I had time to actually wash my face with cleanser, slap on a bra, and do a messy bun before the kids were ready for breakfast. That’s right, for the first time in almost two years, I peed without an audience. (A battle I usually lose, BTW.) This morning, when the troops showed up at my bedside, I turned on Elmo and went into the bathroom by myself. ![]() I dash around the room, throwing on a mostly clean pair of yoga pants, splashing some water on my face, and brushing my teeth while I try to keep the kids and cat from unraveling the toilet paper. My early morning routine consists of being awoken at dawn by two grinning toddlers demanding milk. I handed over the remote, and here's what happened. Maybe if TV was "free" for them, they wouldn't want to watch it? Would they be more behaved? I was just legitimately curious to see whether or not giving them exactly what they wanted would actually have the reverse effect. The purpose of this experiment wasn't to put my sons at risk or even to be a "lazy" parent. So I decided to let them have as much screen time as they wanted for three days. Those of who grew up watching a ton of television have turned out OK, so I figured, where's the harm in letting my sons watch a little extra TV? They're over two years old so I wasn't concerned that too much screen time would put them at risk, and to be honest, I wanted a break from the nonstop whining that accompanies life with twin threenager boys. That's when this genius idea came into play: What if I gave the boys what they wanted: non-stop screen time? The Experiment The AAP recommendation for screen time says no more more than two hours of educational TV, but it always feels like a fight with my kids when it's time to turn off their favorite show and turn them on to something else. Sometimes I feel a little strange depriving my kids that same rite of childhood that I so thoroughly enjoyed. I may not remember the names of all the state capitols, but I can still sing the theme from DuckTales (woo-hoo!). I can clearly remember the morning Nickelodeon debuted and I spent every Saturday morning firmly planted in front of the screen watching my favorite shows. My boys are so well-behaved when they're zoned into the screen, but all that face time had me worried: are my toddlers watching too much TV?Īs an '80s baby, I have fond memories of watching cartoons all day long. I’ve been diligently doling out screen time up up until now, but my boys are already getting good at trying to use hugs and kisses to bargain for an extra episode or asking for my phone when we’re waiting in line at the checkout. ![]() The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children be limited to no more than two hours of media per day, and that shows children watch be both age appropriate and high-quality educational programing, like PBS kids. I fully admit to being addicted to my phone and iPad, and my twin almost-3 year olds are following quickly in my footsteps.
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