How much screen time do your (young) kids have?

[Fillyjonk]

Am curious. I suppose I am especially interested in under 6s.

I mean EVERYTHING. DVDs, tv, computers, wii, EVERYTHING.

I keep reading on american sites of the shocking levels of screen time that our kids have but I wondered what was normal in the UK.

filly LOL at david attenborough - he dominates our hour a week also
the lentil weaver's CBeebies, obviously

24/7 I prop them on pillows and wake them if they're dozing.

I was force fed David Attenborough as a child and these days even on the radio wildlife programmes make me want to pick it up and throw it out of the window.

DTs are 4.11, they watch TV for maybe a max of couple of hours Mon - Fri, generally this is only if they are really worn out by school, they may also have a couple of half hour sessions on the Wii (which we all love!) and a film on DVD at the weekend if we're not out and about and weather is rubbish, occasional internet use, not regular enough to measure, but then also IWB time at school as milamae mentioned. We try hard to limit it, they only ever ask if they're worn out by their day at school. At least with the wii they are interacting and responding, not just sat still

i am constantly worried about DS's tendency to be a screen addict. he is only 5 but has always loved it. i ration and always have - 30 - 45 mins after school to wind down during the week, about an hour on sat and an hour on sunday. can choose computer over telly at weekends within that hour if wish but not during week. i could easily live without telly and prefer reading, same goes for DD, but DH and DS avid viewers. i would never allow a tv in their bedrooms or have it on in the background.

takver - i want your life! just read your post. i would feel much happier not having a telly at all, it causes me so much angst. i HATE having my son blow up at me for switching the damn thing off, grrr.

Has anyone spotted there's another very simimlarly titled thread with totally different answers - nearly everyone on that thread says their dc watch far more than on this thread. This thread has collected the low TV watchers and the other thread the high watchers.

I knew someone who limited her 3 boys to an hour a day "square box time" - like screen time I suppose. I like that phrase.

Dunno about other threads, can only be bothered to answer this one .

Today DS (4) was off school with vomitting bug and watched 3-4 hours of telly. Later he played a computer game for 1/2 hour. And after that he watched his brother play 'puter game for 1/2 hour. So that was 4-5 hours today.

Most school days I suppose it's about 1.5 hours in total of all screen time, more like 3-4 hours/day, on average, on non-school days. I do ration their screen time.

fennel - you're right, that is really fascinating. i'll never forget visiting a family (am health professional) for routine visit and finding the three youngest boys lined up in front of the 'square box' all with trays on their laps with their cornflakes and vimto or similar, settled in for a day in front of the screen. just so bloody sad.

between 0 and 3 hours a day (unless DH is alone without me controlling). Either DVD or cbeebies. Its not about how much she watches, but what she watches. She can watch an hour of cbeebies if I am happy with the prog, if I do not like it/think it is good for her I turn it off.

She tends to watch more like 3 hours if she has watched an hour in the morning, and then in the evening we might put on a DVD to watch all together (mary poppins, Curious George that kind of thing), that happens once or twice a week i suppose.

She has her own little Thomas laptop - 10 mins once in a while. Not on our computer at all. No Wii etc etc.

She is 2.4.

My 2yo watches about an hour of CBeebies in the morning after her breakfast while I have mine and sort the baby out, check emails, read the news, etc.. Then it's off again until after her nap when she'll sometimes watch a dvd or more CBeebies for maybe a half hour before it goes off again. Finally, if DH is working late and she's being a handful while I'm trying to cook or tidy up, I let her watch the Bedtime Hour.

She is a computer whiz and probably spends about a half hour a day on the computer, mainly the PBS toddler's site (ABCs and songs) and Poisson Rouge.

We don't have a video game console so that doesn't apply.

All in all I'd say she has about 2-3 of screen time per day. Sometimes more (if I'm ill) and sometimes less (if the weather is good or we get out of the house more).

I used to beat myself up about it but then reminded myself that while I've got a two month old baby to look after I shouldn't feel too bad if she gets a bit more screen time than I would normally allow for a few months. I wasn't really limited on tv growing up and was still a voracious reader and spent plenty of time outdoors too.

DD (2.9) watches no television at all, and neither do we.
She has 5 minutes a week watching DH on the Wii, usually on a saturday morning when I am having a lie-in! If she doesn't have her wii time that week, she doesn't ask for it another time.

She doesn't use the computer yet. DH and I have about 12-15 hours computer use a day though- for work mainly.

I posted somewhere else about this. I think some children can't tune out, others are better at multi-tasking(!)whilst it's on. Now that DS 1(8) has DSlite I'm finding it increasingly difficult to limit screen time. So I decided there wasn't actually TIME to watch telly, screens, on Tuesday and Wednesday, what with school, park, supper homework, clubs etc. There was no time to fit it in! I wrote it on a big piece of Card RULES that we only watched tv (SJadventures)on Mondays, and Friday/Sat(MERLIN!)/Sun and we could play computers (miniclip,Cbeebies)after swimming on Thursday. They haven't complained once about this arrangement and have stopped nagging for "one more programme". But at weekends I think they watch 3 hours per day including DS time. Or more.
But I love watching films with them or any cosy prog especially when its a dark cold rainy afternoon. The worst addict in the family 8 year old who moans constantly about telly, is a great reader.

Ds (20mths) doesn't watch kids TV. I have the TV on for breakfast news while we are eating, and he sort of half watches it, pointing out any dogs/cats etc. The TV is also on for Strictly Come Dancing, and he really enjoys watching this - again, doesn't really "watch" as such, just points at things that interest him if he notices them. He does like dancing to the music though!

I occasionally show him a video on YouTube that I think he might like. I intend to limit screen time, as I grew up in a house without TV and feel that it really helps imagination.

Its a good question as to how much difference it makes. TBH the reason we don't have tv & limit computer games is not so much philosophical as practical (we have small & very open plan house, when dd does play computer games we all have to listen to them), and the same reason I no longer listen to the radio.
Instead of coming in from school & putting on tv, dd tends to come in from school & pick up a book, and is often equally hard to extract from it - is it really any better? We have almost exactly the same discussions about limiting reading time . . .

Unlimited screen time here, very like needsmorecoffee. But noone reads Dickens in this house at the moment [shudder emoticon]

We don't have live TV, so a choice of a DVD is always an active choice (and the Nick Junior/ PBS kids/ CBeebies type sites are a good place for scoping out new shows which a small child might enjoy) Oh - and another vote for poisson rouge here, plus one for starfall.com

I consider DVDs and the internet as another medium, just like books or magazines or whatever, and learning to navigate and utilise them is just as much a part of learning to be in 21st century urban society as learning to cross roads safely or pay the lady in sainsbury's for the week's shopping or whatever.

Oh, I would also add that, given unlimited screen time, a child is quite likely to go through a period where all they seem to do is passively watch various shows. But that once they've squeezed every ounce of whatever it was they were learning out of that experience, you then find that they are spending every waking hour doing something quite different, like dressing up, or reading books. And interests which stem from knowing various shows really really well move beyond the TV/DVD/internet into all sorts of other spheres of life for that child.

And yes, we are "autonomous home educators"... so following the interests of the child is very important round here

For a long time we tried giving DS1 unlimitd screen time - he never got bored with it. That's why it's rationed now. I think he's got an obsessive-addictive personality (this is common in my family). It is also very difficult to tear him away from books, or any other activity he finds fun.

Hiya, my 4 yr old watches super why at 1 o clock on nick jr each day, she loves it and enjoys shouting out the letters then watches back cardigans.

wii - dont know really, sometimes a friday eve after school, they watch a bit before bed, but i do limit it. I have computer evening tuesay and thursday but i also set them up with craft projects and also steer my 8 yr old to do other things too.

I know one thing though..Horrid Henry is well and truly barred! Horrible programme!