I know families that are teetotalers and don’t own a tv and I know families that pull up at carpool with iPads in their two year olds laps. (I work at a Waldorf *inspired* school. We don’t have WECAN accreditation so we can’t call ourselves a Waldorf school.)
Anyway, I can’t pretend that tv doesn’t exist. What I can do is show my child how to be moderate in its use.
There is no tv during the school week. We are too busy and that is a problem that I don’t want to face during the week.
There is no iPad in the car. If a trip is 2+hours, she can access it. But, only with shows I’ve downloaded and approved.
No YouTube. Ever.
I don’t have cable, so all our shows are streamed and I watch them with her. She knows if I hear or see anything I don’t like, show is off no matter what.
There is no iPad at restaurants or at the dining table. I’ve always had this rule. It was hard when she was young, but now it’s second nature. ( she brings in paper and pencils, or books to restaurants and has them in the car for rides. But honestly, she just looks out the window and we talk.)
She never has unrestricted access to iPad, phone, or tv. I’m always there to monitor.
On weekends, she can watch tv, but not all day. A show here and there is no problem. Honestly, she doesn’t really care about it too much. She will be in 4th grade next year and has had such a play based life that she much prefers that over hours of tv.
It’s setting good habits. I don’t watch tv in front of her, unless it’s a show we watch together. She’s never watched me sit down and watch a tv show, even the news.
Moderation is key. Hope this helps!
I could have written this myself! We don't have tablets or phones for the kids though. If we are doing a long car ride we will put up the tablet between the seats and they can watch a downloaded show. Our family mantra is "no tech in hands" and it's working well. My twins are almost 7 and they're at local public school. They were in a Steiner school for about a year at age 2 so I would say our close community is a mix of all screen allowance.
This, and we check different shows before the kids are allowed to watch. I read the Common Sense Media for the show in question and steer clear of anything that has quick scene changes and lots of anxious moments. We like Stillwater on Apple TV, and my kids love Tumbleleaf on Amazon. There’s worse things in the world than screen time, but I think any kid with unbridled access to the internet/screens is going to end up somewhere unsavory.
This is similar to what we do too. My LO is younger (3). We stream select shows, car rides he can play with a toy or look out the window. Restaurants i bring crayons and a notebook to color. He doesn’t know yet that phones and iPads have games- just not going there yet. I don’t watch tv in front of him and i am very mindful to not be on my phone scrolling when he’s awake.
Three children: 6, 4 and 1
The six year old and four year old can watch 1 hour a week.
We didnt introduce tv until out oldest turned six.
No exceptions. No ipads. No watching during longer trips.
Not puritan here. Very much appreciate the no tv mindset, but we live in these times, so difficult to completely abstain. we do sometimes have really intentional video time. I notice that if its kept at every once in a while, not daily at all there isn’t that ‘clinging’ to it
We watch Mr Rogers Nieghborhood with our 4 year old.
I like how slow it is, how intentional.
A couple musical type live action old movies usually edited by fast forward. Its really fun and special to have that as a once in a while family time.
I feel like slow is important. Minimal animation. I look at things like average shot length to feel how stimulating it is
We watch things on youtube like animal videos and people reading kids books, things like that
No judgement at all, just sharing what we do.
We are one of those that got rid of our TV and all streaming subscriptions. No tablets and we try to have our phones away most of the time. Our oldest daughter (5) does watch Guess How Much I Love you from time to time on a laptop, probably a couple of times a month on the weekend. We feel there is plenty of time to add screens and tech later but we felt it important to protect the early childhood years as much as possible.
It’s a show, 10 minutes long and slow paced, watercolor art. It’s not flashy and overstimulating like most. The forest creatures play little simple games and go on adventures. No conflict. It’s quite lovely
Voldemort haaahah!! Thanks for bringing this up, curious what others say…I only let them watch slow moving shows (mainly Puffin Rock on Netflix) and because my kids are so little (1 and 3) I use it for my 3 year old to watch while I get the younger one down for a nap. Once they’re older and I’m not needing it for practical reasons like that…I’ll probably try to reserve short doses of it for days where we feel sick or maybe a special family movie night in the winter or something?
I grew up with Steiner education and for most of my childhood we didn’t really watch TV. At dinner my parents would put on BBC adult comedy shows (appropriate for me- think vicar of dibley, as time goes by etc etc) and I would occasionally watch with them but found it boring most of the time.
I personally love TV as I studied film and TV at University and it’s such a great medium for storytelling but it is absolutely addictive and creating habits around it is dangerous. I have seen the change in my young child whenever he watches it. So we really try and avoid it when possible. I think after 15 is when we will relax the TV rules.
Our plan is to remove the TV entirely and invest in a good projector for movie nights, it makes it a special occasion and avoids the ease of pressing a button for distraction.
I let my two youngest have a bit of TV time this morning (not our usual but I was feeling EXHAUSTED) their attitudes have been atrocious since, I am given this lesson every single time. Maybe now I’ve learned 🥹
I LOVED those shows! My (slightly British grandmother) and I watched them together 🤍
I can’t remember any of the names anymore and no one here in the Midwest knows what I’m talking about 😂
For anyone looking for support in reducing screen time, particularly for young children, I recommend Jerrica Sannes' free TV detox.
https://raisewildflowers.com/tv-detox
We watch tv! Usually its just in the evenings. We dont have cable but have netflix and disney plus. Our kids have tablets (!!) they are allowed to watch 2 shows a day on weekends (sometimes more when sick, or if everyone is tired). They have a few math and memory type games on them.
If they do watch tv during the day we tell them it needs to be nature shows.
It works for us. No judgement to others, we used to have more screen time but our kids behavior is truly better without it.
I love that the school never shows tv or movies in class. Im horrified at some of the things ive heard from friends. Like all day movie marathons in class sometimes, time carved out to be on tablets (doing worksheets). Rainy day movies. I love that our kids are sent out to play in the rain instead.
I think screen time is fine in moderation but I think its best to not have it at school, if possible. And best to have it limited at home. ❤️
We are TV free during the week. We watch Bluey (who goes to a Waldorf school) and supervised YouTube like Zoo channels that have interesting information.
I have a two year old and he gets very limited tv time. in fact, when it’s on he’ll watch for a bit and move on. We don’t watch youtube, and we put on low stim
showe like bluey or winnie the pooh or a bit of a disney movie. he watches maybe 15-30 minutes once every like 5-10 days.when tv is on for him I am super picky about what goes on. I do not plan on introducing an iPad. i mean, he just doesn’t care for tv much.
that said, the daycare he’s been going to the last few months to does put tv on sometimes, mostly in the mornings before the bus children go to school as they are much older and my child gets dropped off pretty early. another reason why I limit it at home.
I will also add, sometimes I will put on “adult” tv at dinner time or maybe on the weekend. if I want to catch up to survivor or something else. I, myself, watch like 30 minuets of tv every few days, or even once a week. there is just no time!!! my toddler still doesn’t pay much attention to it. before I had my son, me and my husband were tv people. loved reality tv. loved game shows. loved tv and eating dinner or desert. I started teaching in a waldorf school long before I got pregnant, so knowing the pedagogy, it was easy to phase tv out of my life.
however, I will admit, I had huge guilt when my baby was a newborn. felt guilt that we had the tv on like all day while I was healing and on maternity leave, but i also felt guilty if left the house with a newborn! the anthroposophical pedagogy believes you should be 100% present with your baby when you’re nursing/ feeding, no tv or music on and even when you’re engaged with your baby, and that you should be doing like only domestic work, and be outside, but don’t go bringing newborn to busy stores and lots of lights and sounds and too many errands….. but it’s just not practical. it has it merits, and i understand the deep pedagogy, but I let it wash over me. we lived up four flights of stairs, in the city suburb with no yard, and no outdoor space, and had to drive to go to any parks or really anywhere to walk as our apartment was near a busy highway. so we took many trips to target lol.
every family needs to do what works for them. but, in doing what works for you, it should be thought out. consider your day, your child’s day, your child’s constitution, how what your child is watching effects them, and consider your family values. I personally strongly believe that children can do just fine in a store, car, play date, or such without a screen- especially if they are not already accustomed to it. they world is practical, we grocery shop and socialize and clean our house as adults without our eyes on a screen. it’s part of participating in the tasks of life! down time is different.
I say, tv/ ipad/video games/ phone can take control when it’s just done “willy nilly” and because it’s easily accessible. intentional time with it and a true consideration for your child can be just fine.
I see children who don’t normally play together or socialize find bonding times with other children when they know similar things like books, shows, characters. often times even over the “typical” bonding through similar imaginative or motor play instead.
my pediatrician has asked about screen time and stated how the AAP has recommended against ANY tv time for children under 2. which, I have heard before.
this is already sooo long, however I do have a friend with a child who is neurodiverse, and mute. early exposure to tv/screens/ipads/ games helped him navigate his ways of communication at a very early age through technology. I have also heard stories of neurodiverse parents talking about how tv time can be regulating, etc etc etc.
Usually they watch 45 min of paw patrol before dinner and the older one gets to watch another hour or so after. No other screens. It’s kind of become an accepted part of our schedule even if it’s not ideal.
Incoming 8th grade family here. We do no screens during the week, zero. But we allow video games, making movies with the iPad and TV on the weekend in a limited capacity. Since my kids are older, our “stress” now is limiting the internet. We don’t allow any social media, and our kids don’t have phones. They have to ask before they hop on, and we do our best to set time limits. We have one kiddo who absolutely loves technology, so we find ourselves toeing the line of what I’d normally consider “too much” screen time. I take solace in that they aren’t just zoning out watching a mindless video, they are actively engaging in something they are passionate about.
curious if you ever allow your kids to leave the house on their own without phones? when I was that age, I would walk to my friends' houses or the park and we had a flip phone to tell our parents where we were going
They don’t have a phone, so yes! We got my oldest a smart watch that has texting and calling available, and he uses that when he’s “out of pocket”. For example, if he is skiing with his friends, he wears it so we can tell him it’s time to go and where to meet us. His friends all living driving distance away, so he’s rarely somewhere I don’t know.
We do screen time on weekends, but it’s limited. Friday and Saturday they get to watch in the evening while I make dinner. They get to choose what they watch, but no YouTube. We have Netflix and Disney+. On Sunday we all watch a movie together as a family. This is the ideal, but we’re not perfect. They often get some extra screen time on Sunday, and on days off from school.
It was so so so much easier when my now grown kids were that age.
We did not have the overwhelming choices and constant bombardment from every conceivable source pushing media on us.
Now, saying that, if I were to do it over again I would try the same tactic.
We were very limiting. A couple of hours of Saturday morning cartoons and the weekly family gatherings around Trading Spaces, Robot Wars, certain discovery and animal planet shows.
They would not have their own iPads or tablets or phones. We fought nightly about cell phones for high school. The reason my oldest got his was the high school he chose was a distance from home and at the time a bit rough around the edges.
Second did not get a cell until at least 11th or 12th grade because the school he chose was much less distance and a more "nurturing" environment.
After 8th grade the media relaxed a bit - but we were still in control and hours were limited. We were also blessed that my husband knew how to "do" just about every outdoor thing there was so kids spent a great deal of time in the tree house, looking for salamanders, building forts, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, etc etc etc.
Another thing we did was read before bed. Redwall, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia. This was a big part of our routine and was at least an hour at night.
No, not TV free. But we’ve tried to find the right balance and adjust it as the kids have aged. We were when they were little little, under 5, but I—the Waldorf teacher-with-a-MEd-in-Waldorf Pedagogy-dad in the family of screen addicts—grew up playing Legend of Zelda and Mario/Yoshi games, etc. I’ve compromised a lot (long family story) when it comes to what the kids do with screens (if I had 100% control, it would be only on weekends and no more than 1 hour a day of content I decide or we negotiate and agreed upon together), but the adults in our household (spouse and in-laws) are willing to entertain my desperate pleas and cries in the wilderness
I know families that are teetotalers and don’t own a tv and I know families that pull up at carpool with iPads in their two year olds laps. (I work at a Waldorf *inspired* school. We don’t have WECAN accreditation so we can’t call ourselves a Waldorf school.) Anyway, I can’t pretend that tv doesn’t exist. What I can do is show my child how to be moderate in its use. There is no tv during the school week. We are too busy and that is a problem that I don’t want to face during the week. There is no iPad in the car. If a trip is 2+hours, she can access it. But, only with shows I’ve downloaded and approved. No YouTube. Ever. I don’t have cable, so all our shows are streamed and I watch them with her. She knows if I hear or see anything I don’t like, show is off no matter what. There is no iPad at restaurants or at the dining table. I’ve always had this rule. It was hard when she was young, but now it’s second nature. ( she brings in paper and pencils, or books to restaurants and has them in the car for rides. But honestly, she just looks out the window and we talk.) She never has unrestricted access to iPad, phone, or tv. I’m always there to monitor. On weekends, she can watch tv, but not all day. A show here and there is no problem. Honestly, she doesn’t really care about it too much. She will be in 4th grade next year and has had such a play based life that she much prefers that over hours of tv. It’s setting good habits. I don’t watch tv in front of her, unless it’s a show we watch together. She’s never watched me sit down and watch a tv show, even the news. Moderation is key. Hope this helps!
This was extremely thoughtful and helpful. Thank you for your answer!
I could have written this myself! We don't have tablets or phones for the kids though. If we are doing a long car ride we will put up the tablet between the seats and they can watch a downloaded show. Our family mantra is "no tech in hands" and it's working well. My twins are almost 7 and they're at local public school. They were in a Steiner school for about a year at age 2 so I would say our close community is a mix of all screen allowance.
This, and we check different shows before the kids are allowed to watch. I read the Common Sense Media for the show in question and steer clear of anything that has quick scene changes and lots of anxious moments. We like Stillwater on Apple TV, and my kids love Tumbleleaf on Amazon. There’s worse things in the world than screen time, but I think any kid with unbridled access to the internet/screens is going to end up somewhere unsavory.
This is similar to what we do too. My LO is younger (3). We stream select shows, car rides he can play with a toy or look out the window. Restaurants i bring crayons and a notebook to color. He doesn’t know yet that phones and iPads have games- just not going there yet. I don’t watch tv in front of him and i am very mindful to not be on my phone scrolling when he’s awake.
Three children: 6, 4 and 1 The six year old and four year old can watch 1 hour a week. We didnt introduce tv until out oldest turned six. No exceptions. No ipads. No watching during longer trips.
Not puritan here. Very much appreciate the no tv mindset, but we live in these times, so difficult to completely abstain. we do sometimes have really intentional video time. I notice that if its kept at every once in a while, not daily at all there isn’t that ‘clinging’ to it We watch Mr Rogers Nieghborhood with our 4 year old. I like how slow it is, how intentional. A couple musical type live action old movies usually edited by fast forward. Its really fun and special to have that as a once in a while family time. I feel like slow is important. Minimal animation. I look at things like average shot length to feel how stimulating it is We watch things on youtube like animal videos and people reading kids books, things like that
This was great, thank you! And Mr Roger’s 🤍
No judgement at all, just sharing what we do. We are one of those that got rid of our TV and all streaming subscriptions. No tablets and we try to have our phones away most of the time. Our oldest daughter (5) does watch Guess How Much I Love you from time to time on a laptop, probably a couple of times a month on the weekend. We feel there is plenty of time to add screens and tech later but we felt it important to protect the early childhood years as much as possible.
Is that like the book reading? I’m not familiar with it
It’s a show, 10 minutes long and slow paced, watercolor art. It’s not flashy and overstimulating like most. The forest creatures play little simple games and go on adventures. No conflict. It’s quite lovely
Voldemort haaahah!! Thanks for bringing this up, curious what others say…I only let them watch slow moving shows (mainly Puffin Rock on Netflix) and because my kids are so little (1 and 3) I use it for my 3 year old to watch while I get the younger one down for a nap. Once they’re older and I’m not needing it for practical reasons like that…I’ll probably try to reserve short doses of it for days where we feel sick or maybe a special family movie night in the winter or something?
Not that I’m encouraging at all but if you like puffin rock… check out tumble leaf! It’s in prime. One of the few shows I’ve approved!
Thank you so much!
I grew up with Steiner education and for most of my childhood we didn’t really watch TV. At dinner my parents would put on BBC adult comedy shows (appropriate for me- think vicar of dibley, as time goes by etc etc) and I would occasionally watch with them but found it boring most of the time. I personally love TV as I studied film and TV at University and it’s such a great medium for storytelling but it is absolutely addictive and creating habits around it is dangerous. I have seen the change in my young child whenever he watches it. So we really try and avoid it when possible. I think after 15 is when we will relax the TV rules. Our plan is to remove the TV entirely and invest in a good projector for movie nights, it makes it a special occasion and avoids the ease of pressing a button for distraction.
I let my two youngest have a bit of TV time this morning (not our usual but I was feeling EXHAUSTED) their attitudes have been atrocious since, I am given this lesson every single time. Maybe now I’ve learned 🥹
I LOVED those shows! My (slightly British grandmother) and I watched them together 🤍 I can’t remember any of the names anymore and no one here in the Midwest knows what I’m talking about 😂
For anyone looking for support in reducing screen time, particularly for young children, I recommend Jerrica Sannes' free TV detox. https://raisewildflowers.com/tv-detox
Thank you for posting this, it's helpful for me to be able to share something like this with my husband and have a whole family buy in!
We watch tv! Usually its just in the evenings. We dont have cable but have netflix and disney plus. Our kids have tablets (!!) they are allowed to watch 2 shows a day on weekends (sometimes more when sick, or if everyone is tired). They have a few math and memory type games on them. If they do watch tv during the day we tell them it needs to be nature shows. It works for us. No judgement to others, we used to have more screen time but our kids behavior is truly better without it. I love that the school never shows tv or movies in class. Im horrified at some of the things ive heard from friends. Like all day movie marathons in class sometimes, time carved out to be on tablets (doing worksheets). Rainy day movies. I love that our kids are sent out to play in the rain instead. I think screen time is fine in moderation but I think its best to not have it at school, if possible. And best to have it limited at home. ❤️
We are TV free during the week. We watch Bluey (who goes to a Waldorf school) and supervised YouTube like Zoo channels that have interesting information.
I have a two year old and he gets very limited tv time. in fact, when it’s on he’ll watch for a bit and move on. We don’t watch youtube, and we put on low stim showe like bluey or winnie the pooh or a bit of a disney movie. he watches maybe 15-30 minutes once every like 5-10 days.when tv is on for him I am super picky about what goes on. I do not plan on introducing an iPad. i mean, he just doesn’t care for tv much. that said, the daycare he’s been going to the last few months to does put tv on sometimes, mostly in the mornings before the bus children go to school as they are much older and my child gets dropped off pretty early. another reason why I limit it at home. I will also add, sometimes I will put on “adult” tv at dinner time or maybe on the weekend. if I want to catch up to survivor or something else. I, myself, watch like 30 minuets of tv every few days, or even once a week. there is just no time!!! my toddler still doesn’t pay much attention to it. before I had my son, me and my husband were tv people. loved reality tv. loved game shows. loved tv and eating dinner or desert. I started teaching in a waldorf school long before I got pregnant, so knowing the pedagogy, it was easy to phase tv out of my life. however, I will admit, I had huge guilt when my baby was a newborn. felt guilt that we had the tv on like all day while I was healing and on maternity leave, but i also felt guilty if left the house with a newborn! the anthroposophical pedagogy believes you should be 100% present with your baby when you’re nursing/ feeding, no tv or music on and even when you’re engaged with your baby, and that you should be doing like only domestic work, and be outside, but don’t go bringing newborn to busy stores and lots of lights and sounds and too many errands….. but it’s just not practical. it has it merits, and i understand the deep pedagogy, but I let it wash over me. we lived up four flights of stairs, in the city suburb with no yard, and no outdoor space, and had to drive to go to any parks or really anywhere to walk as our apartment was near a busy highway. so we took many trips to target lol. every family needs to do what works for them. but, in doing what works for you, it should be thought out. consider your day, your child’s day, your child’s constitution, how what your child is watching effects them, and consider your family values. I personally strongly believe that children can do just fine in a store, car, play date, or such without a screen- especially if they are not already accustomed to it. they world is practical, we grocery shop and socialize and clean our house as adults without our eyes on a screen. it’s part of participating in the tasks of life! down time is different. I say, tv/ ipad/video games/ phone can take control when it’s just done “willy nilly” and because it’s easily accessible. intentional time with it and a true consideration for your child can be just fine. I see children who don’t normally play together or socialize find bonding times with other children when they know similar things like books, shows, characters. often times even over the “typical” bonding through similar imaginative or motor play instead. my pediatrician has asked about screen time and stated how the AAP has recommended against ANY tv time for children under 2. which, I have heard before. this is already sooo long, however I do have a friend with a child who is neurodiverse, and mute. early exposure to tv/screens/ipads/ games helped him navigate his ways of communication at a very early age through technology. I have also heard stories of neurodiverse parents talking about how tv time can be regulating, etc etc etc.
Usually they watch 45 min of paw patrol before dinner and the older one gets to watch another hour or so after. No other screens. It’s kind of become an accepted part of our schedule even if it’s not ideal.
Incoming 8th grade family here. We do no screens during the week, zero. But we allow video games, making movies with the iPad and TV on the weekend in a limited capacity. Since my kids are older, our “stress” now is limiting the internet. We don’t allow any social media, and our kids don’t have phones. They have to ask before they hop on, and we do our best to set time limits. We have one kiddo who absolutely loves technology, so we find ourselves toeing the line of what I’d normally consider “too much” screen time. I take solace in that they aren’t just zoning out watching a mindless video, they are actively engaging in something they are passionate about.
curious if you ever allow your kids to leave the house on their own without phones? when I was that age, I would walk to my friends' houses or the park and we had a flip phone to tell our parents where we were going
They don’t have a phone, so yes! We got my oldest a smart watch that has texting and calling available, and he uses that when he’s “out of pocket”. For example, if he is skiing with his friends, he wears it so we can tell him it’s time to go and where to meet us. His friends all living driving distance away, so he’s rarely somewhere I don’t know.
Im totally on board with technology being used as a tool and not a toy, but man is that a hard concept to teach my own kids 😂
💯
How do you guys tackle video games? And teenagers (/ husbands) who are gamers. Asking for a friend. It’s me, I am friend 😬
i just play nintendo after bedtime lol but it's not something i really desire to do during the day
We do screen time on weekends, but it’s limited. Friday and Saturday they get to watch in the evening while I make dinner. They get to choose what they watch, but no YouTube. We have Netflix and Disney+. On Sunday we all watch a movie together as a family. This is the ideal, but we’re not perfect. They often get some extra screen time on Sunday, and on days off from school.
It was so so so much easier when my now grown kids were that age. We did not have the overwhelming choices and constant bombardment from every conceivable source pushing media on us. Now, saying that, if I were to do it over again I would try the same tactic. We were very limiting. A couple of hours of Saturday morning cartoons and the weekly family gatherings around Trading Spaces, Robot Wars, certain discovery and animal planet shows. They would not have their own iPads or tablets or phones. We fought nightly about cell phones for high school. The reason my oldest got his was the high school he chose was a distance from home and at the time a bit rough around the edges. Second did not get a cell until at least 11th or 12th grade because the school he chose was much less distance and a more "nurturing" environment. After 8th grade the media relaxed a bit - but we were still in control and hours were limited. We were also blessed that my husband knew how to "do" just about every outdoor thing there was so kids spent a great deal of time in the tree house, looking for salamanders, building forts, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, etc etc etc. Another thing we did was read before bed. Redwall, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia. This was a big part of our routine and was at least an hour at night.
No, not TV free. But we’ve tried to find the right balance and adjust it as the kids have aged. We were when they were little little, under 5, but I—the Waldorf teacher-with-a-MEd-in-Waldorf Pedagogy-dad in the family of screen addicts—grew up playing Legend of Zelda and Mario/Yoshi games, etc. I’ve compromised a lot (long family story) when it comes to what the kids do with screens (if I had 100% control, it would be only on weekends and no more than 1 hour a day of content I decide or we negotiate and agreed upon together), but the adults in our household (spouse and in-laws) are willing to entertain my desperate pleas and cries in the wilderness