TV/Screen Time Query

[Anonymous]

1. I've had several families who allowed screentime after I finished for the day. Not my hours, not my job to criticize.
2. I have more concerns about eye strain and attention span than parents do, so I limit screentime. That's my choice, and I don't work for families who want to insist that I use screens with children under 2.
3. Every child needs to have a mix of structured and unstructured time, and they need to learn to self-entertain. Teach the child to play independently in your line of sight while you do what you need to do.

[Anonymous]

I personally think parents who do not “allow” screens when their Nanny is on-the-clock yet have the TV on only when she is gone are nuts.

There is a HUGE difference between a Nanny who ignores/neglects her charges while texting or scrolling on her phone vs. a Nanny who could use a small break to clean up the kitchen after lunch or to simply unwind after a long walk from the park or library.

I could never work for an employer who would specifically tell me that I am not ALLOWED to do something.

Yes it is their home + those are their children - no one is disputing that - but that doesn’t give them the right to instill house rules that they break while the Nanny is away…..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. I've had several families who allowed screentime after I finished for the day. Not my hours, not my job to criticize.
2. I have more concerns about eye strain and attention span than parents do, so I limit screentime. That's my choice, and I don't work for families who want to insist that I use screens with children under 2.
3. Every child needs to have a mix of structured and unstructured time, and they need to learn to self-entertain. Teach the child to play independently in your line of sight while you do what you need to do.

I have read that many experts state that screen time is not healthy for a child under two years of age.
My now grown children were raised w/the TV on since they were infants since back then there was no Alexa to issue commands to play music and it was tough for me being stuck w/small kids in a quiet house.
They never experienced any cognitive or developmental issues in childhood ->> adolescence.
These experts cannot specify what damage actually occurs in young children exposed to screens before age 2.
Without any empirical evidence it is tough for me to actually believe their theory.

And now childhood experts are saying that the popular childhood program Cocomelon is akin to giving crack to a baby??!

I think it is important to separate facts from opinions.

[Anonymous]

I would not stay in this job personally.
Unless the family can practice (in theory) what they are preaching I could not respect them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. I've had several families who allowed screentime after I finished for the day. Not my hours, not my job to criticize.
2. I have more concerns about eye strain and attention span than parents do, so I limit screentime. That's my choice, and I don't work for families who want to insist that I use screens with children under 2.
3. Every child needs to have a mix of structured and unstructured time, and they need to learn to self-entertain. Teach the child to play independently in your line of sight while you do what you need to do.

I have read that many experts state that screen time is not healthy for a child under two years of age.
My now grown children were raised w/the TV on since they were infants since back then there was no Alexa to issue commands to play music and it was tough for me being stuck w/small kids in a quiet house.
They never experienced any cognitive or developmental issues in childhood ->> adolescence.
These experts cannot specify what damage actually occurs in young children exposed to screens before age 2.
Without any empirical evidence it is tough for me to actually believe their theory.

And now childhood experts are saying that the popular childhood program Cocomelon is akin to giving crack to a baby??!

I think it is important to separate facts from opinions.

I agree with this.
I have heard time and time again that allowing a child under the age of 2 to be exposed to screens negatively impacts their cognitive development yet have never seen actual studies where a person ends up cognitively behind due to watching television at a young age.

[Anonymous]

These responses are kind of wild to me. I don’t allow my kids TV when the nanny is watching them because I expect her to interact with them. My kids are older and they need a screen time break. I’m out of the house 12 hours a day (nanny works between 9 and 3 hours depending on school time), when I get home I need to relax myself in peace and the kids have tablet time. A nanny is totally welcome not to work for me over this, but I don’t know what I am paying her for if the kid is parked in front of the TV all day. My husband works from home, he could probably just park the kids in front of the TV himself and ignore them all day and we could save a ton of money.

That said, my kids are not 3 or 4. They will leave a nanny alone to do whatever she needs to do, like go to the bathroom or eat or mental health break. She can give my kids an activity and they can do it. Still we had nannies who watched the kids at 3-4 and they didn’t park them in front of TVs.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think the reason that parents do not want their kids watching screens when the kids are in the care of their Nannie’s is due to any damage that excessive TV watching can cause to the child.

The reason is that parents who are paying a person to care for their kids want that person to be actively engaged with their kids the entire time that they are “on the clock” for lack of a better term.
If the nanny is passively sitting on the sofa watching TV even for only twenty minutes, than that is twenty minutes that she could be emptying the dishwasher, wiping off the counters or sweeping the kitchen floor.

Parents do not want to pay someone for simply watching television while they are supposed to be working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These responses are kind of wild to me. I don’t allow my kids TV when the nanny is watching them because I expect her to interact with them. My kids are older and they need a screen time break. I’m out of the house 12 hours a day (nanny works between 9 and 3 hours depending on school time), when I get home I need to relax myself in peace and the kids have tablet time. A nanny is totally welcome not to work for me over this, but I don’t know what I am paying her for if the kid is parked in front of the TV all day. My husband works from home, he could probably just park the kids in front of the TV himself and ignore them all day and we could save a ton of money.

That said, my kids are not 3 or 4. They will leave a nanny alone to do whatever she needs to do, like go to the bathroom or eat or mental health break. She can give my kids an activity and they can do it. Still we had nannies who watched the kids at 3-4 and they didn’t park them in front of TVs.

I find your answer problematic due to the fact that you stated that you expect your nanny to engage with your children.
That is a part of a nanny’s job - just not the only part.

Even at 3 and 4, it is unwise to expect your nanny will consistently play with your children the entire six hours (or 12?)
Even Nannie’s need a brief break during their shift.
Other jobs (yours included) mandate 15 min. work breaks in each employee shift so why can’t the nanny have something similar??
Note: When I say similar I fully acknowledge that an actual employee break is a true break….a nanny whose charges are watching tv is not even the same thing.
Or close to it.

I am sorry if your previous Nannie’s put your children in front of the tv all day.
That is not what the op is about.
The op is simply saying that some tv time should be warranted here, especially since the parents are using it when they are home.

[Anonymous]

Most NFs want the person they are paying to actively ENGAGE with their charge or charges.
Watching a Tv program defeats this purpose.
I pay my nanny to do the three E’s: Educate, Engage and Entertain.
I do not want to spend any of my hard earned money on a nanny who thinks she needs the Tv on just so she can clean up the highchair or load the dishwasher. All of that can and should be done when my children are napping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These responses are kind of wild to me. I don’t allow my kids TV when the nanny is watching them because I expect her to interact with them. My kids are older and they need a screen time break. I’m out of the house 12 hours a day (nanny works between 9 and 3 hours depending on school time), when I get home I need to relax myself in peace and the kids have tablet time. A nanny is totally welcome not to work for me over this, but I don’t know what I am paying her for if the kid is parked in front of the TV all day. My husband works from home, he could probably just park the kids in front of the TV himself and ignore them all day and we could save a ton of money.

That said, my kids are not 3 or 4. They will leave a nanny alone to do whatever she needs to do, like go to the bathroom or eat or mental health break. She can give my kids an activity and they can do it. Still we had nannies who watched the kids at 3-4 and they didn’t park them in front of TVs.

I find your answer problematic due to the fact that you stated that you expect your nanny to engage with your children.
That is a part of a nanny’s job - just not the only part.

Even at 3 and 4, it is unwise to expect your nanny will consistently play with your children the entire six hours (or 12?)
Even Nannie’s need a brief break during their shift.
Other jobs (yours included) mandate 15 min. work breaks in each employee shift so why can’t the nanny have something similar??
Note: When I say similar I fully acknowledge that an actual employee break is a true break….a nanny whose charges are watching tv is not even the same thing.
Or close to it.

I am sorry if your previous Nannie’s put your children in front of the tv all day.
That is not what the op is about.
The op is simply saying that some tv time should be warranted here, especially since the parents are using it when they are home.

What jobs are these??? Not mine.

[jhonsmith]

You make a strong point—trust is such a huge part of the nanny-parent relationship. If a nanny is doing a great job caring for the kids, restricting something as simple as turning on the TV (especially in moderation) can definitely feel like unnecessary micromanaging. Mutual respect should be at the core of any working relationship, especially one as personal as this.

[Anonymous]

Screens aren’t good for kids. Good Nannie’s are aware of that. Get the 3 y/o interested in Vox books, have a craft she can only do after lunch, yes you need a moment but the TV isn’t the only option.

[Anonymous]

Tv is not harmful for a child’s development.

This is a complete fallacy.
I have never seen scientific results from a child being harmed developmentally from early childhood television exposure.

[Anonymous]

jhonsmith wrote:You make a strong point—trust is such a huge part of the nanny-parent relationship. If a nanny is doing a great job caring for the kids, restricting something as simple as turning on the TV (especially in moderation) can definitely feel like unnecessary micromanaging. Mutual respect should be at the core of any working relationship, especially one as personal as this.

This.
So many Nannies object strongly to being micromanaged since they crave complete autonomy.
The nanny profession is unique in that being 100 percent responsible for another person can get murky if there are numerous barriers to prevent a nanny to perform her job duties in an effective manner.

[Anonymous]

I think an eight to nine hour day with two kids 3 and under is a long long day.

If the three year old does not want to take a nap (naps are usually hit or miss at this stage) then I would set up a definite “quiet time” mid-day.

Still the parents should not micromanage your screen time while you are working.
They need to give you your autonomy and let you be in charge since that is what they are paying you to do, right?

Being micromanaged is one of my top pet peeves working as a nanny.
And unfortunately for you one parent telecommutes which usually means you WILL be micromanaged in some way, shape or form.