My almost 4 year old was sick for the majority of January, so he watched a lot of TV during that time. I honestly don’t know what else there is to do with kids that are sick and don’t have the energy to do much else, except for lay in bed. Honestly, he also watches a lot of TV sometimes when he’s not sick, and I sometimes struggle with the guilt of allowing this. But what I try to remind myself of is that I can only show up and be present with him and engaged with him when I am feeling my best. And sometimes me feeling my best means that, on nights when I’m parenting solo because dad is at bowling league, he lays next to me and watches TV on the iPad while I read a book, color, text friends, sometimes write... Sometimes I think, “Well, this isn’t the best for him...” but then I remember that maybe it IS the best for me in the moment. And that’s OK too.
I love this, Irina! I can relate to so much of this. I'm writing this now while my son watches Thomas & Friends and drops cheerios (and then crushes them) all over the house... This IS the best for us in the moment <3
In our house, my three year old son watches Franklin, The Stinky and Dirty Show, Puffin Rock, Bob the Builder, Sesame Street, Mighty Machines, and some John Deere propaganda videos on YouTube. And I am not ashamed! I don't even pretend it is "educational". I have really nice memories from all the TV I watched growing up (except for a few Lifetime Movies....) and it should be okay to let our kids have the same.
I absolutely agree we need to be talking about it more and stop feeling ashamed about how screen time is used in our homes. We get a lot of information about recommendations and research but we miss the other parts about what is happening out in the wild and that can help neutralize some of the panic.
My almost 4 year old was sick for the majority of January, so he watched a lot of TV during that time. I honestly don’t know what else there is to do with kids that are sick and don’t have the energy to do much else, except for lay in bed. Honestly, he also watches a lot of TV sometimes when he’s not sick, and I sometimes struggle with the guilt of allowing this. But what I try to remind myself of is that I can only show up and be present with him and engaged with him when I am feeling my best. And sometimes me feeling my best means that, on nights when I’m parenting solo because dad is at bowling league, he lays next to me and watches TV on the iPad while I read a book, color, text friends, sometimes write... Sometimes I think, “Well, this isn’t the best for him...” but then I remember that maybe it IS the best for me in the moment. And that’s OK too.
I love this, Irina! I can relate to so much of this. I'm writing this now while my son watches Thomas & Friends and drops cheerios (and then crushes them) all over the house... This IS the best for us in the moment <3
Yup, there you go! Plus, Thomas & Friends is cute.
In our house, my three year old son watches Franklin, The Stinky and Dirty Show, Puffin Rock, Bob the Builder, Sesame Street, Mighty Machines, and some John Deere propaganda videos on YouTube. And I am not ashamed! I don't even pretend it is "educational". I have really nice memories from all the TV I watched growing up (except for a few Lifetime Movies....) and it should be okay to let our kids have the same.
Haha we have also found these John Deere videos 🤣 I have great memories of childhood shows too! Love this reminder.
I absolutely agree we need to be talking about it more and stop feeling ashamed about how screen time is used in our homes. We get a lot of information about recommendations and research but we miss the other parts about what is happening out in the wild and that can help neutralize some of the panic.
YES 🙌🏼 the panic is real.