TV Time

[AnythingsPossible]

We used to do 25 minutes before naptime, either Word World or Super Why off PBS. With winter here, we have done away with prenap tv and depending on the day, it goes on at 4:45 playing either of the above shows. Without being able to go outside, my sanity is hanging on by a very thin thread by the end of the day. Occasionally we watch a movie, but that is maybe once a month. I find they don't really sit and watch it, so what is the point of having the noise from it.

[ammama]

no TV here. The only TV the dck's watched in 2010 was a holiday special the week of Christmas (Rudolf). Most of my dck's are great with it. I had one child, who used to complain to his mother bitterly about the lack of TV, and she actually told me that she wanted him watching 30 minutes every morning. I said no. They left.

[Pammie]

No TV here during daytime daycare hours - ever.

It's an extra big *treat* on Parent's Nights Out when they get to watch a movie at my house! And that's 2 Friday nites/month

[AfterSchoolMom]

My dck's watch TV while I'm making lunch, usually Arthur or Caillou if I'm running late. If parents are late picking up, they'll probably find their kids watching TV. I watch TV during naptime, and sometimes the dkg who naps in the living room will wake up early and watch with me.
If it's too rotten to go outside, we will watch a dvd from the Wee Sing series. They aren't sit-n-watch shows, they are get up & dance & jump & sing & march shows.
I'm gonna say it. I like TV.

I like TV too! I honestly don't see a problem with some TV watching.

[momofboys]

I like TV too; however, I try to use it sparingly. We will watch Dora or Diego or Sesame Street, sometimes Curious George (PBS) when I get lunch prepped but that is about it. So maybe 1/2 hr a day. If the weather really stinks or I am not feeling 100% I may let them watch an hour or so so I can rest. Typically it is off if we aren't viewing something.

[WImom]

15-20 minutes a day while I'm making lunch. We do an occasional letter factory or similar on a snowy/rainy day but most days it's 15-20 minutes. We do PBS or Dora.

my own kids probably 30-60 minutes a day and 30 minutes on the computer or Wii. Myself - 2-2.5 hours a day....I love TV and watch it everynight when my kids are in bed.

[BentleysBands]

On all day


Nick Jr,noggin,Disney, DVD movies...mainly for background. We also do music
through out the day. My parents all asked at interviews if I did the TV and actually wanted it. I'm home based and my daycare IS my whole home so it works for us. Personally I couldn't go without TV LOL. When our cable goes out due to a storm we are all lost

[SandeeAR]

Mine is on all day too. I have 3 babies and 1, 2.5 y/o, she stops for 2 things and actually watches it......Sesame street, but only Elmos World and Super Why. When I found out the local kindergarten watches Super Why everyday, I felt a LOT better about it.

With no one else her age to play with, I use it as her "company".

[MyAngels]

It's on and off throughout the day, although I tend to mute it quite a bit, since my current group don't actually watch it much.

I like to put it on the Today show for about an hour in the morning, too, just to make sure the world didn't go to H*** in and hand basket while I slept ::.

[marniewon]

It's on and off throughout the day, although I tend to mute it quite a bit, since my current group don't actually watch it much.

I like to put it on the Today show for about an hour in the morning, too, just to make sure the world didn't go to H*** in and hand basket while I slept ::.

Ha ha ha - I also watch the Today Show in the morning, for the same reason, check the weather forecast, try to stay in touch a little bit. When dck's get here, it goes to PBS - sesame street, curious george, super why, word world, etc. Sometimes kids are not even watching it and it's just background noise. I never used to have the tv on, but I have a drop-in who is super sensitive to new things and the tv was a really great way to transition him walking in the door being nervous to playing with the other kids. Many times my own teenagers will remind me it's on and at that point I'll turn it off. Tv will go off before lunch and will not go back on again that day, except for me to watch in the afternoon when the kids are napping, and then it's usually the food network.....

[nannyde]

When I found out the local kindergarten watches Super Why everyday, I felt a LOT better about it.".

Wow that's unbelievable.

[nannyde]

We have a couple of transitional times when we run TV to entertain the kids while we are doing something where we have to focus, do it quickly, and can't have them up and playing to get it done quickly. That's mass diaper changes and getting kids ready to go outside. In the summer it takes about ten minutes to dress them all in shoes to go out. Spring and Fall take about fifteen minutes. The Winter can take as much as forty minutes.

That's the only time we have it on and it's whatever is on on PBS at the time.

I would say the total in the summer is about a half an hour with getting shoes on and diapering after nap. The winter it is about 50 minutes witih diapering and getting kids in full winter gear to go outside.

I think TV is fine to be on. I don't use it because we just don't have time for it during the day. I only use it when it really is to their benefit to have something to do. Trying to play in full winter gear while you are waiting for seven other kids to get dressed is not that fun. Watching a little TV to pass the time until it is your turn to get upstairs is better for them and helps us keep everything calm while we are doing the HARD work of dressing and loading that many kids from the basement to the outside.

[DBug]

Trying to play in full winter gear while you are waiting for seven other kids to get dressed is not that fun. Watching a little TV to pass the time until it is your turn to get upstairs is better for them and helps us keep everything calm while we are doing the HARD work of dressing and loading that many kids from the basement to the outside.

This made me realize just how Canadian my kids are ::. They're used to sitting for 30 minutes in full winter gear inside while waiting for me to get all of the littles ready to go outside -- and we go through the whole getting dressed routine at least twice a day, sometimes three times if we're meeting the bus (and that's not including when the parents drop off & pick up). And they might as well get used to it, cuz they'll be doing it by themselves four times a day when they start school ::

But back to the original question -- I don't use tv at all. Personally I think kids have way too much screen time as it is, so we stay away from it all together during daycare hours. My dc kids have gotten used to it, and really between preschool activities, outdoor time, snack/meal times, etc, etc, there just isn't time for it.

[nikia]

In the morning for the 5:30 dropoff 3 times a week. Then at 5pm for the kids that are left here until the last possible moment till I close. Nick jr is what they watch. My tv is separate from the daycare play room so its not on unless its those two times.

[nannyde]

This made me realize just how Canadian my kids are ::. They're used to sitting for 30 minutes in full winter gear inside while waiting for me to get all of the littles ready to go outside -- and we go through the whole getting dressed routine at least twice a day, sometimes three times if we're meeting the bus (and that's not including when the parents drop off & pick up). And they might as well get used to it, cuz they'll be doing it by themselves four times a day when they start school ::

But back to the original question -- I don't use tv at all. Personally I think kids have way too much screen time as it is, so we stay away from it all together during daycare hours. My dc kids have gotten used to it, and really between preschool activities, outdoor time, snack/meal times, etc, etc, there just isn't time for it.

I see what you are saying and I agree with the WAY too much screen time BUT I don't see harm in running a TV show for the ones who are waiting to get dressed and the ones who are fully dressed. It gets pretty hot for them when they are the first one dressed and waiting the five to six minutes per child for the remaining seven kids. I think TV is wonderful for them during this time because it relaxes them and wonderful for us because we can focus on dressing them as quickly as possible without the distraction of supervising a bunch of kids waiting around.

TV doesn't work for us during non transitional times because we don't have enough time in the day for it BUT I don't have a problem with providers doing a lot of TV time if that's what they need to do when they are on their own with a group of kids. I think a lot of TV time is directly proportional to the fee charged for the service.

For providers who are receiving two dollars an hour per kid it is reasonable that they have a good amount of TV built into the day so they can manage more kids and make a higher daily wage. When the parents are paying a higher fee they very often paying for a lower adult to child ratio or even a second person on site.

My parents pay for a one adult to four kid ratio and pay for a daily 45 minute hike when weather permits. The walk is the most expensive thing (staff time/money) thing we do every day... BY FAR. When you are doing a big activity like that every day that takes an hour and a half total time during peek day care hours it doesn't really leave much time for TV viewing before nap time. We eat lunch right when we get back.

In the afternoon we have departures starting at three thirty so we don't go outside in the afternoon except for really low enrollment days in good easy weather.

I do think our kids have way too much screen time BUT there is a reason for that. Screen time is the easiest time for the adults. When providers have a low adult to child ratio then they naturally build in larger sections of time where the care of each kid is as easy as possible so they can get indirect care things done and have rest periods.

I was in WalMart over Christmas going thru their toy isles and I was had pressed to find toys for kids under the age of five that were not battery operated toys. I'm really amazed at how our kids play has turned almost completely into lights, sounds, screens, touch buttons play. Many of these toys are marketed as educational but they really aren't. They are one and the same as computer games and TV when it all comes down to it.