March 2014 Moms
pepperedmoth
member
Hot Topic Tuesday: Screen Time
pepperedmoth
member
What do you want to, um, TRY to argue about today?
Alcohol during pregnancy is OFF THE TABLE, you guise.
ETA: Screen time it is! Are you going to allow your child to rot their brain with pap . . . or be a rigid controlling helicopter mom? OBVIOUSLY those are the only two options here! ;-)
Go!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Hot Topic Tuesday: Screen Time
If we are not working, the first few hours of Sunday are spent in front of the TV drinking coffee and catching up on cartoons. MH is really a 5 year old trapped in a man's body.
I will draw the line at a TV in the bedroom though.
Married : ** 09/09/2011 ** BFP : 07-18-13 ** Baby #1 is a GIRL , Born 03/12/14 **
** BFP 2 : 01- 05-15 ** EDD 09-11-15 **
I'm not a fan of extended TV watching, even for adults so I'm thinking that this LO won't be watching tons of it. But in a moment of desperation when I just want to potty by myself who knows whether I'll turn on the TV or not?!
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
Now we have cut down his cartoon time significantly because he does neurofeedback and watches cartoons for that and was having trouble not being fidgety during the sessions. Since we've cut out cartoons outside of nfb he hasn't had any issues during his sessions.
He also has some delays and an IEP with school so he uses the iPad a lot to practice writing his letters and numbers with Letter School. Those are all games and he really likes them and the are educational.
When he has had good days he also gets to watch kid songs on YouTube. We are in no way anti screen time and even DH said the cartoon limit might be lifted next week while DS is home all week for thanksgiving break. And I know he gets plenty of screen time at both grandparents' houses.
But Sundays we have a movie night and watch a full movie. Also Saturday I was packing so he watched a lot of Dora.
I don't care if kids watch TV but I prefer my child to do other stuff and only have some TV everyday.
There is some screen time. I try not to let it be too long and I have made conscious efforts to not resort to it if I can help it. She notices TV but doesn't really "sit" and watch for an extended period of time. She'll play and if something catches her, she stops for a second.
I have a terrible TV on in the background habit and now that she is getting older and "hearing" things, it will have to change. Previously all she paid attention to were catchy commercials.
And yes once in a while I throw on Disney just to wrangle her in. Like if DH isn't home and I need 5-10 minutes to get something done. I have yet to get more than that from it anyway, she much prefers to interact with people.
DD - Lucia Alessandra 6/18/12 ~~~ Welcoming Baby Boy!! - 3/26/14
Elonah [3], Bentley [1]
My daughter has LOVED watching TV since she was born. I would try to watch something while I nursed her, but I would end up having to turn it off because she wouldn't nurse while it was on. She would happily sit in front of it for hours at a time if we let her. It's really strange to me because I can't make it through a TV show without doing something else or getting up and moving around... I'm not really a TV person.
She is especially obsessed with Mickey Mouse, and now that she's talking, she will ask for "Mickey" and "TV" multiple times during the day. She usually watches 1 or 2 20 minute shows when she gets up in the morning, and 2 in the evening. Sometimes in the car she'll watch an episode on my phone, too.
So basically she watches way too much TV and it's something I feel guilty about daily.
DD Loves TV. I am for everything in moderation and will admit freely to having used the TV as a babysitter if I need to get things done. At 2.5 years old (roughly) DD is not yet at a point where she will do independent play for longer stretches. I try to do a maximum of 2 shows per day which are the 20 some minute Minnie Mouse, Jake, Sophia or Doc. Usually in the background I have the music TV stations on instead of a show because I do notice that if a show is on she will stop playing to watch it. I have also given her the ipad when out to watch a show once we exhaust her other options. I see no problem with kids watching tv as long as it isn't hours and hours on end every day. Parents need time to get things done, and sometimes that is the way you have to do it!
I do have concerns though and they may be completely unfounded. My DH is a total tv-aholic. I know that word is made up! But seriously the minute he comes into the house or comes downstairs the TV is turned on. He has like 30 shows that are 'his'. I have no clue if this is hereditary or not but it concerns me that DD likes tv as much as she does simply due to his habit. DH is pretty near perfect so I can't complain but it is something that drives me crazy because he will sit there for hours on end watching that dumb machine when things could be getting done. Plus he struggles with his weight and constantly complains about it and I would hate to see her go down the path of being unhappy with physical appearance because of a sedentary lifestyle. (to note, DH was a college athlete, so his weight gain is nothing health related, it is purely from sitting and mindlessly munching).
Overall, I 100% think the whole 'if they are exposed to technology their brains will fry' is nonsense. I think as long as it is mindful, some exposure is not only OK, but necessary!
Push presents were hashed out pretty early on. Seemed split?
Anywho....My son watches a Mickey in the morning while we get ready and one while we get dinner ready. He doesn't use our phones at home or public. He likes Lunchbox Monkey on our nook occasionally. I think its fine considering he's ar daycare all day learning and playing. I just consider it some down time. He wasn't interested until about 2.5.
These days, we both work in digital advertising - which I only mention to say we spend a LOT of time on computers/tablets/phones reading/working/interacting. We don't watch TV every day, but have a couple shows we follow. We watch a movie once per week. None of this is especially calculated, but just how our schedules work out.
All that background to say - my husband feels pretty strongly that we should raise this kid similarly to how I was raised, as well as strictly limit their online time as they get older. I'm on board in theory, but wonder how it will play out in practice (don't want to be an "I never" FTM). Would love to hear more from STMs who limit successfully.
ETA: Would also love to hear from STMs who thought they would be limiting screen time and ultimately said screw it!
Married : ** 09/09/2011 ** BFP : 07-18-13 ** Baby #1 is a GIRL , Born 03/12/14 **
** BFP 2 : 01- 05-15 ** EDD 09-11-15 **
I'm more strick with other screens. She doesn't use our phones, computer or ipad. I have nothing to back this up but I think smaller screens are worse on the eyes so I don't let her use those things. Weird? Maybe but that's what we do at our house.
My mom and I both frequently watch my cousin's son who is 2.5. I've seen the definite pros and cons of screen time with him. His parents are pretty into letting the tv do the work- he's got one in his room that is always on, and he has access to their tv/xbox when they're not using it (not saying babysitter tvs are a bad thing occasionally, but this is literally all day, every day).
So, he's known from a young age how to use technology. He can use a smartphone, and knows how to get to his favorite shows and videos on Netflix and Youtube. And they've taught him really well- he knows how to sign the alphabet, count to 20, and can recognize and name all the letters. He certainly wouldn't have learned that stuff without it. But, he's also pretty dependent upon it to entertain himself.
He's also started trying to navigate to the more violent games. His father said its because he's let him play Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty a little. (But he doesn't know what he's doing!!! All he does is walk around!!! Yeah, thats why you were laughing about him beating a guy up in the game...). We've noticed an uptick in his kicking and hitting since they started letting him play this stuff. Totally appropriate for a two year old, cuz.
This is interesting to me, since some young kids can sit through an episode of whatever and some kids can't make it through a whole episode. I wonder what the differences are personality-wise. I also know that TV was around when we were kids, so I'd be interested in seeing the rates of the ADD diagnoses and how they relate to when TV started being so common.
DH and I are gamers! We met in an online multiplayer game (MMORPG for the savvy folk), and video games are something we enjoy together. That and.... *drumroll* cartoons and movies! We are especially fond of superheroes and sci-fi and all that jazz. We love us some screen time!
I do NOT intend to plop LO down in front of the TV for hours unsupervised, or hand over an iPad and let him/her go to town on mindless games and videos.
What I DO intend is to carefully monitor the shows and games and movies DH and I choose to SHARE with LO. We will watch Justice League! We will talk about heroes and villains and how the morals and lessons in these stories translate to real life. We will select a few episodes of Doctor Who to watch together (the less scary ones). We will play video games TOGETHER. Scribblenauts will be so much fun for the three of us!
I also intend to spend family time doing crafts, playing table top games, going for walks and playing outside, taking LO to parks, zoos, and nature trails.
It won't be ALL screen time, and no screen will be a babysitter. There won't be a TV in LO's room. We won't have screens on during meals. But DH and I love screens... I cannot say we will "limit" technology time.... But I can say it will be part of this kiddo's childhood, along with dress up and macaroni art and blanket forts and bug-catching and everything else I can think of to experience with him or her!
Obviously none of our decisions affect anyone else. These threads, as with all of the ones like it, are simply for people to state their perspective and argue their point as to why it is right for them and their family and why they believe what they believe. I have said before, you usually make good points (when you are actually making a point), but I don't know why you continue to say over and over again that basically people should mind their own business because your decisions don't affect them. It's pretty darn simple, if you don't want to share what you do or share your perspective, just don't comment.