Is it really that hard to avoid screen time in the first year?

Question

I used to nanny working 12 hour shifts 5 days a week (started when baby was 3 months) and the child wasn’t allowed screen time in his first year. I never had any issue with not putting him in front of a screen. Why do some people say it’s so hard to avoid? I am currently pregnant with my first and people laugh at me when I say I plan on no screen time until a year. Is it really that hard? Wasn’t hard when I was a nanny..

Answer

It depends on your life, and what you consider hard. When my kids have me up every 2 hours during the night and I've barely slept, it is not easy for me to be up and playing with my son(2yo), and feeding the baby(9mo), at 7:30 in the morning. If my son will be happy watching YouTube videos while cuddling in bed, I'm going to take that extra 30 minutes to snooze. When we go to my in laws of my parents house, I'm not going to demand they immediately turn off their TVs when we arrive. When my husband and I had covid and just needed to lay down, the screen provided a little time of distraction.
If you're willing to give up screens yourself (no phone or tv for late night feedings, baby will 100% look at it), not go over to places that have screens, and have the energy to still play when you feel like death, that's your choice. For us it's about minimizing. My kids spent more time in front of a screen than we're comfortable with today because my mom couldn't come watch them due to the weather and my husband and I had work. My husband was able to play with them for a lot of the time screen free, but sometimes they wanted to sit with Mama while I was teaching, in front of a screen. Eventually they got restless and music calmed them down. Most days they're outside or playing in the playroom most of the time we're working but that wasn't in the cards today

Answer

The first year, no. After that, yes. Lol.
Mine had no interest in screen time until 15-18 months and then it was ONLY Moana. He was obsessed. Now we use it as a reward for going #2 on the potty. He gets 10 minutes. 
The pandemic has made it extremely hard. We are expected to work from home, with kids, with the same amount of productivity as if we were in the office. This has resulted in my toddler getting WAY more screen time than I like but I’m out of option.

Answer

No, it’s not hard at all. My 5 and 2 year old have very limited screen time. They never watch tv. Occasionally we will watch a movie, and a few times a week they watch short 5 minute videos. But I’ve never used a screen to entertain them. All of their screen time is with either my husband or I, so it’s not used to distract them from other stuff.

Answer

No, it isn’t that hard, especially with only one child for the first year. I never used it for mine until after she was a year, and honestly it didn’t even occur to me to put it on for her. Once you introduce them to screens it obviously is a bit different, but kids are pretty adept at entertaining themselves. If I don’t have it on, she (or we) finds something else to do without much prompting.

Answer

It depends on the kid. If you have one that literally will not let you put them down without you entertaining them but the TV helps, it's sometimes necessary just to keep the baby from screaming while you get a quick chore or 2 done. Also, if you have older kids as well as an infant, it's hard to avoid the infant seeing it. But the reason people who are already parents laugh at these things is because everyone is a perfect parent BEFORE having kids. We had a whole list of "we will NEVERs" or "we will DEFINITELYs" and most of them pretty much went out the window eventually lol. Not all, but most. So when I hear these rules from people who don't yet have kids, I laugh to myself because been there done that, and no one really follows most of their own rules in the end.

Answer

Nope not hard! Especially the first year. It’s been hard being pregnant with my second but even then its like a random movie day if I just can’t hang it we do some YouTube toddler movement classes

Answer

Our baby would occasionally see the shows we would watch at night but i never put her in front of a screen herself, and would actively try to turn her away from the tv. I honestly don’t at all understand people who stick tiny babies in front of a screen. They’re content with they’re environment at that age, they do not need that over stimulation. I completely agree with you! I will NOT be doing screen time before 2

Answer

My kid is 2 and gets no screen time. Every once in awhile she might get a 20 min pbs kids show or we do a family movie night a few times a year but she maybe gets max 15-20 a week of that. To me it isn't hard...if you don't have it on it isn't hard to not have them watching.

Answer

Dont pay attention to people that laugh. If its something thats important to you, it wont be hard at all. My twins are 8 months and they have their own dvd player they watch shows sometimes but not very often. Im usually playing with them or they're playing with their keyboard which they love and other toys

Answer

Not hard at all the first year for me. I could see it being harder with multiple children though! I’ve got a 19mth old and am pregnant with my second and I can imagine that my first kiddo will expect some screen time that she’s gotten used to that may be hard to avoid when our second is born. We’ll still do our beat to limit screen time for our second like we did our first, but I’m sure it will come with different challenges of having an older sibling!

Is it really that hard to avoid screen time in the first year?

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