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In a typical day, how much is your tv on for the kids??
I know some parents are against tv but I let my parents know up front that the tv will be on in my house. Not all the time, but it will be at some points throughout the day.
Although the kids aren't watching the tv the whole time it is on, I would say it averages out to about 1-2 hours per day. I don't think it will be on as much when it's warmer out and we can get outside to play instead.
We watch TV on Friday afternoons and first thing Monday morning (early arrival so I need time to finish my own kid's lunches, ect).
We listen to a lot of Disney music, classical, and other kid-appropriate music. I love my Snack Time CD by the Barenaked Ladies! I'm a sucker for Disney music and find myself singing along more than the kids. LOL!
We also have a good chunk of our day spent with one child or another at the piano. No TV or music while someone is practicing.
The children are allowed to watch selected videos or cartoons if they arrive earlier than everyone else. They are also allowed to watch it in the later day, 4:00PM, so they can all calm down and be ready to leave when parents arrive.
At lunch time we listen to stories on cassettes--Cinderella, Peter Pan, etc. We also listen to classical music at snack time and will color pictures related to the music.
In the good weather we spend a lot of time outside, so we don't have much time for television.
I use TV on days when there is a large gap between the first arrival and the second just to help him pass the time and also on the two days my last one leaves 45 minutes after everyone else. As far as tv during the day I use it while I am finishing up lunch. I give them a warning to clean up and it goes much faster with no complaint when the reward is TV. The sooner they are done the more they get to watch. It goes off when they are called to the table for lunch.
it's quite limited here, for my own selfish reasons :p My son is 5 and only starts school next year (he missed the date by 10 days...in Quebec) so he doesn't nap with the others and I still need my downtime, so he gets a big chunk at naptime. I wouldn't want him watching it in the morning and then again at naptime. Also, after daycare they my get a bit while I prepare dinner. I also figure that the other kids are getting it at home, too, so I choose to save it for non-daycare hours.
Also, the more they watch, the more they want it. ....my gang, at least. And when it happened a lot at the same time each day, it became expected. Now, they don't think of it as something to do, so on the odd occasion that I say "let's watch TV", they're shocked and excited!
Here the daycare kids do not have access to tv only the once in a while movie on a portable dvd player. They dont miss it because they know they will get to watch when they are at home and that is ok. The older ones ask why the tv isnot there any more and my answer works ....because now we get to talk , play and do more fun stuff with (i then call each daycare child's name) It is not a part of our routine so it isnt expected nor missed.
I do agree that since I started severely limiting the TV the children no longer expect or miss it. That's very true! I found, when my firstborn was a toddler, that if he was wound up or his mood turning more chaotic that it was calming to just turn off the TV and enjoy the quiet. Since then we really enjoy not using it, and like the music we choose.
Great idea about books on tape at lunch! I really like that and will borrow the idea!
I do not allow tv during the day. I find that the children do not need tv. We use music if we want some background noise.
We do have TV time each day. I sometimes put it on for a short time while I get lunch ready. For the kids who dont nap, we choose a movie to watch however, very rarely do they ever sit and watch for more then 10 mins. The only time they actually stay on the couch and watch is if its a new one they havent seen before, or if they are tired or not feeling well. At 5pm, if any of the kids are still here, TV goes on while I start my family's dinner. The new little girl I have just started, will watch ANYTHING that is on the TV, today she sat with my hubby and watched the hockey/basketball highlights from lastnight... she's 3... LOL!
I don't allow very much TV at all. It's not because I am anti-TV. In fact, I think there is a lot of value in TV for little kids.
BUT.....I want my dckids to know how to PLAY TOYS and be otherwise able to SELF engage and not be constantly stimulated by external entertainment in order to be happy.
In my early days I let the kids watch more TV than I do now. I also felt I had to entertain them all the time and those kids did NOT know how to just play on their own. Unless they were entertained they were constantly whiny or unsettled.
Once I learned that you need to teach kids how to SELF entertain by not giving them any "freebie' entertainment value then they can free-play for hours should you need them to. And the other great thing about that approach is that when you also need them to focus on YOU they are more than ready to because you are 'special' entertainment.
We have limited TV here. I'm not a TV watcher myself. If one of the kids brings a movie we can watch it. Or if I have a large group and I'm getting something ready they can watch it. Very little in the summer and spring. Winter and Fall a bit more especially if there are days where we can't go out or some of us are not feeling the best.
I try to limit tv here too. I do use it in the afternoon for my older kiddos. I have two 3.5 year olds who do not nap so they are allowed to watch a Disney movie of their choice every day during quiet time. The parents have no problems with this and even bring some of their child's favourite movies over to share with my daughter. As a treat I will sometimes have a movie afternoon where all the kiddos are allowed to watch a movie. Most times they will only watch a few minutes anyways and then they are off to play again :)
No TV. Maybe a movie on a very inclement day and we're cooped up, but that's the extent of it.
There are most days where I don't do any TV.
One of the guys I watch part time is a big Toopy&Binoo fan so sometimes (if we are home around 10:30 am) I put it on for him from Treehouse but then the TV goes off again after. I don't want the kids to riled up from TV and colours as it gets closer to nap time.
There are days that I have a 3 year old who doesn't nap anymore so I put a video for them on most days during quiet time and the parents are okay with that and are aware. Somedays the 3 yr old is so busy playing with my child that they forget about a movie and I just let them play the whole time through and don't bring up the movie.
I have in my manual that my cut off is 30 minutes per day but most days - the TV doesn't ever come on for the younger ones
We watch T.V "Tree House" early in the am as my 1st child is here at 7am, during quiet time (the older ones get to pick a movie) and at the end of the day while I clean up. Oh and while I'm making lunch for 20 minutes, we have tons of educational DVD's Leap Frog letter Factory, Math Circus and Raffi! If you ladies don't have a Raffi DVD or Sharon Louis and Bram I strongly encourage it! Amazon.ca is the best. The kids love, love, love Raffi! It's great for rainy days too! I'm not affraid or embarassed to admit it but I lost a client once because I had the T.V on during an interview. My 2 1/2 year old daughter was watching a Max and Ruby Dvd and she was angry and comented that her little one never watches t.v. I told her the times we watch T.V and she said no thank you!
I don't feel quitly if I know it's educational.
We also listen to Silly Songs, Fun Songs, Raffi quiet time songs etc... the kids love music!
We watch Treehouse cartoons first thing in the morning as everyone is arriving. It goes off when we leave for school drop-off, and will occasionally come on again for either quiet time for the older non-nappers or at home time when we are just waiting for mommies and daddies.
It cracks me up though, that some parents expect no television whatsoever while at our home, but when various shows come on, thier children know the theme song and all the names of the characters!! I understand they are not paying us to plunk their kid in front of a TV, but it seems a little bit hypocritical to me.... :)
When I first started my daycare I didn't have any tv time for the kids but then I realized that I need it for my sanity.
I had a little girl (15 months) that would come around 7am and didn't know how to be quiet. She was always making loud noises when she played and would bother my family upstairs who were still sleeping. I would turn on the tv for about 30 mins or so until everyone woke up (on their own).
I sometimes use tv at the end of the day if the kids are really hyper and need a little calming down before pick up time.
I was also going crazy during lunch time with trying to prepare lunch, having the kids tidy up and ready. I couldn't do it all at once and one of my daycare networking ladies said she gets everyone to clean up first then sits them at the table with a quiet activity (or puts the tv on) so she can prepare lunch. It's been awesome for me now and I'm not trying to do a bunch of things at the same time.
I usually put on treehouse, like sesame street, mr. maker, max & Ruby and it's no more than 30 minutes at a time.
I do tv while I prepare lunch too. If we stayed upstairs they are told as soon as the room is clean they can watch tv and they scramble like madmen to get it done quickly. If we have been in the basement playroom before lunch then once we come upstairs I dont' want them making a mess in the upstairs playroom because this is also the nap space so I put on the tv (there is a small bin of toys and a shelf of books in there too for those that don't want to watch tv). I take them one at a time to do diapers/toileting in between the cooking and while still a crazy time it just seems to work. I put on treehouse tv too.
I do not have a tv in my day home space at all. I allow the children five minutes per day of a you tube educational video that highlights an aspect of our monthly theme.
Parents can let their children watch tv at home. My parents LOVE this policy.
I am not anti-tv but I do not let the children watch tv at all in daycare.
According to my contract the children can watch up to 1.5 hours (or a movie) per day. This is reserved for older children who don't nap during quiet time and may need a movie.
At the present all my children are under 3 and nap. We do have the occassional movie, it works out to be about 2 - 5 per year, mainly when we have had a lot of rainy days or cold weather. We just have a busy program and find we don't have time for movies. My meals are made in advance so we go right from our activities to eating.
Though one thing I am guilty of is letting the children play with my playbook during free play. My youngest daughter dances and the girls I have in care love watching her dance and trying to dance like her. So some mornings they have the playbook to watch her dancing. They can watch her dance for up to 15 min before they decide to play again and they could do this up to twice a week. Also mixed in with my daughters dance videos are the short clips I have taken of the daycare children themselves, so the kids enjoy watching themselves too. Sometimes this happens during drop off so the parents also enjoy watching the clips of the children playing.
No tv here, I used to let them watch a show or two when I first opened but now it`s no tv. I only have a TV in my living room and the children no longer have access to that part of the house.
We are watching the Calgary Stampede parade this morning - until they lose interest and then doing cowboy activitives and making a parade craft. Tv has it's place. It isn't a substitute for care but it can be utilized just as computers and other media are a part of our programs. There is only a tv in our family room so being allowed in there to sit and watch a show is a privelege that can be reniged just as quickly.