# The Idiot Box



## cindyp (Apr 7, 2003)

OK, so I'm doing an informal survey here, how much TV do your kids watch?

Junior was never interested until he was about 33 months.  In fact I remember in earlier days trying to get him to watch some TV just to have a break as he never wanted to play on his own (and still doesn't  ).  For some reason as he got closer to being 3 it all changed and now he would watch it all day if he could.  We've always limited his viewing but since Cuddles has arrived and our attention giving has had to be shared it has sometimes become too easy to placate him with the TV.

We normally tape Bob the Builder, Peppa Pig and Thomas the Tank Engine whilst he is at playgroup which he watches after his lunch (unless we are doing something that afternoon).  That's about one hour when you fast forward through the adverts.  He then watches Underground Ernie and Storymakers before he gets ready for bed which is another 35 minutes.  Occasionally he sneaks in some Scooby Do whilst dinner is being prepared.  This means that he is watching between one and two hours of TV a day and I sometimes worry if it is too much.  I've tried to find a guideline as to what is an acceptable amount for him to watch but I can't seem to get a definitive guide.  He will do other things but it is the only activity he is happy to do quietly on his own.

So, fess up everybody, how much do yours get, am I worrying over nothing?

Cindy


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## cindyp (Apr 7, 2003)

OK, follow up.  I've reframed my internet search question and have found some better articles.

We are letting him watch too much TV so I will be turning it off.  Apparently children under 2 shouldn't watch TV at all and 3-5's should be watching no more than one hour a day.  So we need to be having it switched off when Cuddles is awake and cutting down his current intake.  Looking forward to doing that, NOT  .

Still interested to see what everyone else is doing

Cindy


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## magenta (Nov 2, 2004)

OK....[bad mummy icon] Bubbles (aged 2) watches about an hour of cbeebies in the morning whilst i get breakfast prepared and sort out our clothes etc for the day. She will generally watch about half of that and just have it on in the background for the rest of the time whilst she draws pictures or plays. She doesn't like the new programmes too much so she tends to ignore them.

She _sometimes_ gets about half an hour at lunchtime (depending on what activities we have been doing together as it helps her calm down before lunch and naptime) which we watch together and then another 30 - 60 minutes in the evening / bedtime watching with mummy and/or daddy (we always watch at least 5minutes of Storymakers as part of bedtime routine).

She can have days when she watches no tv at all and some days when she only gets 'storymakers' at bedtime.

She likes watching television and although I know it isn't the best thing for her i feel it isn't a problem for us as we watch together and interact with it (eg dancing with boogie beebies or making the things on Doodle Doo later that day).

I realise my parenting choices might not be right for your family but i hope you can understand they the work for us just now (and respect my choice to allow so much tv).

magenta x


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## cindyp (Apr 7, 2003)

Magenta, I completely respect your choice, I am a great believer in using what works for you and your child and I certainly would never describe you as a bad mummy.  My problem is that I've been reading too many scare stories recently regarding links between watching TV and ADHD and it suddenly started me thinking on our TV habits.  Unlike Bubbles, Junior would not ignore the TV if it is on, he wouldn't sit and play by himself if the TV was on behind him.  You are obviously using the TV as a positive, education tool whereas I've been using it as a babysitter whilst I've been dealing with Cuddles.  We do watch Storymakers together as a family (DH and I are rather taken with Blue Cow  )  However the rest of the time he has been watching it on his own.  He is not the best child for entertaining himself and I feel that allowing him to watch TV on his own may have reinforced that as he is not interacting with the programmes, just watching.  I'm afraid I'm far too cack handed to try any of the things on Doodle Do and will stick to cooking as my craft subject  

Although I've used the phrase "the idiot box" I would be the last person to describe TV as a bad thing.  Spending the night watching the TV is now the main part of my social life, although as far as the kids are concerned it is yet another case (like chocolate consumption) of parental "Do as I say not as I do".  My godson and his sister used to watch TV most of the day and it never did them any harm.  As a parent I think it is often natural to want to compare how your kids deal with things like potty training, feeding, sleeping, etc just to give you a better feel for their behaviour type.  This was just another subject I wanted to compare with others.

Thanks for you reply

Cindy


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## magenta (Nov 2, 2004)

Hi,

It is nice to find another 'Blue Cow' fan out there!!  BTW - what do you think of 'night garden'?  it is a bit trippy isn't it?  not sure we'll watch it again.

re. Doodle Doo - you don't need to be creative and you just do whichever ones you can do ...we don't do ones with runny paint - way too much trouble!  But then again i can't cook very well and i bet you'd say the same about cooking with children (the best we've done i making crispie cake snowballs (a la Cbeebies).  if you watch you will see that their efforts aren't that great it is the fun of trying that is important...which is why we watch it - to encourage her to 'try' even if she doesn't get it 'right first time' or 'perfect'...oh...and to teach her about tidying up afterwards.  i honestly has nothing to do with mummy quyite fancying Chris the presenter...honestly it doesn't .

magenta (who is known to watch cbeebies whilst bubbles isn't there!)x


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## Pooh bears mummy (Jul 11, 2004)

Hi Cindy,

i don't have an answer for you but just to say don't worry to much about it i am sure in the grand scheme of things Junior is doing just fine and as you say it is the only thing he will do constantly on his own and you know he is happy whilst you see to cuddles for a short time.

At the moment pooh bear 2.5 still is not bothered to muchwith TV he does come into our bed most Am's and we get about 30 min of noddy, Fifi etc, sometimes this is a bit longer at weekends but he is not just watching it he want to talk to us and play around on the bed etc. Do sometimes try to get him to sit and watch thomas or noddy dvd,this last for about 5 to 10 min maybe longer if you are sat with him.

Don't know about the programs you are talking about as we are sad o's and at the moment only have normal TV, 5 channels.

Chat soon.

PBMxxx


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## Ruthiebabe (Dec 15, 2003)

Hi PBM,

during the week when Boo is at nursery he gets some cbeebies when we come in and i make dinner, and usually his "cars" dvd for half an hour before bed. In the meantime we have the soaps on (mostly for me...sad I know!) But on days when we're at home the TV is on a fair bit. We're not always watching it, and do lots of stuff wth it in the background, but it is on. 

the thing is i love TV..the junkier the better sometimes, and i have a PhD, so i don't think from an academic point of view it has done me any harm?.....although my DH may argue this point.

Where did you read about ADHD and TV watching. There are so many "bad" studies out there, be careful what you believe. You've only go one pair of hands so if it helps you to put you DS in front of the TV so you can attend to your DD, then i don't think you have anything to worry about. I think its just our jobs as mums to worry about whether we're doing a good enough job.

xxruthie


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## KarenM (Jul 30, 2002)

Hi Cindy

I tape Me Too for mine whilst they are at nursery and they watch it of an evening when I am running the bath.  They also have CBeebies on when I am preparing their tea, so only about 10 - 15 mins then.  As a maximum of a week day its about an hour a day.  At the weekend it may be a bit more but to be honest they would much rather have the radio on in the background and play.

On the odd occasion they will watch a DVD.  Infact they probably watch the most TV in the car on the way to our holiday (best thing I ever brought for the long journeys)

Karen x


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