Poll: How much TV/iPhone/iPad/Kindle does your 3yo watch a day?

[tillymonster]

Mamas of toddlers or almost preschoolers, I'd like to start a poll. My DH (who could seriously watch TV/Movies and play various games 24 hours a day) thinks it's no big deal for our newly-turned 3yo to watch her "shows" (WonderPets, Peep and the Big Wide World, Yo Gabba Gabba), and play various apps on iPhone, like Angry Birds and Lost Winds. We do monitor everything she watches/plays and don't have cable or leave the TV on for much time at all per day.

I feel terribly guilty about the fact that she's upwards into the 2-3 HOUR mark per day. This doesn't feel right. When I was a kid we watched a lot but played outside a lot too. Or maybe I just remember it that way. I engage her in toys and activities without the TV on but she's constantly grabbing my Kindle or iPhone to play a game or watch a show. My DH feels like it's "normal" and not a big deal. I feel like it's effecting her attitude and sleep, she usually is up pretty late and I've struggled to change this. But then again, she has been that way since birth. A total nightowl!

I wanted to start this poll to get an idea of how much your LO is watching so I can show my DH what "normal" might be. A New Years Resolution of mine is to put the electronics down, turn off the TV and live life!

Thanks for voting!

[mommy68]

I would say it depends, 2-3 hours on days that we are home a lot that day but 1-2 on other days. She will only watch approved DVDs or cartoons on nick jr. She goes to preschool and is a pretty smart child at 3 1/2 so I don't worry.

[skycheattraffic]

My DD is turning two in March so definitely younger than yours but I thought I'd chime in. On days when we are home until the early evening, I will let her watch up to 2 hour long shows (usually sesame street on netflix but I've been substituting some Garfield DVDs to change it up). She also watches "baby" (home videos of herself) on my iPhone a couple of times a day for maybe 5 or 10 minutes at a time. I try hard to redirect but every now or then it just doesn't work. The big rule in our house is no TV after naptime. The little she watches is right after breakfast. On nights when she's had tv on later, she has a very hard time turning off at night and climbs all over me. Without tv she still may take a long time to fall asleep but she's nursing quietly or cuddling with me. If we are out of the house in the morning then she gets no tv that day. The only exception to our rules is if we're visiting family. I just can't ask extended family to completely change their routines when we visit. DH and I used to be major tv junkies but after a few 2.5 hour bedtime rumbles, DH agreed to try cutting the tv. We never looked back.

[fullofhope08]

we have a 2.5 year old. We don't leave the tv on and the only time he watches tv is with videos, not just cable channels. The main viewing he does inour home is maybe 45 minutes or so in the mornings of youtube videos on our iPad as we get ready for work. We monitor it relatively closely and his preferred shows vary. He is cared for by both sets of grandparents when we are at work. I'm not totally sure how much tv he watches with them...maybe an hour or a bit more throughout the day. They know our preference for minimal tv, but there are times in the day when it just makes sense for them, and our son, to have a bit of down time. Once the warmer weather arrives, his tv watching decreases. So he could definitely watch way more if we let him...it doesn't take long for it to add up. But we try to be mindful of how much he watches and try to keep it under 2 hours a day.

[newmamalizzy]

I try to max at 1 hour with my almost 3yo. Lately we've done a bit more, and I feel like TV stuff bursts out of her during all of her non -TV time. I don't like that, but she's been so toddlery lately that I just need the time that TV offers me to refocus. Kind of a Catch-22.

[crunchy_mommy]

My DS averages about an hour or less. He spends 20 minutes on youtube when I'm showering, and several times a week we watch an hour or so together if I'm not feeling well (which is kind of often, unfortunately). He also plays games on the computer once or twice a week for 15mins.

We don't have a TV and my ideal for all screen time would be zero... but *I* spend a lot of time on the computer so I decided I either need to cut back my own screen time or allow DS to have a little bit -- otherwise it's just too much of a double standard IMO. What stood out to me is the iPhone, Kindle, etc. that your DD is always reaching for. If I had any of these things, or an iPad etc. (I wish!!), I would probably always have them in arm's reach and be on & off them all day long. And I'd imagine my DS would want to do the same. I guess what I'm saying is, 2-3 hours sounds "normal" if she is constantly surrounded by all these devices, and it may be hard to limit it without limiting your own use of them or at least making them a little less accessible to yourself... which may or may not be worth it to you or even doable.

[sageowl]

I have a three year old.  I only do one (30 min) show a day max, (or about 20 minutes of youtubish content), but most days are screen-free.

[graciegal]

My 2.5 yo DD gets 1 or 2 dora's in the morning, 1 right before nap, and 1 or 2 in the afternoon. They're 20 mins each. She also gets on her "phone" (my smart phone with pictures of her on it) and watches videos of her or views pictures. Every other day or so she'll get on our tablet and play angry birds. You know what? I'm not worried. Besides the fact that she is an awesome kid who plays really great and has imagination already, these kids are a different generation. Keeping them away from electronics would be like keeping turn of the century kids away from electricity because their parents didnt have any so why should they..... just doesn't make sense.

[tillymonster]

I totally agree graciegal. And that's why I am so very torn about the whole subject!

sageowl-- how the heck do you keep screen free? My DD has limited access to a Kindle, iPhone, my laptop and TV. I should have mentioned that not being on these electronics all day is almost impossible-- I'm a WAHM as a freelance web/graphic designer and I used to work for Apple and my DH for Best Buy so we are electronic hoarders for sure. *sigh*

I'm loving watching the votes tally. At least I'm not so far out of the norm. Though I don't like it I'm also amazed at how smart DD is. She plays independently very well in lots of ways, books, coloring, dollhouse, tea parties ect. Lets not mention how FAST she picks up on anything shown to her. I only once showed her some gestures on my MacBook Pro and she knew what to do almost instinctively. Crazy.

[expat-mama]

DS is 2.5 and didn't have any screen time at all until just before he turned 2. Then he got an iPad for his birthday we went on a long trip and were all jetlagged and sick... and he was first exposed to Sesame Street, Sid the science kid, Word World and Dinosaur train (all awesome shows and the only ones we let him watch for now). He has tons of apps, music and videos on his ipad (all educational but entertaining for him) but he only uses his ipad maybe once or twice a week and mostly when we go out on long outings/errand runs and he gets cranky and bored. It truly is lifesaver when we are out or travelling and I love it.

We don't have cable so we download all our shows and control everything he watches and how long. It's great because there are no commercials (I HATE commercials!!!) and when a show is over, it's over and doesn't lead into the next thing which I think can really suck kids in to wanting to watch TV for hours. When the song comes on at the end of dinosaur train, DS is already up and grabbing a book or toy. Lately he watches 30 mins - 1.5 hrs a day if I am busy or tired in the mornings or while I'm making dinner. He really isn't the type of kid to sit glued to the TV though, he's always doing something else at the same time so I'm comfortable with it. Even when we have tried to get him to watch a whole kids' movie, like Finding Nemo, he has only really paid attention to the first 30-45 mins. He rarely asks to watch tv either, so when he does I usually let him watch a 20-30 min show.

I think when DD is born we'll inevitably increase the amount he watches for a while, but I feel good knowing that I'm in control of what he sees and the fact that there are no commercials. We are very into books around here and he still much prefers to read or be read to most of the time so that makes me happy.

[Gooseberry]

I couldn't choose one of the options.  We're not screen free, but our kids often go weeks at a time without any screen time.  We have cable, but we have only the most minimal package available in order to avoid rabbit ears or a roof antena.  Our TV is in our basement family room, but as our younger one (2yo) can't be on the stairs unsupervised, we tend to stay upstairs most of the time.  We own a laptop, but it's in such bad shape we never use it.  My husband and I both have work-issued laptops.  I bring mine home daily, as I don't have a secure place to store it at work.  He only brings his when he has work to do.  We tend to wait until after the kids are in bed before we use the computer.  I don't have a cell phone at all, and DH's is not a smart phone.

We stuck to the recommendation of no screen time before age 2. (Our kids are 2 and almost 5). This was extremely helpful in setting a pattern for the pre-school years.  I've read that one of the chief reasons for this recommendation is to avoid a snowball effect.  If your 9mo watches 30 min, they may begin to ask for/expect more screen time as they get older.  When DD1 turned 2, it seemed so odd to suddenly start allowing screen time.  She wasn't that different at 2y3mo than she was at 22mo.  So we just stuck with very limited/no screen time.  DD2 was born when DD1 was 2y8mo, and because we wanted her to have the same none-before-2 experience, the TV just never became a part of our habit.  My husband and I both work outside of the home, and the truth is, that while letting them watch a show while we prepare dinner, etc. might make our lives a bit easier, we just feel like we have so little time with them in the evenings that we want to spend it doing things other than watching shows.  Weekday evenings feel like a race to bedtime.  

[sageowl]

to Tillymonster:  It really helps that DS is not naturally all that interested/doesn't seem to pay much attention to electronic media--he's generally much more interested in being outdoors or playing with his toys.  I've tried watching a few animated things with him, but he lasts about 3-5 minutes before he wanders off and goes back to playing with his toys.  This is fine with me since I have about zero interest in watching TV or kiddie videos anyway.  I have a TV, laptop, and iphone, but he doesn't have access to them, and isn't allowed to use any of them, so there's no expectation on his end.  I record a few shows and we watch them occasionally, but it's not a regular thing.  I do most of my computer time while he's asleep.

[marsupial-mom]

We average 2 hours a day. There are days when it's more than that. And then there are days with no screens. I have set rules about it: only at home, in the car, or traveling. Never at a play area or park. Never during meals. Never with friends who want to do something else. The shows/ games are always child-safe.

I've also read that a lot of the hazards of screen time aren't really about screens but rather about what the screens might replace, like outdoor play or exercise or social connection. We spend at least an hour a day doing very physical activities, usually outdoors. And we spend a lot of time talking to one another and reading.

[kayleesmom]

Probably to much especially now that it is winter

[Aufilia]

When we are home alot, an hour or sometimes a bit more of video.  And since PTing a few weeks ago he's been spending maybe another 40-60 minutes per day sitting on the toilet at poop time and playing the tablet computer.  I don't like the latter and need to cut down, but the PTing is new so I'm letting it slide for the time being until we've forgotten diapers even exist.

[sk8boarder15]

Right now DS is watching more than normal at around 2 hours of TV/iPad a day, thats HIS stuff, not my stuff that he doesn't care about. Its the winter and he's a cold wimp so we end up watching TV a lot... In the summer we watch almost no TV. We are out in the yard all day. Can't wait for SRPING!

[newmamalizzy]

Thanks for this thread, by the way, because I'd been wracking myself with not-good-enough-mommy guilt over the TV issue recently, and it turns out our numbers are pretty on par with others here.  Makes me feel a lot more relaxed about the whole thing.

[tillymonster]

Originally Posted by newmamalizzy 

Thanks for this thread, by the way, because I'd been wracking myself with not-good-enough-mommy guilt over the TV issue recently, and it turns out our numbers are pretty on par with others here.  Makes me feel a lot more relaxed about the whole thing.

Agreed! So happy I started this poll! I'm actually finding that DD is watching less of I simply just don't leave the electronics everywhere. It's that simple but hard too because I freelance and am tied to my phone to check email.

[Storm Bride]

DD2 is 3.5. I'd say she's in the 1-2 hours mark. She plays about 20 minutes/day on the iPad. She also usually watches 1-2 episodes of Wonderpets, or another 20 minutes on knowledgekids.ca. So, that probably comes in at about an hour, most days. There are also days when we watch a DVD as a family, and she sometimes watches whiler her brother or sister plays something on the computer.

DH and I were going to be mostly tv-free...one DVD on Friday nights, and maybe another one once a week, as a special treat. Then, we lost our baby at birth, and DVDs - 3 or 4 or 5 a day - were our lifeline. I was incapacitated (physically, from the long labour, c-section and systemic infection, and emotionally). DH was handling all the household stuff alone, as well as providing me with a certain amount of nursing-style care. My middle kids were then four and two. The DVDs were the only thing that held things together in those first few weeks. As time went on, we cut way back, but never did reach the largely tv-free lifestyle we'd orginally planned. Sometimes, it bugs me, but most of the time, I'm okay with it. The kids do lots of other stuff, so I try not freak too much about the screens.