Ok to expect quiet time for older children? (READ)

Question

I have a 6 month old and a 21 month old that take a nap every day. I have older kids step kids, ages 9, 8, 7, and 5. 
When the babies nap, at the same time, for only about 2 hours, I ask the older kids to watch YouTube quietly during that time. At this point they have been up for several hours playing, running, video games, etc. This is only on the weekends for 2 hours! I give them snacks, sit them in their room with YouTube. They like it's absolute torture, but I don't think it's too much to ask.

Accepted Answer

Quiet time is okay but to expect them to sit still just watching YouTube isn’t. They shouldn’t have that much screen time anyway and it’s natural that they’d be bored after 2 hours of that. Make it fun, do puzzles, coloring, arts and crafts, read, word search or something.

Answer

it's absolutely fine to have kids have a quite time. 
coloring, reading, puzzles, maybe they can play a board game together, homework. look up a craft on Pinterest for them to do ect. I'm just giving other examples because I'm not a YouTube fan.

Answer

yes it's absolutely fine but perhaps try to vary the activities?

Answer

Quiet time is great. Putting kids in their room with YouTube is not. If you insist on that time being screen time, why not watch something more memorable like a Disney movie? I just don’t understand the appeal of random YouTube videos for hours. Yet even better - find quiet activities to do together. Puzzles, books, crafts, board games, etc can be quiet and a nice activity for them.

Answer

If they don’t want quiet time (and the weather is permitting) you could ask them to go outside.  We used to be asked to go outside when my mom/grandma wanted it quiet in the house.  We had a choice, do a quiet activity or go outside.  Screen time was not an option

Answer

They should definitely be able to handle that, perhaps give a good variety of quiet activities, ask them to read a little book or some quiet yet stimulating alternative? I used to love just sitting there and playing with my litebrite or stare at my lava lamp when I was that age lol

Answer

I agree with everyone else. Quiet time good, 2 hours of You Tube not great.

Answer

I have a 9 month old and a 2.5 year old , they rarely nap at the same time, but if my 9m is napping, I give my oldest her tablet to play with so I can get things done around the house quick which she usually just put on Netflix to watch a movie and sits quietly on the couch till her sister wakes up. (Don’t lecture me on my 2.5 year old using a tablet, she got it as a gift from my dad and it has helped save some of my sanity with having to young ones) but back on topic if the older kids don’t like it kick them outside to play in the snow (if you have snow) or have them go into the garage with some chalk and color the floor in there.

Answer

It's fine to expect quiet time. However, 2 hours is too long for them to be quiet in front of a screen.

Answer

I wouldn’t expect them to sit and do one thing for 2 hours, but if they could watch a movie, maybe go play outside, or at least keep the noise level down then I’d say they are free to do whatever. It sucks but having multiple children your others should be used to napping through the chaos and if they aren’t I’d get a noise machine because they help so much. Some children don’t mind watching YouTube for 2 hours straight but if they have an issue maybe ask them what they’d rather do instead.

Ok to expect quiet time for older children? (READ)

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey