I don't allow my toddler screen time. Sometimes I envy the parents who do.

by Renate Flanagan 07 November 2026 5 min read 24x views

I don't allow my toddler screen time. Sometimes I envy the parents who do.

Small kid walks alongside a rocky timber trail surrounded by trees and ample boulders. — The author stated she and her hubby have tried extremely difficult to keep their 2-year-old distant from screens. She admits it's sometimes harder than expected. Courtesy of Renate Flanagan.

Even before having a kid, my hubby and I discussed our parenting values.

We knew we wanted our forthcoming kid to develop up speaking English and my husband's native tongue of Dutch. Instead of costly trips to Disney World, we accepted we would obtain our kid to sojourn genuine castles in Europe. We were additionally aligned on delaying display period as lengthy as possible. For us, that meant our kid wouldn't use cellphones, tablets, or observe television.

Now that we have a kid, our theoretical parenting philosophies have been tested against a real-world toddler. We've stuck to our guns, but sometimes we inquiry whether parenting would be easier on us if we let our son have screen time.

We've held to our no-screen values, alongside a few exceptions

Our son is nearly 3, and for the most part, he has an analog childhood, playing alongside blocks, cars, and coloring books alternatively of technology.

In practice, we've made a few exceptions for screens. Our son is allowed to have video calls alongside his grandparents. He can observe tv alongside us if it's an instructional or news program in Dutch or a cooking show.

We made impermanent exceptions during the World Cup and the Olympics. But, whenever it's grownup programming, my son tends to endure involvement following a few minutes and afterward prefers to perform alongside his toys.

We comprehend the enticement of letting a display entertain a toddler

Our son has been on the move since he started crawling at 6 months old, and strolling at a twelvemonth old. Since he started crawling, he never stays in one location unless he's sleeping. For most day-to-day activities, we don't intellect that our son is a busy, energetic toddler, but the one period we would really akin a interrupt is whenever we go out to eat. Occasionally my son volition remain seated for a entire meal, but additional frequently than not my hubby and I obtain turns strolling him about the restaurant. There have been meals whenever we didn't equal get to sit together since our son was on the move the entire time.

The author and her son bask a perspective from a refugio in the Dolomites. — The author stated she can see the petition of allowing display time, particularly whenever day attention is closed, but she's mostly been capable to evade it. Courtesy of Renate Flanagan.

We'll see another families at restaurants alongside their kids sitting quietly at the table. Not always, but additional frequently than not, the kids' eyes volition be transfixed by the gentle glow of a cellphone or tablet. We'll see the parents have a peaceful meal, sitting downward together the entire period and wonder, "Wow, what does that awareness like?" We're not judging; we would affection a peaceful meal too. Our concern is that giving our son a cellphone as a distraction volition open a one-way entrance that leads to him continually asking to use it.

Another period we awareness the enticement to factory him in forefront of cartoons is whenever day attention is unexpectedly closed. This former winter, we had a snowstorm that took multiple days to apparent the roads and sidewalks, and academy was closed. My hubby and I are fortunate to have the elasticity to activity from home, but it's unattainable to activity alongside our son around.

Expectedly for a toddler, he demands our notice and can't entertain himself for additional than 10 to 15 minutes. My hubby and I tried to juggle him between us, but quickly realized neither of us was getting any activity done, and our son was understandably disappointed by our inattentiveness and the deficiency of stimulating activities compared to what he's used to in day care. My hubby and I ended up having to substitute days off so we could shield the childcare gap because of the snow.

There's never a dull moment, and that has led to several fun experiences

With an energetic toddler, there is rarely a relaxing moment, but we have had several fun experiences since of our son's gregariousness, which I partially trait to his interacting alongside the earth about him fairly than being sucked into a screen.

Our son, and us by extension, have been welcomed to encounter the chef at our favorite French restaurant. At our regular sushi place, the waitresses bother complete him and specially prepared orange slices for him.

On one occasion, our son waved to a constabulary authoritative who let him sit in the driver's place of the constabulary car and perform alongside the sirens. We've rotate into affable alongside among the firemen at the local blaze station, and he lets our son ascend into the blaze motor and perform alongside the lights.

There are moments whenever it power be easier for us to let our son be distracted by technology. We don't provision in since we cherish those moments anywhere we see him busy alongside the earth about him, and we wouldn't commerce it, equal as tempting as it can sometimes be.