TV And 2 1/2 Year Old

My son is almost 4 and he usually watches 3-4 hours of t.v. a day and that includes watching a video or being on the computer. I think most kids watch a lot more than that although on this site you may see more conservative numbers...or at least what people admit.

Probably about 2 hours. And often it's just "on" while they are playing. The 2 y/o will ask for a video, the 4 y/o will put it in, and then they wander off and play something. Or the 4 y/o picks something (eg, Phineas and Ferb) that the 2 y/o doesn't get so she is not exactly "watching" it but she's around it.

They may watch more during he week. They goes to my mother's and MIL's house while I am at work. Who knows what they do over there.

I really don't have issues with TV. Mostly they get into a phase where they want to watch Annie or Tinkerbell or something every day for a month straight. They set their own limits and get up and walk away when they are bored. If I ever see them getting lazy or getting that glazed look in their eyes, we turn it off and do something else. Mostly they pull away from it on their own before I have to do this.

I am pretty lax about TV. I just don't see what the big deal is. My baby sisters (twins now in their 20s) watched HOURS of sesame street (and then other things like MaryKate and ashley movies when they were older) incessently (sp?) growing up and they are the smartest people in my family... 4.0, graduating college with honors and all that. And they are very fit and healthy and always have been. No long term damage there!

I don't really limit the TV at all. Just not a big concern of mine.

My 2.5 yr old usually watches 1-1.5 hours a day. He watches Barney when his sister and brother are at school, then will join in with whatever they're watching when they get home. They get about 1 hour a day. They're watching PBS, so I really don't see anything wrong with it.

When our son was younger, we would have the t.v. on and he would mostly play while it was on and stop to look at it for a few minutes while the show was on. Now that he's 3 1/2 years old he actually is able to sit and watch for a more extended period of time. In the morning, after eating breakfast, he's allowed to watch one show (usually 30 min.), then get dressed and then watch another 30 minute show while my husband and I get ready for work. Sometimes he plays during the show other times he doesn't. When he comes home from school (picked up usually around 5 p.m. where he's been playing since 3:15) my husband will either play with him or let him watch t.v. So, on average probably 2 hours per day. On the weekends, he gets to watch more t.v., but it's balanced with more play time outside. Our thought is so long as he is playing at least double the amount that he is watching, we're okay with it. We are working parents and we have to get stuff done and sometimes, t.v. is the only thing that will stop him from begging for us to play with him. Those 30 minutes to an hour provide a lot of time for us to get things done around the house - like dishes and laundry! :)

Hi,

I have a 23 month old and he watches a max of 1 hour of tv a day. Most days he does not watch any tv at all because we are outside or he is playing with his toys. He likes us to read him books because we've read to him since he was an infant.

Good Luck!

My son is now 3, but he watches about the same as he did at 2 1/2. Most days he watches no tv, or maybe 30 minutes or so at daycare. Several days/nights a week we will watch a movie as a family. There is also the rare occasion when I will put him in front of the tv or a movie for an hour or two so I can work if I have a tight deadline, but that only happens every other week or so.

My kids watch a ton of tv because it's on all day. My son is 2 and my daughter is 5. When they get bored they'll go play in their room or in the back yard, I'm okay with it because I just need them out of my hair for a while sometimes. I played video games and had my own cable tv in my room growing up and I didn't turn out terrible so as long as they are watching age appropriate things, I don't have a problem with it.

Being honest. My kids watch AT MOST an hour a day.

Most days they watch about 1/2 hour... many days (Sat., Sun., and at least one day during the week) they don't watch any.

I am a full time SAHM, and we are just too busy to watch much more than that.

My kids are 6, 5 and 3.

oh heck, who knows...the t.v.'s always on at our house b/c it's just too quiet w/o it. so in the a.m. while i'm getting ready & he's eating breakfast...he probably watches about 45 mins (mind you it's probably on a little over an hr), then after work, i turn it on but neither of us REALLY watch it. maybe a couple hours a day but hard to say since it's on for noise all the time anyway. i do know that i watch WAY more than him, like when he goes to bed. plus, he watches movies at daycare & such.
vague answer but that's all i got! :)

My 3 1/2 year old daughter watches up to 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day (not every day, probably 4-5x/week). When she was 2 ish, she watched 30 minutes to 60 minutes a day.

Son will be 3 in May. He watches everyday while my husband gets himself and our two boys ready for the day. He usually starts a movie for him and then tells him he can watch more of it the next day. I would say its probably between 30 min to an hour at the most. In the evenings I turn on the T.V. while I nurse my younger son and the 2 year old is sometimes in the room, but the T.V. is not on for him so he plays with toys on the bed or in his own room. On weekends we usually let him watch one whole movie total for the whole weekend. Other than that we are out and about on weekends so there is no other T.V. time.

Our TV was on all the time during the day when the kids were little. They hardly stopped to watch it though. They just aren't made to stop, sit down, focus, and spend any real amount of time doing it. They enjoyed hearing it, singing the songs, playing with their toys and pretending they were that character (once they were a bit older and had the cognitive ability to do pretend play).

My kids watch AT MOST an hour a day because I turn it on before I leave the house so they watch almost 1/2 hr while my husband is getting ready for work. Then they get 1/2 at the sitters before we pick them up sometimes but we don't have time for much TV. We have dinner to make, baths to give, storytime and bed. I only have 3 hrs at home with my kids before bedtime so this makes a difference.

My son just turned two and he probably watches 1.5 to 2 hours a day. He watches Sprout in the mornings with his breakfast and when I get home from work sometimes he'll ask to watch an episode of Sesame Street. The tv is on at home a lot though for background noise and my Mom who watches him likes to watch different programs but he doesn't normally sit and watch it.