Amount of TV for LO's of SAHM vs WM?

mrsolsen2000 · May 2011

Just curious. If you are a working mom do you let LO watch more (or any) TV on the weekends? If I was a working mom I know we wouldn't have any time for LO to watch on the weekdays, what with getting home, making dinner, playing, bath etc. As a SAHM I let DD watch about 3 15-20 minute programs a day and have no problem with that.

So if you are a working mom, when weekends roll around do you let LO watch TV?

I think some people have a generalization about SAHM putting on the TV all day but I know I really need that 45 minutes (broken up) through out the day to relax for a few minutes and get some stuff done.

I know I may get flamed but I think it would be way easier for me to follow the no TV thing if I worked. WDYT?

yankeebaby2 · May 2011

I never thought about it that way. I doubt it though. Most SAHMs are just as busy with play dates and baby related activities.

I'm a working mom and have a strict no TV rule. My older kids get an hour a day and two hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

gumiberg · May 2011

I totally agree. I work in the office mon/wed/fridays until noon. even just a half day at home makes it so easy to watch no tv. but tuesdays and thursdays? thank heavens for sesame street! sometimes i just need a break before i claw my ears off.

shortstuff15 · May 2011

I'm a sahm and we literally almost never, even on weekends, watch TV. It's not because I am against it, but it's because our TV is downstairs and we do all our playing upstairs. If she's having a super cranky day or something, I might put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or a Disney movie (which we don't ever get more then 20 minutes into) but that only happens mabye once a month or so. I must say that moving our TV downstairs was the best thing we ever did because before that we watched a lot.

dragon_chica · May 2011

I work PT and on any given day we try to keep TV watching to an hour or less.

danto · May 2011

I WAH DD goes to DC I don't turn TV on for DD and I don't allow our care providers to do so either. Same rule for weekends.

It is easier now that she's at DC because our time together is limited, I'm even less likely to be tempted to turn on the tv. However, even when we were home together it was no tv.

artygirl · May 2011

I'm a working Mom and we watch one episode of YGG a day right before bed while L eats a snack and drinks his last sippy of milk. If we are super busy that day, sometimes we go right upstairs to read, but generally we sit and relax right before bedtime.

aocain02@yahoo.com · May 2011

We don't really sit around the house long enough to watch TV on the weekends. I have idea how much TV he watches during the day while I'm at work. I don't think it is a lot though. My sister and I share a sitter so it is probably more on days when her youngest is there too.

vshadd00 · May 2011

I am a WM and DD doesn't get any tv time. That's because she isn't interested in it. I have caught her watching American Idol a couple of times but that is because she loves music. As far as turning on the tv for her it doesn't happen, not even on the weekends. If I need a few mins to get something done I bring out the board books and its like christmas morning.

mrs.larry · May 2011

I work full time but my husband and I are both off on friday - sunday. (we work longer days).

that said, we *just* started letting our son watch a little tv on weekends. we don't watch any during the week. there are no TVs at daycare and we have our only tv in our "bonus room" which is not attached to our house, so it's never even on in the background. when DS watches, he watches on streaming netflix mostly. We limit it to max of 30 minutes a day on the weekends.

I think if I was a SAHM, I'd probably let him watch TV on about that same rate as we do for weekends now. I don't see it as being lazy or putting your feet up but the dishes (or what-have-you) have to get done somehow and if that's the only way, then I don't begrudge it for one second.

anna7602 · May 2011

I pretty much SAH from the time DD was 10 months old until she started school in the fall at 2 years, 3 months and we did no TV at all until this past January, when she had the flu and was sofa-ridden for 6 days straight. I literally couldn't take her out of the house to entertain her and she didn't have enough energy to play anything else, so we introduced TV. She was aout 30 months old at the time.

Now, she probably watches about 2 or 3-25 minute programs/week, if that.

I don't really see the correlation between working or staying at home and watching TV. It seems like it's a lifestyle decision. Either you watch a lot of TV in your home or you don't.

kcisthebombdotcom · May 2011

ITA that I allow to DS to watch more TV because I am home (for the record, I do work part time, but only 17 hours a week).

I am with DS for 9-10 hours a day while he's awake. During that time, I have another child I have to tend to. The TV provides a distraction so I can tend to my other child. If I were working full time, both DH would I would be with the kids together pretty much at all times, so there'd be less of a need. FTR we don't watch a ton, but 2-3 shows isn't unheard of over the course of a day.

If hypothetically I was working 8-5, I'd probably never use TV. I'd probably only be with DS for 2 hours a day. Plus, when DS is sick/teething, we use TV more than we should. Dealing with a child whining/crying nonstop for 2 hours in the evening as I would if I were working FT is much easier than having to deal with it for 10 hours.

WildcatPrincess · May 2011

I SAH and we don't watch TV. There's nothing on during the day I care about and usually we're running errands, at play groups, having meals, napping, etc. MH and I do have our shows at night, but after DD is in bed.

LSzwaya · May 2011

I WAH and I don't really put DS in front of the TV because he's more interested in pulling the books out of our coffee table. That being said, the TV is on in the background at some points in the day but the way our condo is laid out where we play you cant see the television. I need the background noise.

ANJ410 · May 2011

I am a SAHM and I can tell you that we are out of the house almost as much of the day as a WM, so I would think that our TV watching is about equal. We leave the house at 8:45 am to bring my DS to preschool every weekday, then DD and I run errands. After we pick him up at 11:30, we stop home for some lunch (some days we just go out for lunch, but not more than once or twice a month). Then after DD takes a nap, we go on a playdate, a walk, grab some ice cream, the park, the zoo, a kiddie gym, more errands, etc. We only stay home all afternoon if the weather is really bad.

So my kids watch about an hour and half in the morning, an hour around lunchtime, and about another hour and a half in the late afternoon/early evening before bed. I honestly do not feel bad at all about the amount of TV they watch. They lead very active lives with a lot of social interaction.

kcisthebombdotcom · May 2011

yankeebaby2:

I never thought about it that way. I doubt it though. Most SAHMs are just as busy with play dates and baby related activities.

I'm a working mom and have a strict no TV rule. My older kids get an hour a day and two hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

I dont know how they do it! I'm out of the house for 3-4 hours a day at work, and we do an activity just about everyday between the children's museum membership/story time at the library/zoo membership and I still find that I spend quite a bit of time at home. I generally run errands like grocery shopping and such on one of DH's day off early in the morning.

Temp36641187503164 · May 2011

I'm a SAHM and we very rarely watch tv. We are just so busy and even if I turn the tv on, he doesn't pay any attention to it (so I can't use it as a break). He will entertain himself with toys for the most part.

We are never home on the weekends - ha.

I honestly don't get much done around the house during the day. I am able to do dinner and laundry, but DH and I work on cleaning the house together after DS goes to bed and on the weekend.

babywisher · May 2011

We don't even let him watch on weekends. We just hate it to see kids that are always in front of the tv. A little bit won't hurt anything though.

lpstl · May 2011

I'm a WM, but H is a SAHD. We very rarely ever have the TV on around X. During the week if they stay home they listen to music.

sapphire angel · May 2011

laura_belle:
Zyrtec is slowing killing my brain cells.

And that is why I stopped taking it :-D

In response to the original post: When I worked full time, LO only got about 30 minutes a day of a movie, which was also my time to just relax and cuddle with her before bed. Weekends were no different because I spent all day with LO doing all the things I would want to do during the week with her, like coloring and finger painting and playing outside, etc...

As a temporary SAHM: I'd say LO gets more like 45 minutes to an hour of TV, but it is at times when I want LO to relax and drink her sippy of milk or juice so it is broken up throughout the day with a large chunk in the evenings for special cuddle time and that last drink of milk.

In general though, LO just doesn't care for the TV, unless I am making her sit there and drink her sippy or she is really sick, in which case the TV is mostly for myself since I am stuck to the couch by a 23 pound weight.

beachgirl10 · May 2011

I SAHM and DS only gets to watch Mickey Mouse Club if I NEED to get something done, and I am not talking about house cleaning and stuff like that. This is when I have to do something for the family business(which isn't very often, usually only once a month).

I sometimes put the TV on in the afternoon, when I need a little adult conversation to listen to. However, it is usually during his nap(he goes down around 1 and gets up around 3-4).

So for the most part DS doesn't get to watch a lot of TV. I personally feel at this age he will learn more from doing and interacting than from watching a program, even if the program has some character singing the ABCs or doing the 123s.

xtencornfield · May 2011

I'm a WM. The only time we really allow DS to "watch" TV (frankly, he's only interested in the music) is if he's having a meltdown...the music and colors tend to calm him down. I have no problem with him watching for a bit here and there but he's just not interested yet. I'm home with him all day on Fridays (altered schedule) and I do tend to put on Mickey Mouse Club House right before/around lunch time because he enjoys the music so much. Otherwise, it's Spongebob (yes, I know)...he freaks out over the song at the beginning (dancing around, failing arms, trying to make the sounds in the song) and then ignores the rest. It's because I watched a lot of Spongebob while I was pg...it was the middle of winter, I didn't feel like going anywhere, and there was nothing on, LOL.

We do turn the new on in the evening while we're playing in the living room but he pays zero attention to it.

Leap08 · May 2011

My daughter just isn't really interested in TV. Lately she's been waking up early and I've been trying to figure out what to do with her while I get ready for work. I thought I'd try something on Sprout, as it turns out The Wiggles is on at that time. She'll watch them for a few minutes and kind of dance with them, and then she'll come bother me in the bathroom. Sometimes on the weekend we'll watch a little Yo Gabba Gabba. She'll watch for 10 minutes or so and then go off and play. Sometimes she will watch a little hockey with my husband and she likes shows that feature dogs, like Dogs 101 on Animal Planet. But TV is just not an issue for us at this point. Really, she'd rather sit and look at her books.

carlab44 · May 2011

I work part time - 3 days a week - and the tv rules are the same whether it is a day I work or a day I'm home. And the same whether it is a day we're around home most of the day or a day we're out and about all day. They watch one 25 minute show before bed. If only one of us is home for bedtime DD will sometimes get to watch a second show while DS is being put to bed.

wolverine8 · May 2011

I'd say it is no different from the week which is not a lot. We are not homebodys and when the weekend rolls around we're usually up to something more fun than watching TV, unless of course the weather is crappy then I'd say no more than an hour, if that.

Echowysp · May 2011

I work very part time (2 mornings a week) and ds averages about an Elmo episode 3 weekdays with me. I write my reports for work then. I know he gets tv at my mom's once a week when she watches him, but I don't mind since she's 80 and watching my two little ones. I didn't start him watching shows until well past his 2nd birthday, so I don't think it's overall too much.

He doesn't watch tv on the weekends. It's on in the evening for us, but he plays if he's still up.

Blackvelvet · May 2011

DS watchs more TV at DC then he does at home. I'm a student so I'm home a little more then a full time worker but not much. We watch TV in the evenings but DS is not really watching it.

jwthoms1 · May 2011

I'm a WM and we don't turn on the TV until after DS goes to bed on the weeknights. On weekends we are running errands, going to the park or church or cleaning. We may watch a movie when DS is napping but DS never watches TV. It's up on top of the mantle so he would have to crane his neck to see it anyway. I don't think he would care about it if it was on.

This summer I will be home with him and I may watch the Today Show or something while we play and clean in the mornings but I don't think he will be watching it or caring about it.

I have never turned on cartoons for DS to watch. It's sad actually. He won't know who Elmo and Dora and all of them are until much later.

BrittKav · May 2011

I'm a SAHM. We get out of the house a lot, and DD usually does not watch TV. She never watches it with me, but sometimes DH will put on an episode of Dora while she eats breakfast (he has her in the mornings). This is rare though, because I started chewing him out about it. LOL. When we go to my grandma's (2-3 times a week) she sometimes has the TV on for her. I'd say she watches MAYBE 30 minutes a week.

ak1234 · May 2011

LO doesn't get a lot of TV, and it kind of is in spurts. We will turn on PBS in the morning if he is really, REALLY cranky. He likes SuperWHY (the music really) and Clifford the Big Red Dog, but will only watch a few minutes. Other than that, he doesn't pay any attention to anything except basketball.

erino&chrish · May 2011

I'm a p/t working mom and my LO never watches tv when he's with me. He might watch a half hour a day at daycare (maybe??). I think it just depends on the child-mine has zero interest in tv. We DO listen to music on the tv a lot, especially on weekend mornings while we're playing and eating breakfast.

Mrs.V · May 2011

I'm a full time WM. We've never put on a children's program for either of our children but they do see the tv on. DH usually has sports-replays on in the morning (DS1 actually sits and watches hockey highlights) and I sometimes have the tv on before bed but they don't ever sit and watch it then so their TV time is very little...maybe 10 minutes/day.

emberlee3 · May 2011

I am a working mom, but my schedule is very erratic, so often have weekdays at home with DS. We often go days without turning the TV on, especially on the weekend. But DH usually lets DS watch Sesame Street while he gets dinner ready, on nights when I'm still at work.

rainlily · May 2011

I am a SAHM and we don't watch too much TV. We have activities every morning. I sometimes turn it on for 15 minutes while I am making lunch (if DD is not letting me cook). We eat lunch, play upstairs and DD goes down for her nap. In the afternoon, we usually do some painting/coloring or play in the baby pool. I might turn it on again while I make dinner if DD is not entertained by her toys/books. So- I guess it is on sporadically during the day during the week. DH tries to turn it on during the weekends to watch CNN, but DD isn't interested.

julieb00lie · May 2011

Both DH and I work full time. DD is not interested in TV, only Baby Einstein videos. We only let her watch 1 video per week, which only lasts 30 minutes.

I've put cartoons on during Saturday mornings, but she completely ignores it. However, if you put on Discovery or Animal Planet w/ some type of jungle animal show, she will show some interest, but won't stay glued.

Abinormal · May 2011

I'm a working mom and up until recently Tegan had very little interest in TV. I would turn it on for her occasionally in the evenings, but she wouldn't pay much attention so I'd either turn it off or turn on something that I was interested in watching. Just in the last few days, I've noticed that she's becoming much more interested in the shows that are on Nick Jr, Sprout, PBS, etc. so I've been letting her watch a little bit of TV in the evenings.

She, typically, only watches about 30 minutes of TV on a weekday evening and watches a little bit more on a weekend that we are at home for an extended period of time. Normally, we're not at home much on the weekends, so her weekend TV watching is limited by default.

I do not have an issue with TV, as long as, it's in moderation. I'm a teacher and will be home with DD this summer and I'm going to do my best to limit the TV that Tegan watches to an hour a day. I'm hoping to develop a routine that'll give us a good balance of being at the house playing/doing projects and being out and about.

shopgirl78 · May 2011

My LO watches 0 hours of TV but its not because I don't let him. He is not interested. Oh how I wish he was : ) I'd totally let him!! Since the weather has been nice, my big kids haven't been watching much. eta: i work

Que*Syrah · May 2011

I'm a SAHM and DS watches about 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes later in the day. I'm fine with that amount.

Piranha54 · May 2011

anna7602:
I don't really see the correlation between working or staying at home and watching TV. It seems like it's a lifestyle decision. Either you watch a lot of TV in your home or you don't.

I agree with this. I was SAH until DD's first birthday and have been working full time since. The amount of tv that she watches hasn't changed - we watch one episode of YGG on the weekends to distract her while I trim her nails. She sees some at the grandparents when we visit, but it's background.

danto · May 2011

I feel like I'm in The Twilight Zone.

For arguments sake, let's say you think the studies about TV before 2 are all hype. I don't get the "they have nothing to do" reasoning. EVERYTHING in their world is new! Wouldn't holding a piece of tin foil in front of your face entertain them just as well?

::steps off soapbox::

kristinem17 · May 2011

I am a working Mom. DS stay home with MIL while I work. She keeps the tv on whenever they are in the playroom and he could take it or leave it. He definitely doesn't just sit and watch it. He has loads of books, toys etc to keep him busy and entertained when he's in the playroom. I get home at 5:30pm and there is no time for tv because we have dinner pretty much as soon as I get home, then we spend time outside on the playgym and then it's time for bed routine. On weekends he watches maybe a total of 1 hour of tv each day - usually while I am getting a meal ready. 80% of our weekends are spent outside of the house running errands, going to the beach or a park or museum or to the mall.

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