Do you use TV/videos as a babysitter? - Page 4

[EnviroBecca]

I think something more important on this poll would be to ask HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU HAVE. B/c I am sure the moms w/ only 1 kid are absolutely horrified that people do this (I was when I only had 1) moms of 2 say, oh, sure, sometimes/a little a day, and moms of 3 or more close together say how else can I stay sane???

I agree, this definitely is a factor. One reason my partner and I are able to spell each other off when we need to get things done is that we only have one child to juggle between two of us. When the kids equal or outnumber the parents, it gets harder.

But one of the reasons we only have one child is that it's important to us to parent in a certain way. We are always hearing things like, "I didn't let my first child watch TV, but once I had the second I had to find some way to keep the older one occupied." and, "I used cloth diapers for my first two, but after that it was more work than I could keep up with." To be blunt, these things translate to us as, "I used to take good care of my children, but then I had too many." We don't want to have more than we are capable of raising in the way we think is best.

I'm the older of two kids, and my mom strongly encouraged me to watch 2-3 hours of PBS every afternoon so she could do stuff during my brother's nap. I have some happy memories of those shows, and I don't think they did me terrible harm. I think that time could have been used more constructively, though. Years of "Quick, put away the crayons! It's almost time for Sesame Street!" gave me the feeling that I was obligated to watch particular shows every day/week, that if I didn't keep my appointments with them I'd be letting someone down. (It took me decades to realize that the one I'd be letting down was my mom, who'd have to check in to make sure I was still using the crayons appropriately, rather than being able to relax while I zoned out in front of TV.) I still have trouble shaking that feeling, but I've mostly turned it to my advantage: I won't watch a show at all so that I don't have to watch every episode!

[Throkmorton]

I actually have the TV on much of the day., DSwill often sit down and watch some to decompress. He needs frequent breaks because he has a systemic illness that causes him to tire easily. Quite honestly, i ran out of ideas/puppet shows/stories to keep him amused for 18 hours per day without a bit of TV. He doesn't ofen zone out and watch it though.

[darsmama]

Sure I do.

We only have tapes/dvds though, no regular tv or cable. So its pretty controlled by me.
Some weeks are better than others. Some days its none, some days its constantly running.

Pretty much it just depends on what needs to be done to keep every one sane.

[RomanGoddess]

Originally Posted by wendy1221

I think something more important on this poll would be to ask HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU HAVE. B/c I am sure the moms w/ only 1 kid are absolutely horrified that people do this (I was when I only had 1) moms of 2 say, oh, sure, sometimes/a little a day, and moms of 3 or more close together say how else can I stay sane??? I have 3, but my oldest is a bit older than the younger 2, so the tv is only on about a half hour to an hour a day or less (PBS only, we don't have cable.) Unless we rent a movie for the kids, then longer. The baby (15 mos old) has no interest in the tv whatsoever, and though he'll ocassionally look at it and point out something, he doesn't watch it.

I hear ya! I only have one child and our TV is only ever on when she is asleep at night so I voted NO but I have no IDEA what the situation would be if we had two or more children.

[thismama]

I have only 1 and I use the TV a lot. The way I see it, there is no other sibling to keep her occupied! So when I need some space, it's the TV.

[zinemama]

I have 2 kids, 4 and 7. We have never had a TV. So I voted no.

However, I like there to be times when my kids are occupied by themselves as much as the next mama. And while mine do entertain themselves fairly well, what I *really* use as a "babysitter" is their friends. I can't abide the term "playdate" but if I arrange for ds1's best friend to come over while my 4yo naps, I am guaranteed two hours of freedom because the boys play so well together.

I am usually doing something else or getting something accomplished whenever any friend of either of them comes over.

[laohaire]

I voted 5-6 hours a week. My DH is the one who watches DD during the day while I work (from home) and he has her watch about an hour a day. That's in addition to the hour a day that he and I watch TV (DD in the room, but she's not interested in our programs).

If it were me alone, I'd toss the TV and never look back. But DH loves to watch movies every day. We don't have TV reception, and just watch movies (though we very often watch TV shows on our Netflix subscription... no commercials at least). I actually had a thread on the fact that DH wanted to watch every day a while back, and there was a consensus that I should just go along with it (yes! here on crunchy MDC this consensus was reached!) because DH works so hard and really enjoys unwinding and spending time with his family (he does NOT want to watch alone).

Anyway, I've been tempted to let DD watch when I have her too, but I don't, because she already watches more than enough with DH.

She watches the movie Cars a LOT (she LOVES cars, it's her passion), and the other thing she watches is the Fisher Price development series, which shows babies playing and moving and music and stuff.

[mamasaurus]

Originally Posted by zinemama

what I *really* use as a "babysitter" is their friends. I can't abide the term "playdate" but if I arrange for ds1's best friend to come over while my 4yo naps, I am guaranteed two hours of freedom because the boys play so well together.

Oh, I wish I could find a friend like that for my 4yo DD!