[Whoo boy, first toddler eating and now toddler screen time? Since when did I become such a not-afraid-of-controversy blogger? (I didn’t; I’m still deathly afraid. This just happens to be important to me.)]A couple of months ago, Janssen posted about … Read More
Blouse/Necklace: Forever 21 (here and here); Skirt: Banana Republic (old); Shoes: Steve Madden (old); Belt: Target (came with another skirt) I’ve been a total bookworm for as long as I remember. My mom has vivid memories of spending … Read More
I’m generally a strictly hot-soup-belongs-in-the-wintertime sort of person (although chilled soups, such as peach and strawberry and cucumber are planted firmly in my mind’s summer, but one could say that’s more dessert than meal) (will I ever create parentheticals shorter … Read More
Tuesday was National Cheesecake Day! And I’m not one to let a holiday go un-celebrated, that’s just not right. So I took one for the team and made a dessert. And it was good. Very good. Blueberry Cheesecake … Read More
Growing up, any extended family gathering revolved around food. A long and late breakfast was followed by a multi-coursed lunch, and shortly after was a big dinner, either cooked at home or eaten out. Indians take food seriously, and I … Read More
I kind of have a thing for perfectly ripe tomatoes. As we’ve tried to eat more seasonally the last few years, I generally try to refrain from purchasing them during off months. This also means that I purchased no fewer … Read More
My family is from South India, and North and South Indian foods are surprisingly different. So much so that those from different sides of the country have a bit of a chip on their respective shoulders about which cuisine is … Read More
I often commented while I was nursing Nat that I felt it was easier dressing a pregnant belly than it was to dress while breastfeeding. You need easy access but still good coverage, some layers but not too many, nothing … Read More
I think people sometimes think I’m kidding when I tell them it’s one of Dan’s life goals to have a deep freezer, mostly for the purpose of ice cream storage. They would be wrong.Somehow, it just seems right and good … Read More
Today’s thoughts are c/o the originality gallery and mostly are that summer weekends are the best. Blueberry picking, a little friend’s baptism, practicing a violin duet for church, going to church, watching Sister Act, grilled pizza, finishing a fantastic book, … Read More
Remember how this weeknight vegetarian series was, in large part, motivation for me to plan meals ahead of time? Well, I am nothing if not very on top of all the things, and thus waited until 45 minutes before guests … Read More
Oh, hello, Interworld! Nice to see you again after a gloriously unplugged week (glorious except for the 8 million emails to which I returned. that was not glorious.). And because everyone loves pictures of vacations you have not taken, behold … Read More
It’s also usually actually easier for me to have very little screen time. Because I’m lazy, it’s easier for me to not have it as an option than to constantly be deciding whether to say yes or no. I’ve also found that the more screen time N is allowed, the more he wants. So it’s generally simpler to just have a policy of very little, and at very specific times/amounts.
So without further ado, here are our personal toddler screen time guidelines (I call them that because they’re definitely not set in stone, but this is generally how we do things with N for right now – it may totally change with K with different personalities/priorities/numbers of kids/what is it with me and insanely long parentheticals??):
1. Phone/iPod: This will probably shock some of you off your chairs, but I still use T9 (remember that?) to send text messages on my old flip phone. That’s right, I don’t have a smartphone. I’ve just never felt it entirely necessary and haven’t (so far…we’ll see) been willing to spend $50+ a month to have one. I do have an iPod touch that I love because then I can check my email or read on my kindle app while I nurse the baby or use Instagram (terrible quality pictures from the iPod, I know, don’t hate me). The kids use this approximately never.
2. iPad: This is definitely where N gets most of his screentime, which I like, because then it’s not on a big screen for K to see, as well. The biggest thing is a little youtube clip, almost always of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (whoever introduced him to it, well, there is a special feeling I have for you and it mostly involves making you listen to the Hot Dog song on repeat for the rest of your life) in the mornings. When he was potty training months ago, I figured out that was his best “reward currency.” He didn’t care at all about treats, liked stickers, but LOVED getting to watch a little Mickey clip (probably because he was so TV deprived). While potty training for #1 was a cinch, #2 took another couple of weeks, so this was really helpful, so he got in the habit of getting a video for going #2 in the potty. We weaned him off it for a while, but then when we returned from a trip, he somehow remembered, and has still wanted it. It hasn’t been worth the hassle to me of cutting him off yet, but I will eventually. Anyway, this usually amounts to anywhere from 6-20 minutes most mornings.
He will also sometimes play memory on there or do a book reading app, but this happens for probably 15 minutes once every week or two. He will also sometimes get it to do scripture coloring or scripture stickers during Sacrament meeting at church, so maybe 20-30 minutes on Sunday.
When in the car, he never gets it unless on a road trip, and it’s rare then. He’s generally much more interested in pointing out every.single.thing. out the window, anyway, and doesn’t remember it, anyway. When we were on our long road trip along the East coast earlier this summer, I honestly can’t remember if he used it at all. This is obviously something that varies a lot by child (and I would’ve been totally fine letting him have it then), but he was much more interested in reading his books than using the iPad. N’s always had a crazy long attention span for books (at K’s age he would easily sit for 30 minutes reading with me, and she does…not do that) , but I don’t see that quite as much in K (yet), so perhaps she’ll be more interested in having the iPad for those occasions when the time comes.
3. TV/Movies: Our TV consumption is pretty much non-existant. As in, I don’t remember the last time we watched something actually coming from the TV and not a DVD/VHS. We’re not big movie watchers here – in fact, we cancelled our Netflix several months ago because we finally realized we were MAYBE watching one movie a month, and that was sometimes on a good month. It just takes us forever to get through them. We’re much more likely to read a book together or watch a “Michelle movie,” as N calls them.
And here is where I confess my giant nerdiness. I totally love Full House. Still. So Dan got me all the seasons and we’ve been working our way through them. Twenty two minutes of lighthearted cheesiness is just our speed for evening media. We’ll maybe watch one episode as a family (usually after K is in bed) twice a week or so.
Other than that, we will very occasionally watch some sort of animated VHS together (we have about 40). N loves Cars, and we’ve tried The Jungle Book and a couple others, but N’s attention span is really only about 30 minutes for these, and we only do it about once every other month.
4. Computer: We do weekly family video chat dates with Dan’s whole family, and we’ll occasionally Facetime with my mom during the day if it’s been a whole 72 hours since she’s seen the kids.
And that’s about it! So to recap, maybe an animated clip in the morning (10ish minutes), perhaps some short educational iPad game at some point during the day (10ish minutes), possibly some Full House in the evening as a family (22 minutes, sadly I know this). On Sundays, we don’t have the above, but we do have video chat and Sacrament meeting churchy apps. Blue moon usage includes long road trips (iPad) and VHS movies at home.
Me, on the other hand. I…spend a lot of time online. Like, I’m usually too embarrassed to answer those surveys that ask how many hours you spend online each day. Perhaps I should look into that.
What are your guidelines?
