Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Abinormal
member
If you're strict about your child not watching TV....
Abinormal
member
I'm just curious... if you're a parent who is really strict about how much TV your child watches, then how much TV do you watch once your child is in bed for the night? Also, do you watch TV when they are napping, etc.?
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Re: If you're strict about your child not watching TV....
I'm not too strict about it, but we generally don't have the TV on, and we definitely don't watch our stuff when they are awake/around. Sometimes I will watch something on the DVR when DH has both boys outside for a while.
Otherwise, it's after they go to bed, and (despite our very best efforts) DS1 doesn't go to sleep until 10:00, so we don't have much left in us to watch too much tv after that.
I used to watch a lot of TV. Now it probably averages 2-3 hours/week. Some weeks it's none.
Thank god for DVRs. I'd probably never watch TV if it weren't for that, just because not much is on when I can watch.
I watch TV after the kids go to bed. I've gone through phases where I watch no TV, but right now, I watch a couple hours each evening (or have the TV on for a few hours while I multitask).
I'm "strict" in the sense that I don't let the kids watch any "kids TV" except in extreme circumstances until they're 2. Extreme circumstances = both parents are really sick, we're at a hotel and need to keep them quiet for 3 seconds while we get ready, etc. We've never had an extreme circumstance with DS and he's 13 months now.
I turn on the news for the weather/traffic for a few minutes each morning and I don't shelter the kids from sports TV they might see in the bar area of a restaurant, etc.
Once DD was 2 I started letting her watch a 20 minute Dora once a week. . . by the time she was 3 she was watching 2, 20 minute shows per week. . . when she was 4 it had graduated to one full-length movie per week. Now that she's 5 it's slightly more flexible. She generally watches one movie per week and may or may not watch something another day as well.
DH and I are huuuge addicts. As soon as DD is asleep (night or naps) tv goes on and we head to the DVR. We watch during dinner (our dinner is later than DD's).
It's off 100% when DD is home and awake.
I have never sat DS down to watch a TV show ever. No, I don't think TV is poison and I actually look forward to introducing DS to things like Sesame Street when he is a little older. When DS was born DH and I decided no TV before 2 years old - there were just too many more important things for him to be doing IMO.
Before DS was born DH and I watched probably 2 hours per day in the evening. After DS was born we got rid of cable all together since we didn't have any time to watch it anyways. Since DS was born we watch an occassional DVD and I sometimes watch about 30 minutes of something from Netflix Instant before going to bed (I can't keep awake long enough to watch anything in its entirety).
I love TV but it was just sucking too much time from my life. It is time that I don't want to lose now that I have a child and our days are so full.
We rarely watch tv and I just got rid of cable about a week ago. SO was enjoying watching hockey leading up to the the stanley cup though...
If we're interested in a series (when LO was a newborn it was TrueBlood, now it is Game of Thrones) we usually watch it online about once per week. Not quite legal, I guess, but oh well.
FWIW, I don't plan an being crazy strict about tv when Sophia is older. I just see no value and no reason to watch it when she is this young.
I probably average two hours of TV a week, sometimes three. Sometimes, DD is with me in the room when I'm watching something like Glee or House (I'm always catching up with what's on the dvr), but she doesn't watch it. I don't put her in front of the TV for something for her ever, because I don't have any interest in watching those shows just yet (I know I'll have to at some point), and there is too much other stuff to do or play with, and she's generally a relatively independent kid most of the day.
I'm not super opposed to TV for kids, but in very limited quantities, because I think it takes them away from other, more important things, like playing with people, reading (when older), or doing creative things (whether it's art projects or scientific projects).
I wouldn't say I'm strict about Zack not watching TV. It's just that I never turn it on because I rarely watch TV, so he's never gotten into the habit of watching it.
DH turns on the TV after Zack goes to bed (7-7:30) and leaves it on until bedtime. Sometimes I watch with him but most of the time I'm reading on the couch or working on projects. On average, I probably watch 2-3 hours of TV a week.
(Disclaimer: We don't have cable so the only channels we get are the broadcast networks. I would probably watch more TV if we got some of the specialty channels.)