Is anybody else not doing screen time?

[JumpingIn]

Before 11 months we used to place our son in front of the TV for around 45 minutes a day. We stopped cold turkey and it's been 5 months now. I'm not sure when or if we'll reintroduce it. We never turn our TV on now until he's in bed but mostly we don't bother at all as we spend the evening working, doing chores or reading.

Just interested to know if anyone else is doing this, especially for their under 2s (as per paediatric guidelines) how you are finding it and when you plan on switching your TV on if at all.

The only time I ever miss it is when he is really ill and doesn't have the energy to play but won't go to sleep either! I just ride it out and offer quiet activities like ring stickers or books though

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I probably only put tv on twice a week.

 

[jessmke]

We have never put Isla in front of the tv or iPad or any other screen. We didn't really make a conscious effort not to or had a discussion about it, we both just don't do it. I don't really see a reason to, and if the tv is on during the day (which is rare, it's usually my OH watching sports if it is on) I turn it off right away if she is paying attention to it or remove her to play in another room. I can't see any reason why she needs to be watching tv at this age (or any age really). I don't imagine we will shield her from tv forever, but we also won't actively encourage her to watch tv. But that might just be because we are not big tv watchers ourselves. Perhaps when she is older we might allow her to play an educational game or watch a movie on the iPad if we are travelling for a long time in the car or a plane, but otherwise it won't be a part of our daily lives.

 

[MindUtopia]

Honestly, I don't think we ever used any screens really before about 2. She wouldn't have really been interested in any of that before then. Definitely especially when she was a baby, we would watch tv with her in the room, but she paid no attention to it, often was asleep, or was playing while we sat and had a cup of tea for a few minutes. Since about 2, she will occasionally watch tv or a video on one of our phones, but it might be like on a Saturday morning for a little bit while we get the house sorted. It's less of a conscious choice not to do screen time (though it is a bit of that, I hate seeing kids in restaurants just glued to a screen instead of having a family meal together), but mostly it's just that we don't have much time. The only time she really is watching tv or a video on my laptop is if one of us has her on our own because the other is working away for a few days. Otherwise, if dinner needs to be cooked or dishes washed or cleaning done, one of us does it while the other spends time doing something with her. And when we have full days together we're out of the house for the bulk of the day anyway because I hate being stuck at home, so there's just little opportunity for it. I think maybe that's key. If you have a partner around, save the cooking/cleaning/whatever for when you're both home, so you don't have to rely on a screen, and then find little ways of entertaining when you don't have that option. We got a little kids table for the kitchen and I bring her in there with some duplo or play doh or crayons and paper and let her do what she wants to entertain herself while I start dinner or whatever. And then just forcing yourself to get out is good to. You don't have to do anything or spend lots of money, a picnic or walk and a trip to the store to do the shopping can take up a good chunk of the day. But if he's ill, put on the tv and rest. Routine, constant screen time which interferes with the two of you interacting on a regular basis isn't great, but if one or both of you is sick, do what you have to do. When we were toilet training, I'm pretty sure my daughter must have watched about 8 hours of tv a day, just because it was the easiest way to contain her and keep her somewhere I could watch her for signs she had to go. It was fine and it made it all much easier to get through.

 

[minties]

My kids wouldn't have even wanted to watch anything as babies. Thomas has iPads at his school and I play minecraft online with him as we have several playstations, but the kids don't watch any TV. We will all watch moved together though.

 

[Zephram]

We have never put our under twos in from of the tv on purpose, but my DS1 (almost 4) does watch tv every day for a little while. He doesn't nap anymore but has a bit tv as quiet time and also watches movies with us.

My 15 month old has no interest in the tv whatsoever when it's on for his older brother, he totally ignores it and gets on with playing.

TV is a pretty useful tool for when you have more than one kid and things need to get done. An appropriate amount of viewing is fine.

 

[.Mrs.B.]

I wish I could but my husband has some kind of TV obsession. Even before kids he would just automatically switch the TV on when he woke up or got home from work. :S
We have come to a compromise that the TV is off between 10am and 5pm every day, it hasn't come easily for my husband and he often puts it on in the day for silly reasons like "I needed to make lunch". It really annoys me that he's making his life easier by putting the kids in front of the telly, they play really well without it and they have enough toys and crafts to get on with by themselves.
I would never cut TV completely but I do think that half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening is adequate, unless we are watching a family film.

 

[jessmke]

I wish I could but my husband has some kind of TV obsession. Even before kids he would just automatically switch the TV on when he woke up or got home from work. :S
We have come to a compromise that the TV is off between 10am and 5pm every day, it hasn't come easily for my husband and he often puts it on in the day for silly reasons like "I needed to make lunch". It really annoys me that he's making his life easier by putting the kids in front of the telly, they play really well without it and they have enough toys and crafts to get on with by themselves.
I would never cut TV completely but I do think that half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening is adequate, unless we are watching a family film.

Does he just like the background noise while he is doing things or does he actually watch the tv? I used to switch the tv on all the time while making supper or cleaning just because I liked the noise, I almost never sat down and watched it. I started putting music on instead and it served the same purpose and was more enjoyable to listen to. Maybe you could suggest that he turn music on instead?

 

[loeylo]

We don't actively put the tv on for Gracie, other than old Singing Kettle stuff (only Scots will know this I bet) which is really just for the music and singing along. She did go through a stage of watching the tv if it was on in the background when she was younger, but now she pretty much just ignores it and plays with her toys.

We have never put on kids tv channels though, and personally I don't have a problem with using the TV interactively (like I mentioned, youtube on the tv to put on sing alongs) but when it becomes an electronic babysitter on a regular basis then I do think it is a problem.

TV can also be useful for educational purposes. I remember watching loads of nature documentaries when I was young and I definitely don't think it harmed me in any way.

 

[SarahBear]

We don't have a TV, but Violet started watching youtube videos as well as Curious George episodes before she was two. It started sometime after 18 months. I wouldn't have tried showing Leo any shows at this point, but my husband says he likes Curious George and has watched it. Leo doesn't watch with any sort of regularity, but he'll look for a while if Violet is watching and he'll watch short youtube videos. He doesn't have a super long attention span for it. As a baby, we didn't avoid watching things while he was around, but he wasn't specifically interested either. Violet watched WAY too much (on netflix) when Leo was a baby, but apparently my husband had a dream about his own childhood and suddenly cut way back on screentime for Violet. I'm glad he did too because I didn't like how much she was watching. So some days she watches nothing and some days she watches up to 2 hours of shows. On a day when no one is feeling well she might even watch more. Leo on the other hand watches far less. I'm not real thrilled that my husband said he showed him about 40 minutes of Curious George one day... But I'm pretty sure he doesn't do that most days.

(My husband is a stay at home dad. I work. My husband monitors and seeks out appropriate shows for the kids. I just show Violet stuff on You Tube on occasion)

 

[Bevziibubble]

I have never actively put the babies in front of a TV but my husband usually has the TV on in the background. James will sometimes glance at it, or dance if music suddenly comes on, but otherwise he is really not interested.

 

[DaisyDreamer]

We never do kids' programming but we won't stop him if he watches with us (never more than an hour). Want to get rid of the TV anyway but we don't do screen time on a regular basis.