I feel guilt letting my 2.5 yo and 8 mth watch tv and with grandparents it's only getting worse!
My 2.5 yo has dropped naps and it's full on from 7 am to 8 pm everyday. The only time she sits still is during breakfast and dinner in her high chair watching abc2 for kids or a Dora DVD.
I also have a 8 month old Bub and they both sit there eating dinner and watching tv. It's the only time of the day I have to get anything done like cooking/cleaning up and it lasts 30 mins max each time.
How much tv did/does your young kids watch? I feel bad my little one is watching tv (especially when my first Bub did not see tv till 18 months!) but she might soon be getting cared for 2 days per week by her grandma who has the tv on a lot!
I know they say no tv time for under 2 years .. Was just wondering if that happens in the real world. In my defense they never watch ads/uneducational shows, eat very healthy food and generally watch 1-2 hours per day on average.
Is this going to fry her brain Lol??
2 Replies
I think tv time is also sanity time when you're trying to juggle Kids and housework.
I attempt to have tv on at certain times and off at others eg its on from 10-11 am while I do some basic cleaning stuff. If bub is sleeping can your other one help you? My three year old loves to get her spray bottle of water and "wash" windows and doors "like mummy". It's not helping me but it does help her. Or perhaps play dough at the table or drawing to give older one something to do while staying still?
The other thing I had with my older two was one of those cheap tent and tunnel sets from Kmart. It had a square tent, a teepee and a tunnel. The kids would be busy for hours bring stuff in and out and laughing with each other. Even a big card board box will do it.
We try to have tv off at dinner time so we can talk (my guys are bit older than yours but it can be done at their age too). I found that my youngest actually likes the attention at the table too.
Don't feel guilty, lots of us use tv to get some relative quiet and stillness, kids are very busy little people :-)
No need to defend yourself my 19month old loves Dora! Her father is also from another country and he only speaks to her in his language , I speak half English half the other language and all her tv is in our other language, some times over the course of a day she may watch 3/4 hours( 1 hour when she wakes up then we either have swimming or something on that will take up 3 hours, come home nap but she isn't a great napper so we have "quiet time" watching tv or else she is exhausted at the end of the day then during me cooking dinner she often plays in her corner and watches tv ,
Don't feel bad at all! If I had no tv my daughter would never have down time! As she barely sits still for a 5 page book at bedtime