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In Defense of Screen Time
When I first became a parent I was very against introducing my child to screens. It’s not recommended at all before the age of two and I took those recommendations to heart.
But with my second child, I was divorced and therefore a single mom. My older child was older than two and already enjoyed watching videos. Blippi, Brain Candy TV, etc.
Hard to let one kid watch and not the other when you’re living in a small apartment.
I let my screen time standards slide. I don’t even keep track or try to limit anymore.
I provide opportunities for other forms of play, but when we’re sick or the weather is awful those other options become limited. I don’t have another adult around to entertain them when I’m busy or sick.
Well I kind of do: Blippi. I can have Blippi entertain them whenever I need. He has way more energy than me.
In my ideal world I would do less screen time. We’d be off hiking or going to the library daily, but that’s not realistic. Not with my current circumstances anyway.
I used to beat myself up about this more, but my kids are growing up in a different world than I grew up in. I used to be free to roam the neighborhood, but in many places that’s frowned upon now to let kids do that. Parents seem to be expected to be much more hands on than…
