How to Fill the Day Without Tv- What Is Your Daily Schedule Like?

Updated on December 11, 2010
A.R. asks from Fresno, CA
20 answers

Please help! I want to really limit (ideally eliminate) my children's tv watching, but not sure how to fill the day without it. They are young (three and 1 1/2 years-old), so it seems like they need constant entertainment/activities going on, which is exhausting to do all day!
For you moms who limit tv, what is a typical day's schedule like for you? Thanks!

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

N.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

I do home childcare and we only have very limited TV time (we love sesame street, but even that is a partial show thing and not every day).

We often have the radio on (holiday music now), but I have many kids CD's. They just play. I am a play-based facility and we shoot from the hip most of the day, while following a schedule for meals/snacks and naps. When things get out of hand, boredom sets in and might become naughtiness, then I change things up and direct the play by bringing out a new item (Lego's, trains, puzzles, do a dancing game, some new books, or do a cooking or art project).

They help me set lunch up, clean up...we practice cutting and tearing paper, sorting any and everything (early math skills)..they love helping me fold the hundreds of small washrag size towels we go thru each day (for washing and for single use hand drying all day long)...its a great way to teach them domestic skills and also math skills...whole, half and a quarter..as they fold them up! They have notebooks to write in with a pencil (works on holding a pencil and a few seconds or minutes of "writing").

Simply do not make the TV available. Its hard, but they learn quickly to be imaginative. I have only 1 large toy that makes noise in my whole daycare (its a freestanding playhouse door thingy..fisher price...makes doorbell noises and such)...everything else in here is pretty simplistic stuff...building toys, play kitchen a big kid size classroom table for doing puzzles, building, setting tea parties, etc. We love the table and use it for everything!

Good luck in going TV free..or TV-limited!

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.K.

answers from St. Louis on

My daughters watch 1 hr of dora in the morning. Then the tv goes off. We do stories abc's sometimes singing. But most of the time they play with each other in the room away from the tv. You dont have to entertain them the whole day they will find things to play with.

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.K.

answers from Chicago on

I agree with Sara B.'s comment -- your kids are at an age (esp. your oldest) in which they should be heavily involved in imaginary/dramatic play -- and this can occupy them for quite some time. Your 3 year old can discover that s/he can entertain herself. Your 18 month old may still need you around all the time, but s/he has the benefit of wanting to hang-out with the older sibling and do what s/he does!

1) "Rotate" a few major toys in and out of your family/play room (where you spend the majority of your day) so they can let their imaginations run wild. Both kids LOVED playing at the pretend kitchen that I found at a garage sale for $15. When you throw-in old containers or tupperware, they can happily play for quite a while! Other rotating toys included musical instruments, dollhouse, and huge amounts of those over-sized legos (bought at garage sale) that I would dump onto the floor. The toy that resonated with my youngest was a Thomas train track we could all assemble together. Limit access to these toys...change them out every month. Then the toys become "new" and exciting again!

2) 20-30 mins reading books every day.

3) Bring them with you when it's time to sort laundry. Your 3yr old can help you -- make it a game (sort by colors, sort by owner of the clothes, etc.) Get a couple different cheap laundry baskets for the sorting and your kids will have a blast! Your 18mo old will probably just like rolling around in the clothes!

4) If it is possible and affordable, look to an outside group activity. You may be able to find playgroups via meet-up.com. Or you can find inexpensive park district programs (open gymnasium, music, baby tumble, etc.). This can get you out of the house every once in a while.

5) Get outside as much as possible -- let them run, jump, play. Bundle them up and let them out in the snow. Buy them kiddie shovels and let them push some snow around while you do any necessary shoveling.

6) Talk to them while you work on the housework/cooking/projects/etc. Explain to them what you are doing (in detail) and let them watch. Believe it or not, this is a wonderful learning experience for them.

7) Playdough! Allowing them to manipulate and play with playdough will be absolutely wonderful for their fine motor development. You can be doing other things in the same room while they play at the table.

This doesn't necessarily cover all 12 hours in a waking day, but I think you'll find that rotating a few major toys (#1) will make a huge difference. If the toy isn't as familiar to the kids, they will spend more time with it.

Finally, the dynamics will change when your youngest is about 6 months older or so. The youngest will strongly attach to the oldest and they will truly start to interact and entertain each other on a more sophisticated, complex level than they do right now.

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

I'm in the camp that doesn't think a little TV is all that bad. We limit the cartoons to educational shows and we watch them together. We love Super Why, Dinosaur Train, and Sesame Street. My 3 year old watches a movie in the afternoon for her quiet time. I guess I should add that we don't always watch all the cartoons in the same day. It's usually about an hour in the morning and then her quiet time. I'm sure some will say that's way too much. But, it works for us. If the shows are educational and we watch them together, I see it as a learning tool more than empty entertainment.
For the rest of the day we do whatever suits our fancy :) Some days we color, we play games (hard to do with a 16 month old sometimes!), we read books, play house or Barbies, play chase inside, bundle up and go outside. It's hard when you have a little one though. We save a lot of the "big kid" stuff for when the baby is napping.
My oldest goes to preschool twice a week and I'm a member of MOPS, so we do have quite a few activities that we attend as well. Getting involved has really really helped keep us busy during the week.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.B.

answers from Wichita on

they dont need constant entertainment, they need to learn to make their own! Especially the 3 year old. There are days I just turn the tv off and see what will happen, my daughter (she'll be 4 in January) will play with her toys and use her imagination, as most of them do not make noise or talk. If we constantly entertain our children, they never develop the tools to make up their own games and entertainment.

1 mom found this helpful

T.K.

answers from Dallas on

When my kids are bored they are hell on wheels. I need to put on scooby doo now and then just so I can catch the news, or take a shower! But I know they watch a lot of tv at the sitters, so I limit at night and on the weekends. The key for me is to keep them moving. We get up and I let them help make breakfast. They help clean up. I give them clothes and let them dress themselves. That's super time consuming. Then outside time. Maybe to the park or walking around the block. Back to the house for playing with toys and reading books. Lunch, and a nice long nap. They sleep much longer if I lay down with them, so it's a win-win for everybody! After nap they like to go play in the back yard for a couple hours. Then back in to play in thier bedroom. That's usually when they start making tents out of bedsheets and dumping out toy boxes. They make messes for a couple hours. Eat dinner. Take a bath. Then pick up toys, read a book and go to bed. I am exausted by that point and ready to go back to work! We also go do stuff in our area as much as possible. I'm on all the email blats for free events. Concerts in the park, community celebrations, parades, anything free we try to go. oh and the ymca. We go for an hour almost every afternoon.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.A.

answers from Sacramento on

Have you seen the books "Toddlers Busy Book" and/or "Preschoolers Busy Book" both by Tris Knuffer. They have TONS of ideas for keeping young children busy with things you find around the house. They only cost about $10 each and are well worth it. I have both of them =0) They have ideas for rainy day play, outdoor play, food recipes, arts-and-crafts recipes, etc.

Other than the book recommendations, my suggestions are the following:

* read, read, read - this is the single most important thing you can do in order to prepare them for reading readiness. Take them to the library as previously suggested, they often do story times, read books together while there, check out with a stack of books to read at home. Designate a special basket to keep the library books in at home so you don't lose track of them. Have the children help decorate the basket if you like.

* Try to get some fresh air EVERDAY if possible. A little fresh air is good for everyone and helps get everyone in a good mood. You get to socialize with the neighbors. Put together a simple picture scavenger list. Go to the park and let them play at the playground, they'll meet new friends & get their exercise in at the same time. They may even tire themselves out and be ready for a nap once they get home =)

* How do you feel about a little computer time every now and then? There are plenty of educational sites geared toward young children. Check out www.Starfall.com for more reading readiness.

* I would either get the three year old into a preschool program or start preparing her at home or both. Does she know her alaphabet? Can she identify both the upper and lower case letters? The learning DVD Leap Frog Letter Factory is AWESOME. I know you want to limit the T.V. but this will teach her the letters (both upper and lower) & the sounds the letters make.

* Play dough is awesome, esp. homemade. Washable stamp pads + stamps + paper. Just simply cutting & pasting. Go to DLTK-Kids.com for tons of arts-and-craft type ideas. Also, some of them are based on books or book characters so you can read the story then do the craft based on the story.

* Involve them in simple chores. Feeding any cats/dogs/other animals you may have. Cleaning the glass table/windows. Throwing laundry into the washer/dryer, etc.

Hope that helps.

1 mom found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Oklahoma City on

my tv is turned off at 10 on saturday's regardless....then sometime in the afternoon, we spend an hour reading, we fill in the day by going to the library, playing family games, or house cleaning, you'd be surprised how fast the day can go with just a few activities, on nice day's they are outside doing SOMETHING

1 mom found this helpful

C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

So I reread all of this and realized you asked for a schedule so here it goes:

630: All three of us are up by this time
630-7: Breakfast
7-9: Play upstairs/basement. If upstairs, we'll organize their toys, play with dolls, books, puzzles, etc. I will also straighten up, clean, etc some of the time and they will help. My 3 year old loves to help clean!
9-11: Son naps and daughter and I will do stuff together. Occasionally she'll watch an hour of tv and I'll clean or rest on the couch! We also use this time to cook together.
11-12: Lunch / playdo or painting or some activity at the table
12-2: Play in basement / upstairs (same things as above).
2-3: Naptime for 1.5 year old / cook dinner or cookies / let daughter do stickers or something fun (sometimes I'll just print out activities from the computer that is related to what she learned at daycare). Last weekend we colored and cut out shapes to put on Christmas trees and wreaths. She loved that!
3-5: Playtime or go somewhere. I'll make a tent for them in our room, we play in their room, clean, etc.
5-6: Dinner / bath
6-7: Wind down time / TV for daughter / Reading together
7: Bed

I have to fill Saturday and Sundays alone with my kids because hubby is at work. They are usually up by 630 and go to bed around 7pm. We eat a nice breakfast - something like pancakes or french toast or eggs (don't make them that during the week as they eat at daycare most days). I try to limit my kids tv time to 2 hours a day (which out of a 12 hour day is not bad!). My 1.5 year old doesn't really watch it so I'm really just giving that time to my daughter.

My son takes a 2 hour nap in the morning and I use that time to make a new recipe with my daughter. We do something like cookies, dessert bars, etc. She also will paint or we'll read together. I try to do something together when he's asleep so we have time TOGETHER.

We have a basement that has a large play area so they love going in there (and it's a different scene). We'll ususally play down there for at least 2 hours on Sat/Sunday each. I can work on laundry, check email, etc.

I usually try to allow my daughter to watch half of her shows in the morning and then the other half right before bed. We usually go somewhere on the weekends (usually my parents house) so that will sometimes eat up half a day.

Some activities that you can do if you are home all day are:

1. Organizing/cleaning (cupboards, boxes, etc). Give them something to go through (or a box of toys for them to play with) while they sit by you and YOU organize.
2. Paint (finger, on paper, on wood, on ceramics, etc). Your 1.5 year old can just use water/paint brush on construction paper.
3. Stickers (don't usually let my 1.5 do this as he'll just try to eat them!)
4. Story time
5. Organize the toys (which in turn results in them playing with toys they wouldn't have before)
6. Playdo
7. "Painting" with shaving cream
8. Cooking/Baking
9. Bundle them up and send them outside (or go on a walk or in a stroller).
10. Puzzles

Ideas that are cheap/free outside of the home include:
1. Book store - let them read books and you get a coffee (not sure how well a 1.5 year old would do but my 3 year old loves this)
2. Any store or mall - just to get them out of the house. Put them in the cart and tell them that they can have a treat or something at the end if they are good.
3. Swap 'babysitting' times with friends. You take your kids over there for an hour and then you have time along and then vice versa with her kids (and this will give your kids someone new to play with).
4. Along those same lines - play dates (which would be fun for you too if you get along with the moms)
5. Playgrounds (even in cold weather for 15-20 minutes

4. Coloring /

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.G.

answers from Norfolk on

An average day goes a little like this for our two kids, a five-year old boy and a three year old girl:
7:30 Kids get up, have breakfast.
8:15 Kids play in the house. If there is any TV that day, it would be at this time. During playtime, I am cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry, etc.
10:00 Outside time. If weather won't cooperate, inside play time will continue but the TV will be off by now.
12:00 bathtime if they've been outside. Otherwise, we come inside and they play while I get lunch ready.
12:45 lunchtime
1:30 naps
4:30 They get up, have a snack, and play.
6:15 Dinner
7:00 Toothbrushing, pajamas, story, bed.
7:30 A glass of wine for mom!:)

Obviously all these times are approximate. Believe me, I know the feeling of waking up in the morning at while the kids are having breakfast, looking at the clock and thinking "Oh my God, I have to fill up 12 hours til they go to bed!" and it feels like the day is just streeeeeetttttching out in front of us. Maybe you could write yourself out a little schedule; plan out, say, one easy crafty project per day with the kids (more for the 3 year old of course but the younger one can "help"); and get them outside to play if you possibly can. The fresh air is so much better for them than the television. And then, say, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, plan a "storytime" and read to them, one story for each child. I get the feeling you are looking for structure so if you pretend to yourself that you're running a little school and write out a schedule you'll fill the day up. Good luck! I commend your desire to turn off the TV.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.M.

answers from Denver on

We watch very little TV - my daughter (just turner 4) is allowed to watch Sesame Street on Friday mornings (and Sesame Street morning is very special to her!), she has one movie night (Sat.) and she can watch a 1/2 hr or so at lunch everyday. It is not easy to limit TV. Letting the kids watch TV is so easy! We usually spend the days outside - playground, feeding ducks, taking hikes, or inside - crafts, quiet playtime (your 3 year-old should be at the age where he/she (?) will start playing alone a bit (which is so nice when it happens ;) and lots of reading - and other activities - swimming, etc. It's not easy. I don't think there is any magical schedule - but we do have a schedule and my daughter seems to do well with a routine: B'fast, morning activities, lunch, nap, afternoon activities, dinner, after dinner with mom and dad, bath, bed. That's how we do it. Good luck.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.P.

answers from Chicago on

We rarely watch TV; kids are busy playing (sometimes by themselves, sometimes with me), reading books, dancing, crafts, classes, library, outings. As they get older (now almost 3 and 13 months old) they're playing more with each other and I can get some things done around the house. Once in a while, my oldest and I will bake something, but that's not very often. Check with your park district, YMCA, library to see what classes they have. And yes, I'm very tired and ready for bed at night, but I don't like seeing my kids with blank stares as they watch TV!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.R.

answers from Cleveland on

I'm so glad you asked this question!! I was just thinking about this today.. my kids are 6 (but he's in school all day) then I have a soon to be four year old and a soon to be 2 year old (both in January).. If I do turn the tv off my 2 year old knows how to turn it on..lol but I tell them to find something to play with. My son, who is 6, is allowed to play some Wii when he gets home since he didnt have tv at all, all day :) Usually my 6 & 4 year old will play together or dress up in their halloween gear to play dress up my 2 year old, however, is up my butt!! I'm not sure b/c I'm a full-time mom w/ him while me other two were in daycare while I worked before I got laid off.. I'm dealing with the same thing for now. I have a super small house (3bdr slab) and there's no basement. So they have to be contained, which is hard also. I do believe in 'throwing' them outside even in the winter..lol I have snow suits for all of them but our yard is only fenced on 3 sides and the lil' one doesn't understand the concept of staying in the yard yet. So unless I wanna freeze my butt off he usually stays inside, and my daughter doesnt usually go out until her brother gets home so she has someone to play with. My neighbor (high school friend of mine) has 2 boys. But apprently they don't play out in the snow and each boy has somekind of game system in their room w/ a flat screen and also an xbox in the living room. So I try to limit my kids time over there b/c obviously I know what they are doing. But yes I need to limit my children's TV as well. I'll look back at the comments to see what other kinds of suggestions pop up. Thanks for asking :)

M.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

We didn't allow any TV until about 3 years old and it was limited to 30 minutes max. I found that when the TV was on longer than that, his imagination disappeared. He'd be playing with this cars and couldn't figure out a conversation between them. Our next 2 didn't watch TV at all.

Our kids get up and play quietly in their rooms until we get up. We all get up, they can read books, play with trains, etc and then we make breakfast. Playing outside is a really good activity....even at the park. Then we have lunch, (at that age, a nap - which gives you a little time to do your things) and now we go homework....even our little one who is 2 y.o. LOVES doing homework. So, it's working on letters and allowing free draw for the 2 y.o., the 4 y.o. is working on spelling words and math and our 8 y.o. is in 4th grade (we homeschool), so he has harder homework. More playing when they get bored with that and a snack. Some more playing outside, maybe reading books to them and then dinner. A bath....and then bedtime for all 3 of them at 7:30pm.

They don't watch ANY TV during the week, but if they behave and earn points, then they can play limited video games on Saturday and Sunday, so this is where your little ones can maybe watch a little TV?

Getting them to play with each other allows them to deal with conflict resolution at an early age AND they are ok with being "alone" and NOT being stimulated by media 24/7.

We also ordered our vehicle without a DVD player, so they don't ask every 3 seconds to watch TV. We bring books and those thick, plastic placemats that they look at and learn the planets, dinosuars, etc. Our daughter is 2 and knows that a Tyrannosaurus Rex (not just a T-Rex) is a carnivore. It's never too early to start teaching them and the car is a perfect environment.

About 5 months ago, I pointed out some different clouds while we were in the car and explained the rain clouds are called Cumulonimbus clouds. Our 8 year old was struggling with pronunciation and wanted to call them Columbus. After a few minutes of this our 2 year old screamed out, "Michael! Cumulonimbus!"

On Fridays, our local community center has a "gym" day and it's free play for $6 for each kid, so we often take them there. We also bought year membership to the zoo, an aquarium, a children's museum, so we use those passes and get our money out of it!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

We don't do tv. DS is almost 5 years old - on the days he is home all day (was in preschool 3 days a week until this September and now 5 days) - breakfast, play, tooth brushing and getting dressed. Attempt to leave the house to do something (park, book store, supermarket, just about anything. followed by lunch, nap or quiet time (1-1/2 hours), playing (lego, building with Tinker toys, playing make believe with stuffed animals, creatures he has constructed with lego etc), making dinner, dinner, more playing, pajamas/bathtime, story reading, bedtime. Yup it is exhausting. Especially because the great majority of the play is interactive, not him off by himself.
Good luck.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

1. we read books together
2. teaching daughter how to read
3. crafts
4. helping me cook
5. having friends over
6. taking a class, gymnastic or dance or mommy and me
7. baths
8. hide n seek

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.R.

answers from Miami on

Hi.
1. Wake
2. Cuddle and book
3. Breakfast and puzzles.
4. 30-40 mins TV.
5.Park
6. lunch out
7. nap
8. wake and snack.
9. play
10 errands
11. dinner, bath, snack, reading, bed

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.A.

answers from Salt Lake City on

We really don't watch TV at all. Occasionally we will get a movie from the library with kid shows like Sesame Street, but that's maybe once a month. Because we've never used TV as entertainment, the creative play has come naturally to fill their days and they don't feel like they are missing out on anything. My kids are 4 and 2, girl and boy, and they play so well together (and alone) with dress ups, cars, puzzles, blocks, coloring, play-doh, etc. I decided early on that learning to entertain themselves was a really important skill, so I stay out of their creative play most of the time and they do great with it on their own. When I am doing things with them, we'll read books, do more complicated puzzles, crafts, etc. But I don't feel like I have to be with them constantly for them to stay happy. I think if you start doing things the way you want them to be, your kids will adjust quickly to the new normal and be okay without the TV on a regular basis. Good luck!

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

Games, books and play time!!

We had Crocodile Dentist that the boys LOVED to play!!

Candyland, Sorry, trouble - games like these - are GREAT for learning how to count and recognize colors!!!

Play ground - play dates...even in the winter...take them to an ice rink, skating rink, get them involved in something like that - as long as they are walking - they can ice skate (this is my personal opinion).

drawing - coloring. My husband put a white board up in the family room so the boys could "draw" on the wall. The other thing I did was buy meat paper - Art Paper at Micheal's and roll that out and let them draw to their hearts content. I also cut out pieces big enough to trace their bodies and let them decorate themselves!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

When I stayed at home, we did some type of morning activity almost every day -had memberships at bouncy play places, children's museum, zoo, aquarium, botanical gardens, etc. Often we just went to a local playground or took a long walk with them riding tricycles and bikes or riding in the stroller. Usually after that it was naptime and then we played in the backyard or they played with their toys. Get play doh, markers, crayons, lots of paper, scissors, glue -tons of art supplies and stickers and put them at the table. They'll spend LOTS of time on that! We used to go to the library a lot too and hit the library and local bookstores for story time a few times a week. We've always spent a lot of time reading to our kids as well.

Then, there are errands! I always took -and still do often -my kids on errands with me. Grocery, Target, etc. can take up a lot of time!

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions