Screen time for 2 year old

[K-JDA]

Hi all

Just wondering how much/if at all you allow for screen time (including iPad) for your 2 year olds?

DS has suddenly got really interested in it and feels like we are on a bit of a slippery slope with it. We currently allow whilst we are getting ready in a morning and then a bit whilst having supper at night.

[cath~]

Hi, I'm going to pop this over to activity time for you.

L had no screen time at age two. From 3yo we gradually increased her use of iPad for games/tv programmes

Since H arrived it increased more.   Now she watches 30 mins maybe 6 times/week (eg some a days none , some days twice iyswim).

ETA I forgot she also watches TV sometimes at nursery, maybe once or twice/week for I'm guessing no more than 30 mins.

[jessmum46]

Oh yikes, we are terrible  DD watches way more than I'd like at the moment, partly because it keeps her quiet and out of the way when I'm settling DS.  She will start watching when I put him down for a nap and maybe watch 20 mins, so that's probably twice a day.  Then usually has maybe another 20-30 mins after tea before bedtime.  That's partly because on nursery days she is so shattered when she gets home that TV is a bit of down time for her, otherwise she'd be running about getting even more tired and hyper   She is good about switching it off though when I ask, as long as I give enough warning.

[cath~]

Just bumping up for you in case anyone else wants to share their lo's screen time

[weaver]

We have no screen time for either of them, and never have.  (Since you asked 'if at all')

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Lily had about 20 minutes a day from around the time she turned 2 and not much before then.  Jack, however, loves the TV,  and it's often on for lily so he probably gets 30-45 minutes most days. More than I'd like,  but he's an early riser, so we normally start the day with 20 minutes or so while I acclimatise to being awake 

[Kirsten~]

Great question, as I've been wondering myself how bad off we are!!!
We are also in the "terrible parents" camp. We never had a set limit on it for dd. She would get a show at breakfast so DH could tend to the animals and maybe another one at night before dinner. But since DS arrived, she's had WAY more than she should. It's been hard to pull back, but DH and I keep saying that we need to put a limit for her. I would like to shoot for an hour a day knowing that in school days she gets none, usually. And on days when DH is home alone with both LOs (2 days a week) she is getting more. As someone else said, it's the only thing that keeps her quiet, although she's gotten better about playing alone lately.

Curious to read what others post.

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

I like to avoid it before three. My big ones watch more than if like but same here, when there's one parent home and a
Baby needs to sleep we haven't found a better solution. Mine probably watch on average about 90 min per day, broken through the day. I'd love to do none at all but I can't trust them on their own when we are putting baby down and, admittedly, it's a break for whomever is home with them too.

[lily_layne]

R is just beginning to show an interest in TV. DH has it on a lot when he's home and we have an open concept house so it's always there iykwim, which I'm not crazy about. She sometimes stops to looks at what's going on (especially if there's a dog, a boat, or music) but rarely actively pays attention to it for more than 5 minutes. Occasionally, she will crawl onto DH's lap and they watch part of a baseball game or a woodworking show. We haven't turned on any kid's programming for her yet. A few times a week she watches a video of "The Wheels on the Bus" on DH's phone.

[Erin M]

We go back and forth -- I find we have too much sometimes (I would consider that averaging out to more than an hour a day) and then I'll scale back.  Right now I admittedly use the iPad to entertain James when we're at the girls' dance classes 3x a week but am trying to avoid it outside of those times.

[weaver]

I don't think anyone should feel like a 'terrible parent', yk?  The thing is that we actually got rid of the TV as we realised that we didn't watch it, were never in the habit of turning it on in the day, and it was just taking up space, big ugly black thing

[Ima shel Alon]

At this age DS was allowed 20min only on weekends. We have a t.v screen but we don't watch t.v at all, so everything was on DVD and I would always control what he watched. I am more relaxed now but I was pretty strict then with what he could watch. He only watched things like peter rabbit, Winnie the pooh, things like that.
phones, tablets, smartphones - are still off the limit.

[michaeljacknnugg]

We probably watch less now than when DS was two - there is just no time for it nowadays!

Sometimes on a weekend we will put it on if we/he need some downtime, but at 2yo sometimes he just needed to stop moving  and the TV was the only thing that would do it. Same for my nephew so I wonder if it's how they are wired. Always on the go!! I used to put a DVD on after lunch 2/3 times a week when I wasn't sure if he needed a nap or not, as the only way he'd even contemplate a nap was snuggled up on the sofa with me.

IMO it can serve as an educational tool, as well as a way of bonding as a family. At 2/3 his favourite show was the Octonauts and without even realising it (teacher's daughter!) we created a topic at home about sea life. Bought books, learnt about creatures, had a fantastic time. And at nursery they did similar things with whatever the LOs were into. Now we are doing similar things with his love of the Beast Quest series, only now it is a series of books that he is into rather than a show.

[~Emma~]

Both my kids watched more tv when they were 2 than they do now. (we don't do ipads or the like) In fact I can remember freaking out about many times -esp with DS as he was an older sibling and  DD was a teeny bub and I just needed him to quieten down! They both watched a lot during nap dropping too.


 Now, not so much. Just too much else going on.

 Like anything, its ok in moderation. Some days now my kids don't watch the tv for days on end. Some weekends they are sat in front if it for ages.

[K-JDA]

Thanks everyone - sounds like we are pretty average in tv usage. Agree that it is sometimes the only way for DS to just sit and chill out a bit especially after nursery when he has raced round all day.