My Truth About Screen Time
This is a touchy subject with many. Screen time. Limit it? Unlimited? What do the doctor's say this week? What did they say last week? What will they say next week? Is it good? Is it bad? Oh man. THE SCREEN. How can two words illicit such fear in the hearts of so many parents?
It's an inanimate object people. Do not fear it.
When Honey Bunny was young, I limited her screen time. She watched Teletubbies (ugh!) and PBS. She was only allowed to watch it for 30 minutes a day. I was 26 and wanted only the best for my child. Then, when she was 2 I left her father. I was a full-time single mom.
I used to get pissed off that the "single mom's" who had every Wednesday off, every other weekend off and every other holiday off. To me, that wasn't a single mom. That was a mom who had time off. I never got time off. It was me and only me. Yes, I had parents near by, but at 2am when the nightmares hit or she had leg cramps or got sick, there was no one else to share in the lack of sleep. There were no date nights. There were no nookie sessions while she was away at her father's. You see, he's a dangerous man..but that's for another day. This is about screen time.
When I became a single parent, I became a fan of the babysitter named: "The Screen." Screen allowed me to get dinner made without her hanging on me near a hot stove. Screen made it possible for me to throw in the laundry a flight down and even switch it over! Screen made it possible for me to have a cup of coffee in the morning while snuggling with Honey Bunny because it was 5 am and I wasn't quite ready to get up and get going.
I discovered Screen was quite nice. We belonged to the Disney VHS program. You know, the one where they send you a new one every month? The one where the child squeals when the mail is opened and there is their new movie? Oh yea, we don't have that anymore. :)
I needed Screen. I loved Screen. When Honey Bunny was 5, I began to consider dating again. I had one night off a month. If the guy wanted a date on a Friday night, Screen wouldn't allow it. Why? Because that was my date with Honey Bunny. We had pizza and popcorn and would watch Kim Possible, The Proud Family and whatever Disney movie came on after that. It was OUR night. Screen made our night possible (and if a guy wouldn't settle for the following Saturday date, then he was done). Screen helped me screen men. :)
Three years later, a man passed the test of Screen. I became pregnant and was re-married. I married a man who LOVES Screen! Screen is more his mistress than I at times (of course, he can find more naked women on it at 11pm on Skinamax than he can with me. I'm either asleep or not interested because I'm talking with Honey Bunny now 16 or trying to get Boo Bear to bed at age 7, naked is SO far from my thoughts these days!). But hubby? Oh, he trained Boo Bear to listen to and watch Screen just a few weeks old! He wanted Baby Boo Bear to sleep in her crib and trained her to do so to listening to Disney movies. This crib bit only lasted a few nights as I couldn't stand it, but the screen..well, that has lasted.
Every night, Boo Bear watches Netflix or Disney to fall asleep. Right now, Boo Bear is watching Tom and Jerry as I write this. BUT, here is the difference: I don't use Screen to babysit any more. Yesterday, we walked for 8 hours around Charlotte learning about history and art. Today, we've already spent 3 hours at a nature preserve, 2 of those were spent on a variety of playgrounds where she climbed, played tag, swung and did things kids SHOULD do...play, be active and have fun.
For me, Screen DOES help me get dinner done and it does allow me an uninterrupted shower (sometimes), but Screen also contributes to their education nowadays.
Screen has taken on the form of Apps and Games, of Discovery Education documentaries, of History Channel programs. Screen now takes on Algebra and Grammar. Screen has evolved into a learning buddy, not just a boob tube of nonsense. When Screen is on, and I think it's fluff (cartoons, etc.) then I listen in (while doing dishes/laundry/cooking) and we talk about how they treat each other. Was that canned laughter really something funny or was it insulting and the canned laughter is making you think you should laugh, even though it's truly bullying?
I now use Screen as a teaching tool. You see, as I've matured and grown up, so has my use of Screen.
Screen and I now have an understanding, as long as Screen is balanced with running, jumping, hands on dirty learning, then Screen can stick around. If Screen becomes Honey Bunny and Boo Bear's ONLY means of living, then it gets scaled back (and try THAT with a teen, an iPhone and a boyfriend!). When I see it becoming an issue, I simply talk WITH the girls about it. Both will admit sometimes they turn to it because they are bored. With that in mind, we made up over 100 slips of paper with ideas on them and put them in a jar labeled: The Bored Jar. They now go there first rather than Screen when they are bored.
You see, no one has ever said: Wow! What a GREAT day of TV! I will remember this forever!
That is ONLY said when we are INTERACTING and LIVING our lives...TOGETHER and watching TV is being alone together.
It's an inanimate object people. Do not fear it.
When Honey Bunny was young, I limited her screen time. She watched Teletubbies (ugh!) and PBS. She was only allowed to watch it for 30 minutes a day. I was 26 and wanted only the best for my child. Then, when she was 2 I left her father. I was a full-time single mom.
I used to get pissed off that the "single mom's" who had every Wednesday off, every other weekend off and every other holiday off. To me, that wasn't a single mom. That was a mom who had time off. I never got time off. It was me and only me. Yes, I had parents near by, but at 2am when the nightmares hit or she had leg cramps or got sick, there was no one else to share in the lack of sleep. There were no date nights. There were no nookie sessions while she was away at her father's. You see, he's a dangerous man..but that's for another day. This is about screen time.
When I became a single parent, I became a fan of the babysitter named: "The Screen." Screen allowed me to get dinner made without her hanging on me near a hot stove. Screen made it possible for me to throw in the laundry a flight down and even switch it over! Screen made it possible for me to have a cup of coffee in the morning while snuggling with Honey Bunny because it was 5 am and I wasn't quite ready to get up and get going.
I discovered Screen was quite nice. We belonged to the Disney VHS program. You know, the one where they send you a new one every month? The one where the child squeals when the mail is opened and there is their new movie? Oh yea, we don't have that anymore. :)
I needed Screen. I loved Screen. When Honey Bunny was 5, I began to consider dating again. I had one night off a month. If the guy wanted a date on a Friday night, Screen wouldn't allow it. Why? Because that was my date with Honey Bunny. We had pizza and popcorn and would watch Kim Possible, The Proud Family and whatever Disney movie came on after that. It was OUR night. Screen made our night possible (and if a guy wouldn't settle for the following Saturday date, then he was done). Screen helped me screen men. :)
Three years later, a man passed the test of Screen. I became pregnant and was re-married. I married a man who LOVES Screen! Screen is more his mistress than I at times (of course, he can find more naked women on it at 11pm on Skinamax than he can with me. I'm either asleep or not interested because I'm talking with Honey Bunny now 16 or trying to get Boo Bear to bed at age 7, naked is SO far from my thoughts these days!). But hubby? Oh, he trained Boo Bear to listen to and watch Screen just a few weeks old! He wanted Baby Boo Bear to sleep in her crib and trained her to do so to listening to Disney movies. This crib bit only lasted a few nights as I couldn't stand it, but the screen..well, that has lasted.
Every night, Boo Bear watches Netflix or Disney to fall asleep. Right now, Boo Bear is watching Tom and Jerry as I write this. BUT, here is the difference: I don't use Screen to babysit any more. Yesterday, we walked for 8 hours around Charlotte learning about history and art. Today, we've already spent 3 hours at a nature preserve, 2 of those were spent on a variety of playgrounds where she climbed, played tag, swung and did things kids SHOULD do...play, be active and have fun.
For me, Screen DOES help me get dinner done and it does allow me an uninterrupted shower (sometimes), but Screen also contributes to their education nowadays.
Screen has taken on the form of Apps and Games, of Discovery Education documentaries, of History Channel programs. Screen now takes on Algebra and Grammar. Screen has evolved into a learning buddy, not just a boob tube of nonsense. When Screen is on, and I think it's fluff (cartoons, etc.) then I listen in (while doing dishes/laundry/cooking) and we talk about how they treat each other. Was that canned laughter really something funny or was it insulting and the canned laughter is making you think you should laugh, even though it's truly bullying?
I now use Screen as a teaching tool. You see, as I've matured and grown up, so has my use of Screen.
Screen and I now have an understanding, as long as Screen is balanced with running, jumping, hands on dirty learning, then Screen can stick around. If Screen becomes Honey Bunny and Boo Bear's ONLY means of living, then it gets scaled back (and try THAT with a teen, an iPhone and a boyfriend!). When I see it becoming an issue, I simply talk WITH the girls about it. Both will admit sometimes they turn to it because they are bored. With that in mind, we made up over 100 slips of paper with ideas on them and put them in a jar labeled: The Bored Jar. They now go there first rather than Screen when they are bored.
You see, no one has ever said: Wow! What a GREAT day of TV! I will remember this forever!
That is ONLY said when we are INTERACTING and LIVING our lives...TOGETHER and watching TV is being alone together.
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