Way too much. She gets some in the morning and some at night. Weekends, there's more. It's one of my parenting "failures", but then I remember how I was basically raised on TV and managed to get a decent education.
This is us. I don't care because she's at daycare 5 days a week for 10 hours a day so she's not watching TV all day every day. I guess she gets an hour a night when we are making dinner/decompressing from work and then on the weekends it varies. We are mostly out of the house/napping on the weekends.
It's mostly shows though. We don't do movies unless we are traveling.
I don't really care about screen time. When she was under 18 months we didn't have it on because she didn't care about it. she watches a bit more now so I turn the TV on for a few hours most days. She will only watch it for maybe 5 minutes before she runs off to do something else though. If she sat there and watched entire episodes I'd monitor the time she spent watching.
She does not watch our shows. I turn on treehouse, disney jr, or PBS for her.
Post by jeaniebueller on Dec 15, 2015 18:57:40 GMT -5
DS watches too much in the weekends. Very little during the week. Maybe a 30 minute show every day or two? DD isn't interested yet. I watch an hour or two in the evening after the kids are in bed, plus I have morning Joe on in the morning as I get ready.
As I typed this, it occurred to me that he has been watching Netflix on the kindle for the last hour. Lol
Post by chickadee77 on Dec 15, 2015 19:04:06 GMT -5
L doesn't watch much - she'll ask, but lose interest after a few minutes. But she's pretty young, yet. H watches TV all the time - but is usually in his office with it on in the background, and she's not allowed in there.
I don't really watch TV at all, so. But sometimes I like it on for background, but I don't do it around her, really.
During the week very little, occasionally in the morning or while I'm making dinner but that's probably once a week or less. On weekends he watches tv in the morning in bed with me until we are ready to get up. Once in a while later in the day. I have let me watch two movies so far this holiday season at night before bed Occasionally on weekends but not much as dh doesn't like it being on.
0-60 minutes a day? She loves Daniel Tiger and we are just introducing Curious George.
How much time is it on in the background at home?
Never
Do you have adult shows on while your kid is awake?
Not usually.
ETA: DD is 17 months and goes to DC FT where they don't have TV's. DH works in the film industry so we have zero problems with screen time and don't plan to be too strict as long as our kids do plenty of other things.
Way too much and I've decided to stop fretting about it. I have two little kids, pets, and farm animals to care for. DS needs to stay put while I do all that stuff. So he watches TV. He's almost 4. He generally watches from 6:30-8:30am (while I feed & dress DD, let out & feed the dog and chickens, do dishes, make breakfast, get his school stuff ready). Then again from 5-6 while I make dinner. So on average 3 hours a day. A lot of that time he's playing with toys and it's on in the background. Kid shows only, we don't watch adult TV when he's awake. DD watches zero TV.
Also, about every other week we have a pizza & movie night.
This all goes out the window when he's sick. He watches tv pretty much all day when he's sick. So 5-8 hours.
Post by undecidedowl on Dec 15, 2015 19:56:40 GMT -5
DS1 usually gets 30-60 minutes on weekdays and maybe a movie on the weekend. Tons more when he is sick because he does his nebulizer in front of the tv.
The TV is never on in the background. If it's on, DS1 is watching intently.
We don't have adult shows on until after bed. Mostly because we are busy doing other stuff.
It seems like when there are polls about this people say they watch a 20 minute show a couple times a week. I then feel guilty. Then I read about movies kids are obsessed with and feel like people are watching more than they let on. Ease my guilt about screen time. No judging allowed in here.
How much time does your kid watch tv a day?
How much time is it on in the background at home?
Do you have adult shows on while your kid is awake?
1. This is so dependent. In the summer they'll go weeks without a show. In the dead of the winter it might be all they do. I figure it all balances sometimes.
2. 50/50. Sometimes I turn a kid show on in the play room and let them play/watch/hang out so I can do stuff. It's just enough of a distraction they leave me alone. And it's always on the news in the morning on work days.
3. Yes. DD has snuggled/rocked and watched Nashville with me a time or two. She watches Survivor with H. I'm a new junkie so that's usually on at some point too. We don't watch anything too graphic, so I'm not overly upset by it/worried about.
If it's working for you....carry on. I will also say it's wayyyyyyy waaaaayyyyy easier to limit screen time when the weather is nice or the kids are at daycare 10 hours a day. On my daycare days the TV rarely gets turned on. All bets are off though when I'm on day 4 of being home with them in -30 weather.
Post by humpforfree on Dec 15, 2015 20:01:20 GMT -5
He doesn't watch tv. I've tried a few times when I didn't feel well or was trying to deal with the baby, but he doesn't have any interest. He will look for a couple of minutes and then go back to whatever havoc he was wreaking. I don't turn it on during the day for me. Sometimes H turns it on when he gets home after work, before supper. In the instances when H turns it on after work, and on the weekends it is always adult shows (friends after work and either food network or football on the weekend).
Post by ilikedonuts on Dec 15, 2015 20:08:40 GMT -5
I think I'm the most breezy person on her about tv. Ours is on all day long. They aren't always actively watching but I'm sure they watch plenty during the day.
DD1 and I watched 3 Disney movies in a row when DD2 was napping today.
ETA: I want to add that I SAH but do a ton with my kids (anyone who is FB/IG friends with me knows from all the pictures I post). We aren't home 24/7 but when we are, The tv is almost always on.
Post by cincodemayo on Dec 15, 2015 20:10:31 GMT -5
Eh, probably 30-60 minutes a day during the week (they watch at least one show at daycare too) and 1-3 hours a day on the weekends if we aren't busy otherwise.
I don't have the TV on for background noise unless DH is watching football.
I'm conscious of his screen time but try not to worry about it. We do plenty of other engaging activities.
Keeping in mind that DS is only 11.5 months old...
How much time does your kid watch tv a day? None. There's no time before or after daycare for it to happen.
How much time is it on in the background at home? Maybe one weeknight per week. On Saturdays, usually a college football game or two. Sunday, one NFL game. Maybe a DVR'd House Hunters. I'm currently binge watching Jane the Virgin so maybe an episode of that.
Do you have adult shows on while your kid is awake? Maybe the evening news once a week, but that's about it. DH and I only watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Daily Show plus some Netflix shows. We are not big TV people, we have gone long stretches without cable. We're too damn tired to watch much lately.
My mom lets DS watch TV when she babysits. I don't care. One day she let him watch South Park which makes absolutely no sense because that was a huge no-no when I was a teen.
Maybe thirty minutes a day on average for DS1 during the week? Some days it's more if tensions are running high. But today he hasn't watched any.
On weekends he watches probably an hour a day of his shows and the TV is on a few hours a day for sports or CBS Sunday morning.
DS2 is under two and we really limit him almost completely. He is around on Sundays when we watch football but I try to distract him from watching too much.
We don't watch adult shows unless they are in bed.
Post by imojoebunny on Dec 15, 2015 20:22:35 GMT -5
I grew up with out tv at all for the most part. My DH grew up with pretty much unlimited cable. Guess who is the executive? How much time does your kid watch tv a day? They get pretty much unlimited TV on weekends, but they much prefer games and other electronics.
How much time is it on in the background at home? We have HGTV on when it is dark out during weekdays. They really like Tiny house shows, and we have kid shows when friends are over late, like after 5:30. They go to bed at 7:30. Do you have adult shows on while your kid is awake? I watch what I want to watch that is age appropriate for the kids (except vaginal dryness commercials, could those stop?) Mostly HGTV, Hallmark movies, and Food network. When they were younger, I could get away with more, but not anymore.
Growing up without TV, I see the benefit of it, especially as kids get older. Who wants to be at the house with no TV or electronics? No one is the answer. We try to balance fun physical activity/playtime, homework time, and Tv/electronics.
My mom said to me the other day that my kids should just read books for the whole of the holiday, almost 3 weeks. I hated it as a kid, and I still hate it, though I am very well read, I have also read a lot of crap that is no better than TV.
The kids dont watch any tv during the day while my mom is here. If they watch any its in the afternoons/evenings. I'd say it averages 30 mins every other day. Some days it's none and some days it's an hour. I have found myself turning on a show more often lately while I cook dinner.
The tv is not ever on in the background unless it's a music choice channel. I do turn that on for a while most afternoons lstele to listem to Christmas music.
We do not watch adult shows while the kids are around with the exception of the occasional football game. But even then, H usually DVRs it and watches it after the kids are in bed and fast forwards through commercials and stuff. It's not enjoyable to watch TV with the kids around.
DS gets 30-60min of cartoons almost every morning. Definitely during the week when it's him and DH, not as definite when it's with me (typically because I don't want to deal with the 1 more show aregument).
It's rarely on in the background and if it is on, DS typically is in a different room since it'd be the news and we agree that it's not something we want to expose DS to right now.
The amount changes from day to day. Daycare has the tv on during drop off time in the morning. Sometimes he'll watch an episode of something like Mickey Mouse or part of a movie at night on a weeknight while we make dinner. More on the weekends. He'll watch a full movie like Toy Story on the weekend, but then I try to keep it off for the rest of the day afterward. I don't always succeed.
I don't usually have it on as background noise, unless it's one of the music channels.
We'll occasionally watch non-kid shows around him while he plays. I got home tonight and H was watching The Goldbergs while C played Hot Wheels right next to him. So not something kid-oriented, but kid-friendly in that it's not violent or anything.
Post by nextbigthing on Dec 15, 2015 20:35:54 GMT -5
The TV is pretty much always on in the background when we're home, but DS probably actually pays attention to it for about 45 minutes a week (maybe one episode of Daniel Tiger and he likes Wheel of Fortune)
How much time does your kid watch tv a day? A lot. He watches in the morning before school or outing, then in the afternoon/evening. He's really into watching unboxing videos on YouTube on his tablet, so he's been doing that more now. Usually, though, he's playing with a toy in the living room and is listening to the tv, but not actively sitting and staring at the screen.
How much time is it on in the background at home? Most of the time. It's usually on Sprout because I know anything on that channel is safe for both of them.
Do you have adult shows on while your kid is asleep? Yep. Luckily DS1 is a heavy sleeper so I can still watch shows in bed while he sleeps. (He sleeps in my room)
I'm also solo parenting 3 weeks out of every month, so having the TV saves my sanity. DS2 isn't interested in tv too much yet, but he will look at it if Caillou is on.
DD watches 1 or 2 movies on the weekend, no TV during the week. We usually watch the movies with her.
DS doesn't watch any TV at all, although a movie for DD may sometimes be on the TV screen or iPad when he is awake on a weekend afternoon. But it doesn't generally interest him for more than 5 minutes.
Besides this weekend movie watching, the TV is never on in the background while the kids are awake. It is very rarely on when they're in bed, either.
DH and I aren't TV people. Every once in a while we get into a series like Transparent and binge watch it together, but that's about it.
He usually watches TV from 3:30-5:30 most afternoons. He gets home from school / play dates around that time & likes to relax. & watch some shows. It used give his nap time so it works out well in that he relaxes instead of napping.
I don't limit screen time really at all though. He has a kindle & he is free to play his games pretty much whenever, but he rarely does.
The tv is usually on in the morning so I can shower, make beds, pick out clothes and get breakfast ready.
If we are home in the afternoons I'll put cartoons on while DD has a snack either before or after her nap.
I regularly have a news channel or something on for me while the kids are round. DD can point out the Obamas if they come on tv. We talk about things in the news to a level that she understand, especially with the local news. She watched dancing with the stars with me sometimes.
We hardly have the tv on at all over the weekends because we are rarely home. If we were home I'm sure she would watch some cartoons at some point.
I really don't restrict tv. I feel like we stay busy enough that it balances out any screen time they get. I like to decompress after a hectic day with a show, so I can see why DD would as well.
It depends on the day but usually they watch 1 or 2 cartoons in the morning and 1 or 2 before bed. If we are at home all day they I turn on cartoons for the afternoon or a movie so I can get stuff done around the house. Both kids stopped napping so I use cartoons as their downtime.
There are definitely some days when cartoons are on all day because someone is sick, I'm tired or the weather is crappy and we can't go anywhere. I don't feel too bad, I know I watched a lot of tv growing up and I think I turned out ok.
We do watch the news after dinner when the kids are awake.
Post by indifferentstars on Dec 15, 2015 21:13:32 GMT -5
I was really strict about no screen time until our whole house got sick when he was like 20 months and we introduced Daniel Tiger out of desperation to get some low effort parenting time. It was a slippery slope from there
At almost 3, I'd say he averages 1-1.5 hours a day of screen time (total, mixed between TV and ipad videos/games). Varies day to day though. We don't have cable so he sticks to a few favorites on Netflix or Amazon Prime.
We never have the TV on in the background. If it's on during the day, it's a show for DS and he is actively watching it and not doing other things. If he decides he is done before we tell him to be done, he will turn it off himself before starting to play.
He gets 3 shows(two in the morning, one in the evening). The TV is not on otherwise, except for football during the weekend(he usually doesn't watch the tv, though). We listen to pandora or the radio. He may get 20 Minutes of leappad time on top of that, but it is rare. When he is sick, all rules go out the window!
How much time does your kid watch tv a day? DD (3.5) - a few hours- it's on at quiet time but she plays and occasionally watches and then like 30-60 before bed DS (16m) -?as long as he'll happily watch in the morning while I try to sleep more/wake up slowly, Usually 20-40 minutes.
How much time is it on in the background at home? A lot when we're playing in the mornings and cooking dinner but they don't sit and watch
Do you have adult shows on while your kid is awake? Sometimes Friends