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How much television does your toddler watch?
I am totally guilty of having the television on pretty much all day and night.. We have moved 6 times since Jax was born and somewhere along the way, it became a very helpful distraction so we could accomplish important tasks; moving, packing, unpacking, etc.. I wonder if his television watching is a problem/abnormal? We watch only PBS Sprout and a couple Dinsey shows.. Am I allowing my child to watch too much television? How many hours per day would you say your child/ren watch tv?
I'm GLAD someone else is feeling horrible about this and it's not just me! Some days I feel so awful about it, I feel like I'm distracting him while I get things done, HOWEVER Dameon is SO advanced for his age, he learned what a star and a circle is, and how to count one, two three, from Dora. He's saying sentences already, and he's 18 months so it has it's perks, I think I will start using it more in moderation, no matter the perks. It's a mommy guilt!
All mine only watched about 30 -40 a few times a week till they were about three then they would every once and a while watch a movie which is of course longer. I have never had tv but had dvds of veggie tales and the wiggles so the episodes are short or can be shortened.
Music like others said is a great way to drown noise out and all of my kids have loved music but I have onl kept it soft in the back ground in the kitchen. I never let them have music in their bed rooms except for my one little one who was in the NICU and listened to a cd when she was there, she kept right on when she got home and still at 10 listens to it to go to sleep. Linda Ronstat.
I do not think kids have much creative play when the tv is on in the back ground and they tend to be louder when talking to talk over the tv, then talk over each other. If one of mine liked a certian show we always had a music cd of it, it helps and they love it!
Music like others said is a great way to drown noise out and all of my kids have loved music but I have onl kept it soft in the back ground in the kitchen. I never let them have music in their bed rooms except for my one little one who was in the NICU and listened to a cd when she was there, she kept right on when she got home and still at 10 listens to it to go to sleep. Linda Ronstat.
I do not think kids have much creative play when the tv is on in the back ground and they tend to be louder when talking to talk over the tv, then talk over each other. If one of mine liked a certian show we always had a music cd of it, it helps and they love it!
DS2 usually watches Disney Jr, Nick Jr or Sprout. He's learned so much from the shows he watches. He can count to 10, knows most of his letters by sight, he's learning the difference between emotions and can recognize happy and sad faces. He knows a few shapes (oval, diamond, heart), he knows some colors. From Dora, Diego and Mickey Mouse clubhouse he's learning to distinguish the correct answer from a group, etc. He's well above where my last 2 were at this age. They prefered shows that were more entertaining (lazytown, the wiggles).
His one guilty pleasure that really isn't educational is Spongebob....
His one guilty pleasure that really isn't educational is Spongebob....
Thanks for all the feedback! I appreciate it. I actually made a point yesterday and this morning/early afternoon to really pay attention to how much he actually watches.. He plays and runs around more than actually watches the television, so I am ok with that.. And we just watch PBS Sprout basically all day or Sesame Street tapes and he actually has fabulous number (1-10) and letter (capitals only) recognition which I KNOW he learned from Sesame Street and the flash cards we do.. Anyway, I was sortof relieved he wasn't actually watching tv as much I had suspected. The background noise is a must for me, but we have Mommy and Me dance parties (with the tv off) too. ;)
I make sure to turn the tv off for an hour or two for play time where they have to play.... I put music on and the usually play and run around... But I used to always have it on but my older som will do literally nothing all day but watch tv... My younger son doesn't watch tv at all
We very rarely have the tv on. My daughter is allowed to watch PBS shows and documentaries (I know, i'm such a mean mom, lol) but she LOVES it. When she wakes up, we watch Dinosaur Train, Sesame Street, and Sid the Science Kid in the mornings together while I do all the things I need to do .....and the rest of the day the tv is off until night-time when my husband and I watch our shows and the kids are asleep. once in awhile I'll put on the Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus movie, or one of the Dinosaur Train movies...but I'm very strict that my kids can only watch tv outside of the morning shows if we're all watching it together, so sometimes we'll all get together and i"ll make some popcorn for me and KK and we'll watch movies, but that's maybe once a week...once every two weeks.
Like Joy we do a lot of music-listening and dancing in our house, and my daughter spends 80% of her day doing make-believe, whether by herself (probably %40 of that 80%) or with me (the other 40%)...that's her "thing" because I refused, flat-out refused, to put the tv on in front of her for any significant amount of time before her 2nd birthday...and for the most part, I stuck to it. After she turned 18 months we started watching Dinosaur Train...and we slowly moved up the tv-watching to what it is today, but before 18 months if the tv was on it was because she was asleep. I know..i'm a psycho, what can I say, lol. Sadly because my daughter watches tv, my son is exposed now too....but I try to distract him, and because my daughter really has only started watching tv recently she's not too "into it" so she tends to get distracted and want to play with her brother too so it turns into family time....yes, it's exhausting and there are times I wish I could turn on the tv and my kids would get glued to it....but I've set myself up so that it doesn't work that way and while sometimes I might regret it, for the most part it works for us :-). But i know plenty of great moms who keep the tv on all day and I have nothing against that approach WHATSOEVER....it's just different than what I chose to do :-).
Like Joy we do a lot of music-listening and dancing in our house, and my daughter spends 80% of her day doing make-believe, whether by herself (probably %40 of that 80%) or with me (the other 40%)...that's her "thing" because I refused, flat-out refused, to put the tv on in front of her for any significant amount of time before her 2nd birthday...and for the most part, I stuck to it. After she turned 18 months we started watching Dinosaur Train...and we slowly moved up the tv-watching to what it is today, but before 18 months if the tv was on it was because she was asleep. I know..i'm a psycho, what can I say, lol. Sadly because my daughter watches tv, my son is exposed now too....but I try to distract him, and because my daughter really has only started watching tv recently she's not too "into it" so she tends to get distracted and want to play with her brother too so it turns into family time....yes, it's exhausting and there are times I wish I could turn on the tv and my kids would get glued to it....but I've set myself up so that it doesn't work that way and while sometimes I might regret it, for the most part it works for us :-). But i know plenty of great moms who keep the tv on all day and I have nothing against that approach WHATSOEVER....it's just different than what I chose to do :-).
I voted 1-3 hours but most days I try to keep it off. I put that time frame because sometimes Abigail picks a movie to watch and they're typically over 1 hr. We don't keep the TV on all day, though. I am easily overstimulated by noise and crowds and a ton of things going on right in front of my face so we try to engage in other activities. Sometimes we put music on and dance around, too.
We just leave our tv oh when we're downstairs. We don't necessarily always watch it, it's more of background noise.
The channel Nick jr has no commercials as well as sprout! Thats why I dont have a problem with it on all day and the shows teach him stuff
Chantal I agree the commercials oh my goodness when I was pregnant I really paid attention to them and I was shocked what was on even on kids shows!! Like the Cottonelle toilet paper wet ones commercial "get fresh with a friend" and SO many inappropriately dressed people on tv especially commercials. I pray my daughter never thinks what they wear is ok for her to wear.
I voted all day for the noise, but we dont have cable or sattilite, but we do have a huge movie and cartoon collection as well as tv series. Im a Trekie and own ALL of the star treks lol so thats what usually in the DVD player all day, DD really doesnt watch it, we both just like the noise, because its so darn quite here and I dont like music.
Our tV is usually always on. Personally I think it's not watching tv so much as the choice of programming and also ensuring your child still gets physical activity.
DS2 watches a good bit of tv but most of it (with the exception of Spongebob) is educational. He loves shows like Dora and Diego, etc. From watching these shows he now counts to 10, knows some of his colors and will actually interact with the shows.
DS2 watches a good bit of tv but most of it (with the exception of Spongebob) is educational. He loves shows like Dora and Diego, etc. From watching these shows he now counts to 10, knows some of his colors and will actually interact with the shows.
We don't have cable, so if I watch something, it's a local channel in the early afternoon and that is it. I voted less than an hour. Every friday is movie day, so Jeremiah (almost 3) gets to choose a movie and watch it and he always looks forwards to it. He never sits still long enough to finish the movie though. If I want to watch a show I wait until he is in bed and go on hulu to watch something. There is a cooking show that comes on in the afternoon and Jeremiah loves to help me cook so he enjoys watching it with me. Other than that, he doesn't care about tv too much. I'm kind of glad we don't have cable anymore, because it really doesn't do much for him or teach him much. So instead we have been working on numbers, letters, and reading books.
I would just say maybe try cutting back to only having the tv on at certain times of the day instead of all the time. And maybe try to work in other activities when it's not on during the day. It will be a challenge I'm sure! I had to get used to having no cable, but now it's ok and I am able to manage my time better and clean and prepare dinner on time. haha ;)
Also, I know a lot of people say it's nice for the noise, but how about music during the day instead of the tv? I do that sometimes since it's just me and Jeremiah all day. We just aren't big tv people anymore. It's not really the shows we don't like, it's the commercials. I notice Jeremiah watches the commercials and I have to admit, they are racy these days and just make kids want certain toys and whatnot. I'm just not a fan of commercials. =/
I would just say maybe try cutting back to only having the tv on at certain times of the day instead of all the time. And maybe try to work in other activities when it's not on during the day. It will be a challenge I'm sure! I had to get used to having no cable, but now it's ok and I am able to manage my time better and clean and prepare dinner on time. haha ;)
Also, I know a lot of people say it's nice for the noise, but how about music during the day instead of the tv? I do that sometimes since it's just me and Jeremiah all day. We just aren't big tv people anymore. It's not really the shows we don't like, it's the commercials. I notice Jeremiah watches the commercials and I have to admit, they are racy these days and just make kids want certain toys and whatnot. I'm just not a fan of commercials. =/
I agree with Limonada and Linzola....
I usually leave the tv on cartoons when I'm not watching something (rarely) but Elijah (2 1/2) isn't always in front of the tv. It's just me Elijah and Aubryana at home during the day so I like the noise, keeps my imagination from running away with me. Elijah's usually playing with something, it's only when he's really tired or it's about nap time that he's in front of it. BUT he doesn't fall asleep in front of the tv. He goes to his room in his bed.
I usually leave the tv on cartoons when I'm not watching something (rarely) but Elijah (2 1/2) isn't always in front of the tv. It's just me Elijah and Aubryana at home during the day so I like the noise, keeps my imagination from running away with me. Elijah's usually playing with something, it's only when he's really tired or it's about nap time that he's in front of it. BUT he doesn't fall asleep in front of the tv. He goes to his room in his bed.
I know how you feel.. My son is two and a half and we have Nick jr on tv almost all day, but he watches it only when music is on or something catches his eye. As long as your toddler isnt sitting in fron of the tv instead of playing etc I dont see where it is a problem. I personally have to have the tv on for the noise because it is just him and I here during the day and I have to hear the noise!
I'm CL of the Parenting Toddlers forum and trying my best to liven things up - sorry you didn't feel that you'd get much of a response there! We've been busy celebrating our littlest guy's 1st birthday and I haven't been on much in the last week.
Anyway...I voted 1-3 hours, but it really depends on the day. My oldest son is 4 and at school half days, in daycare (at the school) for the rest of the day Monday to Friday....so there's really not much opportunity for TV (or much else) once he gets home. I might have him watch a half hour while I'm preparing dinner and we're waiting for Daddy to get home, but we often don't have time. Although....we will be having him watch a bit before bed now because we've been advised by his ophthalmologist to patch one of his eyes each day (due to a pre-existing eye condition)....and he needs to be doing something "restful" during that time.
To answer your question as to whether you've got the TV on too much at your house....I might be inclined to answer yes. HOWEVER, I definitely do understand what you mean about needing to keep your little one distracted while you're doing other things, especially things that may prove dangerous (toddlers often think they're "helping" and seem to have the strongest urge to do so when we're using tools or dealing with breakables, lol)....we're guilty of that here, too, at times. Your son is 2, am I right? At that age, it can be difficult to get them doing something on their own for any length of time but perhaps as your life settles a bit (if it does), you'll be able to engage him in other activities.
Anyway...I voted 1-3 hours, but it really depends on the day. My oldest son is 4 and at school half days, in daycare (at the school) for the rest of the day Monday to Friday....so there's really not much opportunity for TV (or much else) once he gets home. I might have him watch a half hour while I'm preparing dinner and we're waiting for Daddy to get home, but we often don't have time. Although....we will be having him watch a bit before bed now because we've been advised by his ophthalmologist to patch one of his eyes each day (due to a pre-existing eye condition)....and he needs to be doing something "restful" during that time.
To answer your question as to whether you've got the TV on too much at your house....I might be inclined to answer yes. HOWEVER, I definitely do understand what you mean about needing to keep your little one distracted while you're doing other things, especially things that may prove dangerous (toddlers often think they're "helping" and seem to have the strongest urge to do so when we're using tools or dealing with breakables, lol)....we're guilty of that here, too, at times. Your son is 2, am I right? At that age, it can be difficult to get them doing something on their own for any length of time but perhaps as your life settles a bit (if it does), you'll be able to engage him in other activities.
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