How much TV does your toddler watch?

Question

I'm not asking this to be judgemental or anything like this I'm just curious as to what other toddlers do. My 15 month daughter shows no interest in TV whatsover even if I put something like the tweenies she will ignore it.
So here are the questions:
1. When did your toddler first start watching TV?
2. How uch do they watch a day and how old are they?
3. What are your reasons for your toddler watching/not watching TV

Just to clarify I am not looking for advice on how to get my toddler to watch tv I don't care that shes not interested.

Answer 1

3.5-year old daughter. She watches no more than 10 hours a week and that includes what she gets on her computer in the form of pc games. She very rarely watches actual tv beyond watching the Simpson's at 6 with her dad. Sort of routine cause i'm usually cooking then and it keeps her out of my hair. Only dvd's and videos for the rest.
Her favourites now are Little Mermaid, Big Cook Little Cook, Dangermouse, Thumbelina and Clifford. We're trying to get her into Dora to keep Barbie at bay for a few more years.She started watching at a very early age. She worked her way through the baby Einstein series, then she got hooked on Never-Ending Story (thanks to nannie) and got a thing with giants so i bought her the Iron Giant to show not all giants are bad.
She watches tv cause she does like it to some degree and again, it keeps her occupied so i l get to do some housework at the same time. Sometimes i really want a nap and will get on the sofa with her. She'll watch her film, i'll nod off and sometimes we end up both asleep. She learns from it. I restrict her viewing because it is passive learning. She knows we don't do televisions in the bedroom though :-)

Answer 2

1. When did your toddler first start watching TV? --- 6 months (baby enstien)
2. How much do they watch a day and how old are they? home - 2hrs school 1hr movie or two shows
3. What are your reasons for your toddler watching/not watching TV -- ummm i need a break lol plus she enjoys the singing and dancing they do

I put on the tv first thing in the morning so i can get dressed for work, without it i wouldnt be able to get dress i stick her in her highchair and get use ready. Meal times she watches a show or 2 after. and thats about it, weekends she watches it more depending on if i have to clean up the house before i let her loose for destruction lol

Answer 3

The question of how much TV is suitable for a toddler to watch is a difficult one. On the one hand, there are advocates such as those at the American Academy of Pediatrics that do not recommend TV at all for children age 2 or younger. The AAP also recommends that older children be limited to no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of educational, nonviolent programs. On the other hand, there are parents who don’t limit their children’s intake of television at all, and the children grow up well-adjusted and healthy.

Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes. Mostly, it is important that your child has plenty other of experiences, social, emotional, intellectual, and physical that are not in front of the television. When your toddler does watch television, there are some things that you can do to help the experience be more beneficial (or at least less harmful!) These include:

- Know what your child is watching. Use more than just program ratings; read parental reviews to find out if the program is particularly suited to your family. If possible, try to watch an episode or two with your child.

- Set limits. Create a rule about how much TV your child will watch in a day and stick to it. It is earlier to establish limits early on than it is to go back later on and try to wean your child off of too much TV.

- For younger toddlers especially, choose quiet, slow, and calm programs for him to watch. This allows your child to take in more information, and keeps him from becoming over stimulated.

- Talk about television with your child. Help her to understand what the program or programs are about. Help him to understand how commercials work, why they are there, and that you can’t necessarily believe everything that a TV show or a commercial tells you.

- Reinforce TV learning. If the letter of the day on Sesame Street is “B”, then work with your child on drawing the letter. Take him around the house, showing him beds, bowls, belts, and other “B” words.

Posted in Baby and Toddler

Answer 4

my 20mo old watches probably a total of an hour of tv a day. Of course I keep pbs kids on till daddy gets home from work just for the sound. Otherwise the house gets too quiet. She doesn't really show much interest in the shows though. She gets excited about comercials lol. Her big thing is the keyboard. She wants to type all the time. She was interested in commericals from the time she was about six months old. She is too busy to stop and watch much more than certian commercials. Her favorite is vonage commercials.

Answer 5

My son first started watching PBS shows like Barney and Teletubbies when he was about 18 months old (maybe 1 hour in the morning at the most, for those two shows). Now he's five and LOVES watching tv. I try to limit it to three shows a day, or maybe two hours a day, mostly after he comes home from school, and only kid shows. My main concern is to have him do more creative things during the time he's at home, like playing with his trains, cars, dinosaurs, or working on arts and writing/reading, instead of "vegging" in front of the tv.

Answer 6

My son is 16 months and just started being interested inthe tv about a month ago. the only thing that will hold his attention for more than 5 minutes is The Mickey Mouse club house which he watches every morning from 730 - 800. i don't know why he likes it but i think it is Toodles. When they say OOO Toodles!! my son starts to dance and it is so cute. He dosent show interest in anyother tv shows. My 17 month old niece loves tv she dosent care what is on as long as it is cartoons, she really likes Dora and the Backyardagins. I limit my son to his one show in the morning and one show in the afternoon after his nap, Mickey mouse club house comes on again at 200.

Answer 7

My daughter watches the Nickelodeon Sprout channel. It is educational and geared toward the toddler age group. She watches quite a bit, but also does other things. She isn't glued to the television, it's just on in the background while we play. She probably started showing interest around 2, now she's 4 and likes other programs like Scooby Doo and Pink Panther.

Answer 8

I don't have any children of my own, but I have two young sisters.

My mom flopped those kids in front of the TV at an early age! I would say about 6 months.

Since their attention span isn't very long, the TV can be on all day, but they'll probably only watch about 20-30 minutes at most.
Ages 1 and 5.

Background noise while they are playing.

Answer 9

My toddler watches about 2 hrs a day. He is at school all day (preschool) then we get home have a snack and goes and watches tv. for a while . Till dinner.. then plays.. go by age maybe? Blues clues, Dora, Sesame Steet.. that will get her attention. I am sure if I stayed home the time would be distributed. Like morning Nick Jr. while eating breakfast. Then off. Then a little after naptime while I make dinner. Then off.

Answer 10

I have a 3 year old son. Our TV is on all day! He usually wakes up around 9am and watches tv/plays with his toys until about 11am. I usually run errands from 11am-2pm. When we get back in the afternoon, he continues to watch tv and play with his toys. The only time I dont allow him to watch tv, is during meals, because he wont eat! He watches Nick, NickJr, Sprout, & Disney. Most of the shows are very educational. He has learned a lot from watching tv. Anyways, I dont think you are wrong to allow your 18 month old to watch tv, he'll probably learn a lot from it! Hope this helps!