Preparing for summer… and the tv

[Anonymous]

My kids are 1, 4, and 7. TV and other screens aren’t banned, but they maybe watch one show a week? They play! Mostly outside (sports, bikes, balls, kitchen). We have toys like cars, cushions, animals, magnatiles, blocks, puzzles, board games, art supplies. During the summer, the older two have workbooks to do and they get a reward when they finish it. They also have daily chores (real things that can take time, not just small things like clear their plate after dinner) and responsibilities. If this is important to you, you will need to change your family culture around tv.

[Anonymous]

Just let them be. As long as they have completed their household chores, let them relax some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just let them be. As long as they have completed their household chores, let them relax some.

They haven't completed chores. OP is talking about morning. Also kids can and should relax without screens.

[Anonymous]

At the elem age mine had to read for 30 mins before screens in the summer. I have the same no screen on school days still and DD is starting HS this year.
If they’re not in camp you need to have a loose schedule but allow some screen time as well.

[Anonymous]

Well, the first half of the summer, they’d get up & go to morning swim practice. But if we were staying home, they usually read. Sometimes work on legos, play with dolls/toys in room, etc. Maybe a craft project. They never turned on the TV in the morning, nor asked to do so.

That said, I don’t think it’s a big deal for your kids to watch TV in the mornings as long as it’s not hours a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who even has a tv anymore?
We don’t. I don’t know if anyone under 65 that does. Pad and computers require a parent to sign in, plus screen time can be set for 15 30 45 min. So it’s easy to restrict.

💩 💩 💩

[Anonymous]

House rule: no screens until after lunch or evening, or something. The problem is if they wake up and immediately have a screen you will be dealing with whining about more more more the rest of the day. And the obvious: have a start and stop time for how much they watch.

What works in my house (8 year old):

No screens before 1:00PM, year round.

We have one TV in the living room and that is the only place TV or an ipad can be used.

During the week there is a 1 hour limit on screens. Weekends and home from school days are 2 hour limits. This can flex. Some days kid watches no TV or ipad. Other days we do a family movie night after they have had already had screen time on their own.

If a screen or TV is on, that is time the kid watches. Meaning no TV on as background noise or while kid is playing or doing something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the elem age mine had to read for 30 mins before screens in the summer. I have the same no screen on school days still and DD is starting HS this year.
If they’re not in camp you need to have a loose schedule but allow some screen time as well.

So you turned reading into a chore to be endured in order to get to the “good” stuff - TV. Were you trying to make her resent reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who even has a tv anymore?
We don’t. I don’t know if anyone under 65 that does. Pad and computers require a parent to sign in, plus screen time can be set for 15 30 45 min. So it’s easy to restrict.

I think a lot of posters exaggerate on this subject.

FYI Normal people of all ages have TVs. If you knew a little more about technology you’d know that TVs can be set for specific times and then automatically shut off. You can use passwords to prevent kids from watching. You can block stations. They’re called parental controls.

Also children’s content is so much better on a big TV. For example National Geographic Kids explores the animal kingdom. That should be watched on hi def big screen. PBS has excellent educational programming for kids. And what three year old doesn’t love Elmo?

If you have kids who love sports watching the Knicks win the Championship would lose a lot if you had to watch it on an iPad.

[Anonymous]

I think they can watch tv (whatever channels you allow) before you get up. BUT once you are up, the TV is OFF for the day. When you wake up, go into the room, tell them they have 15 more minutes to watch, and then they must turn it off and have breakfast. Period.

Perhaps they are allowed to watch PBS Kids for 1 hour before dinner, perhaps not - that's up to you.

If they can't do that without too much moaning, whining, crying and screaming, then simply remove the TV and put it in a closet for 4 weeks. Then take it out and institute the new rules: when we get up, TV goes off.