Kid turned 1. What’s next?

[ejp]

@stassit I listen to podcasts sometimes while he wanders around doing activities. He doesn't usually care about the podcast so it keeps my mind from getting bored while I help him play or clean.

 

[24788]

@stassit Dont stress about that fellow dad, when you get more kids (if) then the older ones will watch tv and play video games and the young guns will watch and learn and be completely fine.

 

[jillmarie]

@stassit You didn't screw up per se. I think of the TV as a resource. Idk how your kid is but my daughter is extremely active, doesnt sit still a minute.

When she sleeps terribly and my wife is trying to sleep in, I let my daughter hang out and watch sesame street for a few minutes while I get ready for work, prep daycare bag, make breakfast, etc.

She's a year and a half and while I recognize she would ideally get 0 screentime, I don't feel overly guilty about a half hour of Elmo because I have very few other ways of keeping her momentarily sedated while I do the morning routine.

 

[raphelmathew]

@stassit Good on you. There is no need to “make up for it”. Every day is just the next step in us being better parents.

Also, don’t let great be the enemy of good. TV is a tool. If there is shit you need to do, don’t hesitate to use TV to get it done. When we’re sick, we watch TV. When I need to cook dinner, we watch TV. When we’re out at a restaurant trying to be human beings and have a hot second to enjoy ourselves, we use TV. You got this bruv

 

[quasarnebulas]

@raphelmathew Yeah to this. Ours is 16 mo and we’ve been close to zero screen time except on Sundays sometimes my wife sometimes has to watch her solo, and might sit with her and actively watch something with her for an hour. This has probably been like 4 times over the past few months.

I think a few times when I was solo with her and I was sick I put on Ms Rachel.

Of course, she’s in daycare full time so that makes not relying on screens much easier simply because our time windows with her aren’t as long.

So like, “no screen time” isn’t a religion for us, just a general aim for keeping it minimal.

 

[pddan]

@stassit Trust me, your kid will get used it. It may be a painful week or two transition, but it will be as if there was never any tv at all.

 

[ajr250]

@immanuelsmoey This is me, but going in to work 2 days a week and 30 min a day of Ms. Rachel on YouTube for so I can be interactive with him in learning skills/how to teach him words and to do my morning business without him having a meltdown. We are deep in separation anxiety, depth varying based on the day. I'll admit...I wish I could do without screen time, but I do think since it helps me learn how to teach him, there are some benefits in small doses.

 

[feliz]

@immanuelsmoey I’m at 11 month and that sounds exactly like my day. A lot of following her around, letting her explore but keeping dangerous stuff away from her. My general approach is that if she is occupied with something and it’s not dangerous, I leave her alone (supervised). I like cooking and baking so I bring her in the kitchen and let her bang spoons or whatever or sit her in the high chair to snack and watch. She has zero interest in tv generally.

 

[immanuelsmoey]

@feliz Yeah totally thats my day too. Accept mine will magnet to TV if it's on at all so we just keep it off.

 

[feliz]

@immanuelsmoey Mine is on but I usually just put on a background show for myself that I’m not super invested in. I only really watch anything intently when she’s napping on me.

 

[sofialo09]

@stassit 2 hours a day is over the limit. The recommendation used to be 0 screen time under 2, and AAP just moved it up to 30 minutes of screen time under 2 if it's interactive.

 

[mpowell8089]

@sofialo09 Disclaimer here though. Some analysis of the studies performed have reached a conclusion that the amount of time spent watching tv and behavior/developmental issues aren’t necessarily because of the television. It could simply be that parents who are okay with plopping their kids down for hours and hours and hours aren’t generally the best parents. Correlation vs causation.

 

[heavenprogress]

@sofialo09 The FDA also recommends tossing any food that’s been out at room temperature 2 hours. I’ve spent longer than that sitting in a restaurant.

There’s more to it than the baseline recommended limits.

 

[michaeljamess]

@stassit My little guy is 10 months old and couldn’t care less about TV but I’m sure when he gets a little older he will be like your son.

We have 2 friends each with 2 year olds. One always has the tv as background noise and their kid doesn’t really watch it. Our other friend gives like 0 screen time. The big difference I see is the kid who isn’t allowed to watch TV will become a zombie if a TV turns on when he is around them. Like he won’t play and just stares at this mystical color box with moving pictures.

I have no clue what to do either but Im curious what the other dads have to say or their experiences.

 

[bellathebluejay]

@michaeljamess This is what I’ve noticed as well, I have a 7 year old and a 2 and 1 year old.

We really don’t have limits on screen time sooner or later they’re going to get bored. Only time it’s an issue is when it’s nice out and they’ve been on their tablet or watching tv for long periods. If that’s the case I usually tell them to shut it off and go find something else to do, 9/10 times they’re outside soon after.

We keep busy as well, activities with family and friends, pool, splash pads, cookouts etc. There is also summer programs and we had baseball and soccer this summer. For me, screen time for my kids can be used as a way of decompressing, just the same way I game when I come home from work.

I’ve noticed the neighbor kids that aren’t allowed screen time are easy to spot. They come to our house will instantly go to my sons tablet, turn on the tv, play his Xbox and that’s all they want to do. He’ll try to play with toys and get them to go outside but to no avail, he’ll wait until their bored of it or he’ll play the games with them. One way or another a kid is going to get screen time, wether it’s at your house or friends house.

It’s a double edged sword just have to find the balance and what you think is right @stassit

 

[savemelord]

@stassit Overall, try to relax and have a good time with your kid. The best value you can give him is spending time with him. TV is not going to give him any value at this stage realistically but you also need a bit of down time to keep it balanced, so don't feel too guilty about it. Maybe set an amount of daily TV time that you this is reasonable and use that as a guideline.

I terms of what to do, just bond with your little man. Talk about what you are doing, fold laundry in front of him, sing songs, tell stories and read as many books as you can, whatever as long as you spend time together and enjoy each others company.

 

[kccandelario]

@savemelord This is the way.

 

[mandy1998]

@stassit 2 is next

 

[daniellemae]

@mandy1998 Came here just to say this.

 

[arvell00]

@stassit Lurking mom here. I am the stay at home parent but my husband leans on screen time because it means my daughter will cuddle with him. In the interest of limiting screens to family time and not our one on one time, there is an assortment of things we did at 12 months.

1. Shape sorting, she had mastered the cube by 14 months.
2. Wooden puzzles, I started with really easy ones and would place them in front of her with the pieces almost in the slot so all she had to do was slide them in the rest of the way and gradually moved the pieces further away over time.
3. Little Montessori toys like ball drops and coin slots. Those things kept her busy for hours.
4. So many books. Books with flaps and sliders really helped her develop her fine motor skills and kept her attention. I read them to her quite a bit and would sometimes do a British or New Jersey accent to keep myself sane.
5. Outings. Before she could walk without the cart we would take her to the mall or to the park and bring the push cart along. We live very close to an open air mall and she had a great time pushing that cart around town.

There is a woman on YouTube named Emma Hubbard who has some really helpful videos on toys to engage a 1 year old. We also use an app called Baby Sparks that gives you a list of developmentally appropriate activities to do daily.

I’m sure you see Lovevery adds as a parent, their kits really do offer the perfect toys to keep a kid learning at every stage. I would just look for the toys on offerup or Facebook marketplace.

I also happen to have a lot of mats because I teach circus to kids, so I would set up obstacles for my daughter to climb (while I closely spotted her with my hands ready to catch).