how much TV does your toddler/preschooler watch?

[snoopy5386]

I feel like DD has been watching way too much tv lately - between 2 and 4 hours a day, usually 2-2.5, I want to see if I am stressing for nothing or if I am in the range of normal. She is almost 3. She watches TV 1st thing in the morning up until I have had my shower this is her biggest block of time. She eats breakfast and plays a bit usually but she definitely watches most of the time. She has been getting up earlier and earlier (6 am this week!) and so has been watching more and more since I have a really hard time functioning at that hour. She used to wake up at 7:30 or 8 so I didn't stress, she would watch for about an hour or so, we can't figure out why she has been getting up so freaking early lately and I am hoping it is just a phase. She also watches 15 mins before her nap as well, part of our routine. I then try to keep it off for the rest of the day, but DH frequently sabotages my efforts and will put it on for her especially if I am not around or not available. When we have a lazy weekend she tends to watch more, it is usually on all morning she is not watching it the whole time but it is on. She only watches PBS, Playhouse Disney or DVDs. She is not a kid who will "just play" - she never has been, she is a kid who requires our constant interaction/attention all the time. She is exhausting and we use TV as a break. We do plenty of other stuff, music class, gymnastics, playdates, library storytime - we are usually out doing something 4-5 mornings a week. Part of it is winter, it is too cold to go outside and play. Am I stressing for nothing or should I cut her off?
How much tv does your 2-5 year old watch each day?

 

[RN01]

My 4 year old watches about 1-2 hours depending on if it's the weekend or not. Usually watches more on the weekend. I"m like you, I stress about her watching too much. The rule of thumb is no more than 2 hours. There is a good article in American Baby magazine this month about it. They say it's bad to even have it on as background noise. When it's nice out, we spend most of our time outside. I think your're doing okay, just be careful. I think childhood obesity is a direct result of too much tv.

 

[verlee]

Oops.. I voted for two options. I think ds3 usually watched 1-1.5 hours/day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Yesterday he watched a half hour. Day before that he watched 2 hours. I really try to limit how much he watches. But, sometimes I need to concentrate on what I am doing and need him occupied. I don't think you are too bad either. Especially since you are thinking about how much is being watched. Good luck

 

[Jennia]

My master's is in Applied Developmental Psychology, and my area of research was in attention. With that said, it's advised that children under two do not watch tv at all, and children up to 5 no more than half an hour a day. However, the type of tv show does make a difference (are children being asked to interact vs passively watch). I will admit that my dd (18 months) gets to watch about 15 to 30 minutes of tv a few times a week. Also, if you notice your child is able to actively engage in other activities for the same amount of time that she's able to watch tv, it's probably not having a negative impact on her attention.

 

[mjmoon]

I'm predicting this will become a very controversial topic.