You do you. My 3 and 6 year olds get 30-60 (usually 30) minutes a day to watch a show and have a snack when they get home while we prep dinner and get settled. We used to give them screen time in the morning, but stopped a few months ago and now they play together, which is fun. On the weekends, we let them watch a show in the morning, too, so one parent can sleep in and the other can make coffee, get a big breakfast together, chill out. I'd say we average 30-45 mins a day.

OP, I'm the same. You do you, and don't feel guilty. You are doing the best you can, and 1-2 hours won't kill a person. I watched much more tv growing up and have two graduate degrees. They'll be fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really didn't like playing with my son when he was younger. It was sort of anxiety based. I had a lot of trouble being in the moment. I started meditating shortly after my daughter was born and I'm a lot better now at playing with both of them.

That said, devices are fine in moderation and it's ok to play for 15 minutes and then go do something household related.

Which meditation program did you use? I think my problem might be anxiety.

Headspace....changed my life for the better.

Anonymous wrote:I really didn't like playing with my son when he was younger. It was sort of anxiety based. I had a lot of trouble being in the moment. I started meditating shortly after my daughter was born and I'm a lot better now at playing with both of them.

That said, devices are fine in moderation and it's ok to play for 15 minutes and then go do something household related.

Which meditation program did you use? I think my problem might be anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:My 3 YO has no screen time. I WOH and consider it part of the trade off that I don’t get burned out on my kids and put them in front of a screen. My kid goes in the morning with kids that go home in the afternoons with their SAMS and those kids are the ones obsessed with Disney and princesses and sparkle twirly dresses from all the tv they watch.

Ugh, this post. BARF. I WOH and my kids get TV every day while I make dinner, run around and do all my second shift things. BTW, you have one 3 YO? I would save that judgment for later, LOL.

I really didn't like playing with my son when he was younger. It was sort of anxiety based. I had a lot of trouble being in the moment. I started meditating shortly after my daughter was born and I'm a lot better now at playing with both of them.

That said, devices are fine in moderation and it's ok to play for 15 minutes and then go do something household related.

Anonymous wrote:I was practically raised on TV and video games as my parents divorced when I was 6 and my Mom worked full time - with frequent commitments in the evenings for her job. While I agree it would have been nicer if I had a more normal household situation, I couldn't control that as a kid/teen and I didn't feel like I was missing something (regarding the whole "poor child" replies to these comments). I graduated from college just like all my other friends, got my MBA, and I'm now a VP at a well known company. Does that make it ok? I don't know. I suspect too much of anything isn't ideal. But I don't view TV as terrible either. My kids don't get any TV time during the week, but Saturday and Sunday they probably get 2 hrs in the am, and 2-3 hrs in the evening FWIW.

I was watched by a succession of disinterested nannies as a child. I would come home and watch reruns of Melrose Place four hours in THIRD GRADE. I turned out ok too, I actually barely even watch tv now. Whatever works.

^^^Yeah I would love to play legos with my DS every night if I could

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My toddler also watches around an hour or two at night. If not she will expect me to play with her or read to her. She spends around 5 hours at school and no TV in the morning

Your poor kid. We don’t turn the TV on after dinner because we want to play with and read to our kids.

I know I’m terrible. I read to her daily but I simply don’t want to spend 1-2 hours playing with legos and coloring. It amazes me that other parents do this.

Look, I don't enjoy coloring & playing with my child, but I still do it.

Your mommy martyr medal is on the way!

Awesome. I would like a medal for legos-- those things are the worst!

I was practically raised on TV and video games as my parents divorced when I was 6 and my Mom worked full time - with frequent commitments in the evenings for her job. While I agree it would have been nicer if I had a more normal household situation, I couldn't control that as a kid/teen and I didn't feel like I was missing something (regarding the whole "poor child" replies to these comments). I graduated from college just like all my other friends, got my MBA, and I'm now a VP at a well known company. Does that make it ok? I don't know. I suspect too much of anything isn't ideal. But I don't view TV as terrible either. My kids don't get any TV time during the week, but Saturday and Sunday they probably get 2 hrs in the am, and 2-3 hrs in the evening FWIW.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My toddler also watches around an hour or two at night. If not she will expect me to play with her or read to her. She spends around 5 hours at school and no TV in the morning

Your poor kid. We don’t turn the TV on after dinner because we want to play with and read to our kids.

I know I’m terrible. I read to her daily but I simply don’t want to spend 1-2 hours playing with legos and coloring. It amazes me that other parents do this.

Look, I don't enjoy coloring & playing with my child, but I still do it.

Your mommy martyr medal is on the way!

My son is 4 and gets 2 hours screen time on a tablet which automatically locks after 2 hours a day.
He is not necessarily watching the entire time as sometimes he is simply playing while it’s on.

I see no issue with this?

Are you all counting TV that you have on while you play with DC? Mine gets about 30 min in the morning and 30 min at night during the week, which includes programs for her. Maybe up to 2 hours on weekend. But with this cold weather, I have TV for me to watch sometimes while I read her books and she goes back and forth between playing independently and with me. If the answer is no, how are you sane in the the winter months? We get out to an activity each morning, but don't you need a bit more intellectual or adult entertainment during the day? I don't have my phone out around her as not to model that behavior, and reading is not feasible since I am attending to her. By the way, she watches educational shows like Sesame Street , and animated songs that I stream onto the TV. I think the quality of content matters, because despite popular opinion, she actually learns from then. She loves music and dances while I sing along to her and has picked up some new words from the shows.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My toddler also watches around an hour or two at night. If not she will expect me to play with her or read to her. She spends around 5 hours at school and no TV in the morning

Your poor kid. We don’t turn the TV on after dinner because we want to play with and read to our kids.

I know I’m terrible. I read to her daily but I simply don’t want to spend 1-2 hours playing with legos and coloring. It amazes me that other parents do this.

Look, I don't enjoy coloring & playing with my child, but I still do it.

Kids don’t need you to constantly entertain them. You need to teach them to play independently. Your child should be able to color at the table alone while you make dinner.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My toddler also watches around an hour or two at night. If not she will expect me to play with her or read to her. She spends around 5 hours at school and no TV in the morning

Your poor kid. We don’t turn the TV on after dinner because we want to play with and read to our kids.

I know I’m terrible. I read to her daily but I simply don’t want to spend 1-2 hours playing with legos and coloring. It amazes me that other parents do this.

Look, I don't enjoy coloring & playing with my child, but I still do it.