📺 *We Watch TV — But We Don’t Let It Win*
My wife and I don’t hand over a tablet.
But yes — our toddler watches TV. And depending on the day, it can feel like the only thing keeping our mornings from derailing into chaos.
I never thought I’d be the parent who was cool with screen time.
I went into this thinking we’d do things differently — less tech, more books, constant creative play.
But then real life happened: kids who wake up at 5:30, an infant who never stops moving, and two exhausted parents doing their best to hold it all together.
That’s when the TV became a buffer.
Not a babysitter. Not a crutch. Just a buffer between total breakdown and a moment of calm.
We curl up in bed as a family, put on something gentle and familiar, and ride out the next hour until it’s actually time to start our day.
🎢 Finding the Balance
We also use screen time after daycare or school — usually for the same reason we use music, walks, or books: to help our toddler decompress.
Sometimes that means 20 minutes of a favorite show while we make dinner.
Sometimes it’s a documentary about animals while we pick up toys or fold laundry.
We’re not handing over the remote — but we’re not banning the screen either.
Because here’s the thing: we’re not passive about it.
We pay attention to:
- What’s on (certain shows just don’t make the cut)
- When it’s on (mornings, after school, or when the house needs a reset)
- How long it’s on (once it crosses into over-focus or zoning out, we pivot)
🚩 When It Goes Too Far
We’ve started noticing a pattern — more tantrums and resistance after long stretches of screen time.
If we feel that shift coming, we pull the plug. Immediately.
No negotiating. No “just one more episode.”
We grab building blocks, card games, or go build a fort in the living room instead.
The goal isn’t to eliminate screens — it’s to stay in control of them.
🧠 What We Let Them Watch (And What We Don’t)
We’re extremely aware of what our kids are watching — not just for language, but for tone, attitude, and what kind of energy it brings into our home.
Some shows just don’t align with how we want our kids talking or treating people.
(Yeah… we’re looking at you, Peppa Pig.)
If the TV is on in the background — while we’re doing dishes or juggling bedtime routines — we try to keep it educational.
Nature shows, animal documentaries, or slower-paced stories that don’t light the room on fire.
We want our home to feel calm, not constantly overstimulated.
☀️ Real Balance Means Real Play, Too
On top of whatever screen time happens, our toddler gets a lot of outdoor time — at school, daycare, and at home.
We enforce an hour or two of outside play depending on the season and weather, usually before or after dinner.
We take regular family walks.
We wrestle on the floor, play chase, and have pillow fights.
Screens are just one piece of the day — not the centerpiece.
🧱 It’s Not About “No Screens.” It’s About Enough Everything Else.
We don’t think screens are evil.
We also don’t think they’re harmless.
We just think they’re powerful — and anything powerful deserves respect.
TV gives us space to breathe, to catch up on life, to reset a mood.
But if we’re not careful, it also shifts our kids’ attention spans, tones their moods, and rewires the rhythm of the day in ways we don’t like.
So we watch.
We guide.
And when it starts to go sideways, we change the channel — or turn it off entirely.
We’re not perfect.
We’re just trying to raise emotionally healthy, curious, grounded little people — and doing it in a world full of glowing distractions.
We’re also working on our own habits.
Less scrolling. More reading. More being present — even if it’s just during dinner or a walk.
Our kids don’t need us to be perfect. But they do need to see what balance looks like, even when it’s messy.
Every home is different.
What matters isn’t copying someone else’s rules — it’s knowing when screens are helping, when they’re taking over, and having the courage to adjust from there.
“We don’t parent by guilt.
We parent by intention — and keep adjusting the balance until it feels like us again.”