Screen Time

I only do it when I absolutely have to and lately it's turning into when he needs to eat. It's not good to have tv always running I've read. Something to do with attention span too and issues with focusing. We don't even watch TV when he's awake aka I don't let my husband turn it on lol

My little girl is 7 months old and is beginning to be obsessed with any form of screen - telly phones etc. I’m the same - worried about too much and her becoming too obsessed with the telly (I work in a nursery and I know some children who are obsessed with the telly and have to have it on all the time - when eating tea etc and I don’t want that for my little one🤣 (personal preference!) but I also agree some of the programs that are on the telly are so good for them! I’ve started limiting it now (although it’s sending me a little crazy either silent room when we’re playing or listening to nursery rhymes on repeat🤯) but I’ve also started just putting a mix of my music on and nursery rhymes! Don’t get me wrong the telly is on a couple of times in the day - when she first wakes up until her first nap and then I try to turn it off for an hour or so and just repeat through the day. There is days where it’s on more but I try and do that when we’ve been out in the day at baby classes etc xx

Mine is 2 y.o we use 4-8 min cartoons from brushing teeth 🪥 only, so that she sits still, and I see how she often cries if you turn it off

My daughter is 2 and I limit tv to 30 mins a day. She watches Mrs Rachel. Once I have to start cooking I put music on a speaker and we dance and sing as I cook.

I personally wouldn’t have it on in the background all day- my boy also likes music and I have my Alexa on for the majority of the time we are at home and either play the radio then put some kids songs on from Spotify. If they’re playing with toys I don’t see the need for the tv to be on, however I’m not judging at all if you need to get things done it can be a help, I just don’t feel it’s good to have it on in the background x

We don’t use the tv at all unless I really have to and then would only be for a few minutes. I personally wouldn’t have kids tv on all day - it’s very addictive and really affects their brain development at this age as they’re still forming so many connections. As they get older you often find a correlation between tantrums/ poor behaviour and screen time. It’s really important baby learns through play and exploration and has lots of interaction with you to listen to words etc which tends not to happen so much when the tv is always on. Music through Alexa/ the radio etc is a great option x

We’ve been zero screen time since he was born and personally wouldn’t change it. I completely get some parents use it to get things done round the house and it can be handy. But we made the decision based on the research. Having it on in the background all day even if they’re not always watching it is still quite overstimulating for them. If you do need to use it then I’d recommend only 10 mins max at a time

We did zero screen time until age 2 as per many health organisations recommendations, we still only do around 40 mins per week now and she’s nearly 5. I absolutely believe in the benefits. There is no need to have the TV on all day, you want any screen time to be purposeful, not passive, otherwise you are setting up for bad habits down the line.

My boy is at nursery 5 days a week, so when he comes home, I know he's had no screen time in the day and we watch and dance to nursery rhymes or watch the gruffalo, cars, lion king etc. On the weekend we are normally out all day but when we are back we put the tv on, he isn't interested in it too much, he will go off and play outside with the dog or help cook dinner etc. So it's really for me to have something to listen to haha.

TV is on most of the day. We watch Disney or children’s Netflix, or sometimes I have YouTube and listen to some music and we dance together etc. or I have like normal programmes on. Each to their own if you don’t want screen time that’s up to you. But I do believe she’s learned a lot from watching certain programs. So just do whatever suits you and your family best x

We listen to music but wont have any screen time for our LO before at least 3yo. There are lots of other methods for helping your children learn and be occupied while you complete tasks or have quiet time if you start at young ages. There are some good books that talk about child development and screen time’s effect on the brain and attention spans etc. I used to have them saved to read once I had kids but have to look for them again or I’d share the titles. our family has decided that spending time in nature and focusing on connection and exploration to encourage proper child development physically, emotionally and intellectually, are our focus and screen time doesn’t fit into that.

We've always had it on in the background. As she's grown she's dipped in and out, sat to watch at times and played with it in the background at other times. She's 3 1/2 now and she has a good balance generally. She still dips in and out. She's never been glued to it or had difficulty coming away from it when asked. She understands the boundaries we have around it and its uses. She has the occasional tantrum but they're age appropriate and over quickly. She has amazing vocabulary and comprehension. Her language is brilliant. Her attention span is great. You can reason with her and she'll usually listen.

From a language development perspective there’s research to support that it’s not helpful to have tv on in the background all day. So would be better to just turn it on for select times then turn it back off again. Then when it is off it is important to spend quality time talking to your little one with no background distractions. Obviously there is a lot of advice to suggest not having screen time at all at this age but sometimes screen time can be helpful and I definitely didn’t end up following this rule.

@Claire same, my little one isn't constantly looking at the screen, just when there's music playing like the Bluey intro, then when the programme starts she just continues playing or being a little gremlin and picking up everything 😂 I'm glad that there are other mums out there that do the same as I was getting really worried having it on in the background was a bad thing! I do also put Disney sometimes to mix it up a bit as she loves it when there's music on! X

See I need advice with this, I barely put the television on (probs half hour a day) and encourage play but my 18 month old will cry for the remote and when I put it on she's engrossed. So can't win 😅 xxx

I think it depends on the kind of child you have!! I have a watcher, so if it’s on, he’s watching it and not doing anything else at all. I couldn’t have it on all day, he wouldn’t play, wouldn’t do anything. He’s also sensitive about what i put on as he gets over stimulated easily. I use screen time to my benefit, when I need to get something done, like prepare food, I’ll put it on. I do max 20 mins sessions up to 5 times a day. Much less if we go out but around 5 if we are in for the day (very rarely). He gets distracted easily so continuous noise would hinder his playtime. He focuses quite a lot on some of his toys when playing so it’s good to have that quiet to let him play.

@Katie what kind of programmes are you putting on hun? Mines quite similar, so I have to be very choosy about what I show him x

We do TV on most of the day. She will only sit and watch some specific things, so I put those on whenever I need to do chores etc, otherwise I’ve got the other generic baby shows on. She loves the music and coping the gestures, but she will also play independently.

My boy is 3 and we’ve only just started to introduce tv as the WHO recommend no screens under the age of 2. I don’t know if this is a coincidence or who he is as a person or if it’s actually down to no screen time but his speech, comprehension, concentration and imagination skills are all amazing! I’ve noticed with friends children and children I work with, those that were exposed to screens really struggle with activities like reading/listening to a book, building blocks, jigsaws etc and it’s because it’s not giving them that dopamine hit that the fast colours, changing screens, animation etc would give them When he was younger and even now and I had jobs to do around house I would let him explore open ended toys and activities as they can play for a good amount of time without reaching a goal or getting bored. Obviously each situation is different and so is each child, all you can do is what you feel is best with the knowledge you have for you and your family.

Up until 7 months ish I had the tv on for background noise a fair bit, but only my programs/films. When she started to pay too much attention I turned it off, and stopped having background tv on. We did a lot of music, and if I wanted some background tv I went for nature documentaries, as I didn’t want her to learn that the tv was just there to entertain her by having kids stuff on all the time. Gradually introduced things like the Julia Donaldson adaptions, and bear in the big blue house as part of bedtime. She’s now nearly 17 months, we have 20-60 mins of tv time in a day, and I stick to the old school programs that are less crazy, like pingu, fireman Sam, Disney films, etc. If I’m sick/she’s sick we have some film days but after half an hour she tends to go play and not be as bothered by it. It always goes off when I say, taught her to say bye bye when it’s time to turn it off. She does find the remote and ask for it to be on sometimes but if I say no she accepts it.

I have it on in the back ground too. I think some shows have definitely helped him learn words and signs and the background noise has definitely helped me not lose my mind 🤣. He doesn't kick off if it's off so I don't think he's overly bothered by it but is instantly calmed by certain theme songs so take from that what you will 🤷🏽‍♀️

I limited tv. Was about 30mins in the morning then 30/45 mins late afternoon mainly while I cooked tea. I picked the educational shows for him to watch. Which he learnt a lot from. As he’s got bigger (now 3yrs) I don’t necessarily limit it as such. He can have it in the morning and again whilst cooking if he WANTS it. If he asks to have it during the day I’ll put it on. However he’s never been one to sit still to just watch tv, it’s normally just for him to have a quiet 20 mins to re-gather himself. Do whatever tv/screen time works for you. If she’s not bothered by it turn it off for abit but if she’s having a bad day give it to her. Like you said pick what she watches.

15 min something with real person interaction like Ms rachel ... not much screen time for me ...as they get too stimulated .... that itll make kids get bored and not patience with one task or a toy ..

First off, this is a great topic and thank you for bringing it up. It’s on point for me, personally. I was wondering till now is it ok to keep tv on as a background… as I read online pediatric association recommends 0 screen time before age 2, but when I read the reasons and it was mainly noise, I started to keep it on, but lowered the volume… however, I liked some of the comments here, that made a good sense for me. The colors and animations makes their little developing brains lazy and it’s quite obvious that later they will be less interested in doing other much more beneficial activities for development…

We did this as you say for background noise however I noticed he was becoming more aware of it and noticed when it wasn't on so since then we only have it on an hour before bed! Occasionally if I'm exhausted I'll put it on for 30 mins c

It 100% affects my 3 yr olds behavior and attention span so we try to limit it but just had another baby so tv has been on more. I’d like to cut it out completely because it’s such a negative thing for us

We don't have the tv on all day but she does sit and watch a few programmes, and honestly I'm not strict with it, but if it got to the point she stopped playing and only wanted the tv I would restrict. If we want background music we either put the radio on or use her tonie box

To be honest my tv is all cbeebies all day unless she’s eating. She doesn’t sit at watch it all day but will watch if a couple of her favorite shows are on.

We avoided tv before 2, but typically have music on in the background or no sound because the with 3 kids the house is loud enough. My 9, 6, & 2 year old get 60 minutes or 1 movie twice a week on set days. Then we watch an hour of something together on Saturday & Sunday as a family.