How much TV when sick?

[Anonymous]

No limits. My kids are 3 and 4.5 and they prob watch 6-8 hours a day when they’re sick. I will do some quality control. Those dopamine crazy YouTube mind numbing videos I will turn off and instead turn on Daniel Tiger or Sesame Street.

And when the kids are not sick, we’re basically a zero screen family (through we also will allow some limited exceptions if we’re at a party and another adult opts to put on a show for the kids, and some limited screens on airplanes). But it’s not a part of our day to day, week to week routine at all.

We’ve never had more than 5 mins of whining about it once they’re better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. My kids are 3 and 4.5. They do not watch tv, even when they're sick. The only time they can watch tv is when we're in a foreign country and they are thrown by jet lag.

Curious: are you home with them when they're sick or is a nanny home with them? If it's you, what DO you do? Do you read to them for 10 hours a day?

DP, SAHM. I let my 3 and 4 year old watch up to 6 hours of tv a week (usually it's between 2-4 hours weekly), and don't allow more when they are sick. They are only allowed to watch programs I approve on a real tv- no small screens. Yes, I read to them a lot when they are sick, do puzzles, color, and push them in the stroller for some air. Sometimes they want to nap when sick.

If I am sick- like REALLY sick with a vomiting bug or something- they have watched up to 7 hours of tv in one sitting. I apologize for nothing!

[Anonymous]

TV is really just depending on how much I need it. So if I’m trying to WFH with a sick kid there will be more, and if I’m not maybe less, and it depends on how lethargic and pathetic they are. There’s nothing wrong with snuggles and a movie imo if that’s all they’re up for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3.5 year old DS has been sick with some kind of virus for 3 days - fever, cough, etc. He certainly doesn't have good energy and has been lying around, which is good. But, he has literally been watching TV (and sleeping) all day long and doing little else. We typically only allow 45 mins to an hour of screen time per day, so this is a huge luxury. I don't mind since I like to lie around and watch TV when I am sick, but am wondering if it's too much.

Do you allow unlimited screen time when your kids are sick? And, do they protest going back to limitations once they are well again? I think DS may milk this for all it's worth.

We generally allow a lot of screen time when very sick. But I try to pause it for a while throughout the day and read books or let them listen to Tonie or Yoto stories instead. I think that it helps them get more sleep when sick, if they aren't glued to a screen. I'll then let them go back to watching something. But no kid wants to just lie in bed and do nothing. I know I certainly don't.

[Anonymous]

We allow very little screens normally, but lots of age-appropriate DVDs are allowed if home sick.

[Anonymous]

At age 3 we hadnt introduced any tv yet. When sick he slept or laid in bed. If healthy enough to be up we went for walks (him in stroller), read books, played quietly. But my son has always been either really sick or not sick, so either no energy even to watch tv, or pretty much fine. Age 9 now, and i would allow extra tv but not unlimited.