Every morning when my kids get up they watch a show, they always have. I would love to change this, at least some mornings but I'm usually tired, getting breakfast together, coffee started, pet needs etc. so it really just makes my morning easier.
Do you avoid using the TV first thing in the morning? If so, how? What does your LO do instead?
kiwi / 649 posts
I allow my nanny kids to watch TV in the AM after their parent(s) leaves. They wake up around 515 AM and I arrive at 5:30 AM. I do not plan to change this routine because I need some time to wake up and chill before craziness of the day begins. My bosses are totally ok with this.
I would just tell them we're not going to watch TV this am and to go play or do a craft in the play room.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
LO is almost 11 months old and drinks his bottle with the TV on. We have toys in the great room for him to play with after he finishes his bottle. With me it's usually on Morning Joe, but sometimes (always with DH) it's on an animated singing bears channel. He pays attention to nursery rhymes and sometimes will stop playing, so that's why I don't turn that one on unless I have time to sit and sing with him too.
cantaloupe / 6086 posts
We're in that routine too and it's a big help. We only skip it if I have things really together and breakfast right when they get up, etc. So, not often. 
As long as it fits into whatever screen time you are ok with, I think choose the times that work for you!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
On the weekend, yes, he can have his ipad while I make my coffee and open my eyes.
persimmon / 1286 posts
not usually during the week, never on school days. i can usually hold out until 830/9 on the weekends.
instead, he drinks his milk and starts his breakfast while we read some books, then we change his nighttime diaper and then he comes in and plays with his toys while he finishes eating.
eggplant / 11861 posts
No, but the TV is on someday with Today Show and I cant say she doesn't stop and watch if something interests her....lol
She gets an episode of Doc Mcstuffin her favorite 3-5 nights a week when DH is at work and I am putting D'S to bed
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Depends on the day. Usually they come into our room first. Sometimes they will lay in bed with us/cuddle/talk first.
honeydew / 7444 posts
Both kids read/look at books on their own after they wake up. We have a rule that they can't ask to watch anything until 10am. Sometimes LO1 will ask but she knows the earliest she can watch anything is 10am. Eventually they will end up making up some game to play.
pomegranate / 3658 posts
DH takes care of the dogs and gets himself ready while I get DD ready, then DH takes DD off to daycare and then I begin getting ready myself. There isn't any time for DD to do anything at all other than get ready to go.
nectarine / 2243 posts
yes, or else I would never be able to shower.
DH travels M-F so I need that half hour or 45 min in the morning to scrub the barnacles off. same goes for 1 show between 4:30-5 so I can get her dinner ready and laundry/dishes done.
pear / 1648 posts
Only if she's sick and I'm trying to work from home. Luckily, at 2.5 she still doesn't seem all that interested in TV - we'll see how long that lasts. She enjoys the shows when she watches them, but she'll often tell me 'no' if I offer to let her watch a show in the afternoon.
hostess / papaya / 10219 posts
No. I used to allow him to watch TV (around 2 years old) in the morning but it turned into constant epic tantrums when we would turn it off and head to school. So now we don't. To be fair, he is a fairly late sleeper so we wake him up a few minutes before we need to leave and once he's awake, we get him dressed brush his teeth, go potty, and head out the door. He eats breakfast at school. My one year-old wakes up early and he just follows me around whining. Ha ha
pomegranate / 3895 posts
Nope. It's a hard rule in our house. He has very structured TV time each day, which he knows.
Friends find this so unfathomable, but he just hangs out in our room (or around the house) while we get dressed. Sometimes I make him breakfast before I get ready and he eats it in the kitchen on his own, sometimes he just talks to whoever is around, and sometimes he looks for trouble (or goes down to the playroom and plays trains on his own). We have child proofed any blatant dangers but we've also made "morning boundaries" very clear. He's really good at doing requests, so often we ask him to feed the dogs or go look in the pantry and get out whatever snack he wants at school that day for Mama to pack. We give him a lot of autonomy in the morning and so far he hasn't abused it.
honeydew / 7917 posts
Yes, that's the only way I can wake up and start the day. We usually don't have any other screen time for the rest of the day.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
Yes. On days I take to school she doesn't since we leave the house at 715. I go back in two weeks and will wake her and get her dressed so hopefully she will play while I nurse the baby and we can avoid the TV.
persimmon / 1445 posts
Not immediately after she wakes up- we usually get going on breakfast right away and she likes to "help cook". After I clean up breakfast she usually watches whatever is on PBS while the baby takes a morning nap and I shower. I used to just have her play or read while I got ready, but she always wants to pick up the baby or give her something so the TV distracts her away from her sister.
hostess / cantaloupe / 6486 posts
Yes but we've had to take all screen time away for an entire day and putting music on was a perfectly acceptable alternative for my kiddos.
nectarine / 2951 posts
No- it isn't part of our morning routine. I try to avoid TV as much as possible since my 3.5 year old turns into a mean crazy monster after watching it. I do use it if I'm solo parenting and have to put the baby to bed. Otherwise, my older son is pretty content playing with his toys.
pomegranate / 3375 posts
We avoid screen time in the mornings M-Th (when she goes to preschool) ... it's not really for a philosophical reason, but more that we don't have a ton of time to get morning stuff done. I'm afraid she'd have a hard time transitioning if the TV was on.
She does get to watch 1 Daniel Tiger episode on Friday mornings, and she usually watches PBS on the weekends while we're making breakfast.
pineapple / 12053 posts
no, it's usually right to playing with whatever is around, usually magnatiles or coloring while i make breakfast.
pomegranate / 3601 posts
No, they either help set the table or wait in their chairs until breakfast is ready. They dress themselves so that usually keeps them busy until one parent is dressed and showered too. If there is time to pass - like on the weekend - they are content to play with their toys.
nectarine / 2806 posts
Yep! She watches PBS on the iPad while I make breakfast and coffee.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
No, they like to draw or play with toys in the mornings
nectarine / 2771 posts
Nope, but only because it would never go off otherwise. They love to read their books and generally eat breakfast happily chatting away with one another while I scramble about.
honeydew / 7463 posts
Yes, in fact morning is the only time that's pretty much guaranteed. I need to get myself ready so I (gasp) use it as a babysitter in the morning.
BUT the only caveat is that I don't put it on automatically. I put it on if he asks. Which he does I'd say 80% of the time. The other 20% he'll ask for music or just play and I don't volunteer the TV.
Afternoon is much less likely. We usually have plans or errands outside the home.
grapefruit / 4187 posts
Absolutely! I catch a 7am train to work so every second counts in the morning. Not only can the watch tv, but if it keeps them quiet and occupied almost nothing is off the table! How I envy parents who have kids that sleep in..
nectarine / 2641 posts
No. I try hard to limit TV entirely for my 20 mo. So my 4 yo sometimes (2-4 times a week) watches a couple episodes during LO2's afternoon nap. Occasionally if dinner is complicated or there is lots of splattering, they might watch 15-20 minutes of something. Their behavior is better and we're altogether more calm during the day if no one watches TV.
nectarine / 2173 posts
No but we don't have a lot of time in the morning. She is with one of us while the other gets ready - usually potty, getting dressed, etc and then we go downstairs for a snack and off we go! On weekends she has a snack in her learning tower or plays with toys while we make coffee.
pomelo / 5621 posts
Yes, tv every morning. He watches while he eats and I pack my lunch/his snack. Then he either continues watching or plays while I shower. He is fine with leaving while his show is on and will sometimes stop it.
On the weekends after he eats we snuggle on the couch and watch tv. He's an early riser so this works best for us.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
No but my older lo has. We're usually rushing around trying to get her off to preschool!
honeydew / 7622 posts
Never. But mostly because I'm up 1-2 hours before her in the mornings so I'm showered ready and have had coffe. Usually I get her up give her a bottle of milk and have her breakfast already packed for daycare or a play date. But TV is not that big for us yet. She sometimes goes days or a week without TV.
pomegranate / 3779 posts
The older one gets to watch her iPad for a few minutes if there is time after she eats breakfast and is dressed and ready for the day. Often I will let her watch while I brush her hair.
pomegranate / 3192 posts
Never! The TV is almost never on, but if it is it's only after dinner/before bed. We don't have much extra time in the morning but they just play with Magnatiles or something when we make breakfast.
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
We try really hard not to because I've noticed her behavior is better if we hold off on screentime until later in the day. But lately we've been slipping back into it.
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