How much is too much? (TV)

[Mama Rophe]

My ds (21 months) would watch his movies all day if we let him. I limit it to one long movie in the afternoon and one short (15-20 min) in the morning. I was just courious, what do you all do. How much is too much tv for a child this age. It is quite hard to get outside time now as it is frequently way to cold for him to be out for longer than 5 min. Any suggestions as to what else I could do?

[Mamatoto]

There have been several threads on this recently...anyone have a link?

I think any TV is too much. My ds has never watched TV and hopefully won't for a long time! :-)

It is quite hard to get outside time now as it is frequently way to cold for him to be out for longer than 5 min. Any suggestions as to what else I could do?

How cold is too cold? We bundle up in all sorts of weather, even if it is just short fifteen minute runs a few times a day. Wool stuff and tons of layers help. :scarf I don't live in Alaska, though, like some mama's here. :giggle

At this age, for us, it is a lot of just having ds do what I do. Or rather watching him do what I do. I do circle time and art things with dd and ds will come in and out with us, in between busy as a beaver on his own play. You could definitely start finger rhymes at this age, short songs, some drawing, things like that. Other than that, between snacks, meals, nap and outdoor play, the day is pretty much taken care of! :car

[DogwoodMama]

I think it may also be the age, honestly. When my dd was that age she had a few movies she wanted to watch again and again! But she has grown out of that, shows no interests in movies anymore, and basically watches 1-2 episodes of Mr. Rodgers or Teletubbies each day during lunch or snack time. The rest of the time she is too busy playing. :grin But I think that at your ds' age the play skills aren't quite as developed and they have a strong desire for repetition. So whatever *you* decide is probably the appropriate amount... there was one week when my dd wanted to see an episode of Baby Einstein OVER and OVER (I think it was Noah's Ark?) during which time she was also playing while she watched it, not just sitting still, and she learned the names of EVERY animal that was featured. :eek :giggle I was uncomfortable with it at first, but decided not to fight her on it. Once she mastered the animal names she moved on to something else. So there may be something going on developmentally that is driving his interests. If he's not learning anything or is really "stuck" on it, then I would probably consider limiting his viewing or directing him to a new activity- maybe try a different craft, get a new music CD that has dances/movement, or something along those lines.

Just my 2 cents. :grin I differ a bit from Jodi in that I think a limited amount of high-quality programs are OK, but I do try to limit it personally... well, not really limit it but keep her busy with other stuff, or just don't turn the TV on and she gets involved in play and doesn't ask.

[Aerynne]

I think any TV is too much for a toddler/preschooler. Of course we did watch Napoleon Dynamite last night and dd watched a bit, too. We watch a family movie (not a kids' movie) every other month or so and she watches it with us while also doing other things. So maybe I'm a hypocrite. But anyway. . .

There are a lot of threads about what to do instead of TV. If you do a search of posts, you will probably find them.

[mamaKristin]

We too have the cold weather here. :scarf I find it darn near impossible to get all three of mine outside for much time at all these days. We have tv time in our schedule. Most days, we do Hi-5 (20 minutes) before lunch. After nap time for DD, Dora comes on. We watch that most days, then the tv is off. My older DD would watch it all day if I let her, so I often flip the power bar behind the tv so she can't turn it on. Some mornings, we may flip it on before breakfast, but that's more a DH thing than mine. We will also check the weather channel during the day, my kids like to dance to the music that plays during the local forecast. :giggle We also do Friday Family Fun Night, when the kids get a short (30 minute) video to watch.

[apmommyto4]

I think what you're doing sounds good! I really don't mind a little TV for our children--I agree that moderation is the key, though. I try to look for the "wheat bread" of TV programs to really make it count when their watching. My 8yo's favorite show is still Mr. Rogers and we never miss an episode. Never! :)

[milkmommy]

We did almost no tv before two the occassional Little einstein or Madeline movie a few times a month was about it. Shes three now and I allow one show or one movie a day We relax the rule a bit for illiness or "rainy days" (wich are are rare here). Oh DH sometimes lets her watch blue or Dora in the mornig.
Deanna

[Jillian]

I've read peoples opinions about studies that go both ways about tv. We've decided not to give tv too much power in our house. If the kids want to watch, they can. But they also can paint, color, sing, dance, draw, model, run outside, ride their bikes, play in sand, explore in the "forest" out back, play in the creek, etc. I don't use tv/computer time/video games as reward either. It wouldn't work for us to put it up on that pedestal, so the kids want to watch/play more than they really do to use up their 1/2 hour a day or whatever.

Some days its on all day. There are 5 of us home and we all like five different kinds of shows! Lots of times it's not on all day, we're just too busy! My kids are like the pp's kids...they really aren't ever just sitting and watching. Even at 8 years old, they are still dressed up in full costume, playing it out, changing the ending. Starting, stopping, rewinding, fast forwarding to the part over and over again. It's just part of a game to them, I think.

[Mama Rophe]

DS never watches a long movie all the way through. When he is sick he might, but IMO that's an exception. He usually is like the pp's kids. Up acting it out, and dancing with the music. A lot of the times, where I live, the wind chill makes it too dangerous to be outside for any amount of time. On those days I usually crack a couple windows open so we can both get some fresh air. On the days we can go outside we do.

[wombmate3]

I've read peoples opinions about studies that go both ways about tv. We've decided not to give tv too much power in our house. If the kids want to watch, they can. But they also can paint, color, sing, dance, draw, model, run outside, ride their bikes, play in sand, explore in the "forest" out back, play in the creek, etc. I don't use tv/computer time/video games as reward either. It wouldn't work for us to put it up on that pedestal, so the kids want to watch/play more than they really do to use up their 1/2 hour a day or whatever.

Some days its on all day. There are 5 of us home and we all like five different kinds of shows! Lots of times it's not on all day, we're just too busy! My kids are like the pp's kids...they really aren't ever just sitting and watching. Even at 8 years old, they are still dressed up in full costume, playing it out, changing the ending. Starting, stopping, rewinding, fast forwarding to the part over and over again. It's just part of a game to them, I think.




Wow! See, I always feel horribly guilty reading these threads, because we watch what others would phrase as 'too much tv'. I am also on the computer too much, and we use eletronics to have fun (like the Xbox). I feel guilt about it, but I can't seem to change our ways. But your post makes so much sense to me and I can really relate. Sometimes it's on all day, especially when we are all in a grumpy mood and just want to 'veg'. Some days it isn't on at all because we are busy with other things. I do monitor what they watch, and usually it's Noggin (I hate Nick Jr for all the commercials). They learn lots of things from the tv and computer, and I guess I feel like I 'should' do it one way but I honestly don't feel like learning from electronic media is a bad thing. It's not likely to change, so I am just imposing some limits here. DH is bad about getting up and turning it on first thing. I have asked him to wait and offer other suggestions of things to do. I have also noticed that while I am getting work stuff done in the afternoon, I have a habit of turning it on, because it keeps them from bugging me 400 times. I need to change that somehow, maybe with a class or activity I can drop them off at and then get some work done? Anyway, sorry, sort of off on a tangent there! :lol