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I have a mix. I generally turn on some cartoons in the morning as kids are arriving (generally older cartoons like tom & jerry, mickey mouse, etc. I hate a lot of the newer kids programs for many of the reasons listed above). The TV goes off at breakfast and remains off most of the day unless its a pajama/movie day in which case its 1 movie only.
I have one child who will be 3 in June who starts crying to "watch a movie" (meaning any cartoon) the minute she walks in the door. She throws a complete tantrum when tv time is over and will fuss/whine about "wanna watch" for most of the day. She's an only child, and of course has a tablet and her own tv in her room so screen time is HEAVY at home. She doesn't pretend play at all, and while we work on it daily the basics like sharing and being kind to our friends are foreign to her.
Then I have another, a dcb who is 3.5 who hates tv and LOVES to play. his imagination is wild and hes always making up games and I often hear things like "pretend we're in a forest..." This child has older siblings and screen time is very limited in their home. They are outside a lot as well.
I definitely think the home environment as well as screen time makes a difference. Kids who are parked in front of screens all day don't have the same social skills or play skills of others.
Other than a cartoon during arrivals - we have virtually no screen time and I don't allow tablets or other electronics at daycare, even for school agers who may be here after school or on a snow day. If a child shows up with one it is put away until time to go home. That's just not the kind of environment I want to have, (and to be honest I also don't want to put up with the arguing over someone not wanting to share the tablet with friends or siblings).
I have one child who will be 3 in June who starts crying to "watch a movie" (meaning any cartoon) the minute she walks in the door. She throws a complete tantrum when tv time is over and will fuss/whine about "wanna watch" for most of the day. She's an only child, and of course has a tablet and her own tv in her room so screen time is HEAVY at home. She doesn't pretend play at all, and while we work on it daily the basics like sharing and being kind to our friends are foreign to her.
Then I have another, a dcb who is 3.5 who hates tv and LOVES to play. his imagination is wild and hes always making up games and I often hear things like "pretend we're in a forest..." This child has older siblings and screen time is very limited in their home. They are outside a lot as well.
I definitely think the home environment as well as screen time makes a difference. Kids who are parked in front of screens all day don't have the same social skills or play skills of others.
Other than a cartoon during arrivals - we have virtually no screen time and I don't allow tablets or other electronics at daycare, even for school agers who may be here after school or on a snow day. If a child shows up with one it is put away until time to go home. That's just not the kind of environment I want to have, (and to be honest I also don't want to put up with the arguing over someone not wanting to share the tablet with friends or siblings).
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