriller. I would have said that going to work can prompt some pretty strong physical reactions as well, so perhaps we should give that up as well.
having said that I don't know of any proven ill-effects, I do feel guilty when my little boy watches TV for more than an hour, can't win really can you! It's probably because I feel I am not doing something educational/fun with him, not because I think he is being damaged mentally. But then again...

DS has Cbeebies on quite a bit but most of our days consist of playgroup in the morning and park in the afternoon, with Cbeebies between times. And he doesn't pay it that much attention all the time: will be equally likely to be playing trains all over the floor and or playing in the kitchen with me.
He is bright, happy, plenty to say for himself, imaginative etc. I do wonder if the studies that allegedly show some eeeeeevil resulting from TV (apart from the usual guff about lack of respect for moral values or being a bit fidgety or any other completely unmeasurable guff) make any distinction between a child watching Cbeebies and a child getting a mixed TV diet of the news, Jeremy Kyle, Eastenders and Autopsy 101.

about 1.5hrs of him actually watching if we're in most of the day.

But he loves going out, books and playing, and he doesn't watch unsuitable things. He doesn't watch during meals and goes to bed by 7pm. I don't think TV is the devil it's made out to be really, not if parents are fairly sensible with it.

I have news type stuff or cooking shows on too, and he's showing some interest in the cooking things, which is no bad thing.

dd3 is two on saturday

if we aer staying in and doing housework then she probably sists and watches

higgledy house/something special
follwed by
razzledazzle (she loves both of those

then she watches Horrid Henry when the other dds return from school

so an hour?