Do You Let Your Kids Watch TV During Breakfast?

sometimes my kids watch TV at breakfast, sometimes not, no strict rule about it though, but dinner is a no TV time as well around here....

Sigh, I know, I am the bad sheep in here about this subject.
My tv is always on. No necessary always on kids tv but always on.
But believe it or not, they don't really watch it, neither I.
Is more a soothing sound for me, lol.
My tv is always on, and I "sometimes" go to lala land when my kids (or husband) talk. These are my 2 devilish privileges I allow my self to do, they keep me happy to do ALL the other things I do, which are a lot.

I used to, but found she was never finishing her breakfast on time. Now there is no tv and we actually get out the door on time.

We are a no TV during meals family. The less screen time, the better in my opinion.

Yes I do, and during lunch and dinner sometimes. Depends on what is going on and if we have time to spare or if we have to get going.

TV is also the first line of punishment for things too... do something bad enough in my thinking, you loose tv privileges for 2 days.

I have to have it off when they are eating any meal or it will take an hour. My kids get easily distracted. Getting dressed for school and eating would never happen if I turned it on in the morning.

When we were kids we had the same rule. We got to watch tom and jerry with breakfast and dinner it had to go off. Then we all started getting old and my pops now just eats out there with the tv most of the time. So silly yes, if your kids move for you though...hey, more power to you:)

No, but only because then I can't get them "up and out" in the morning. You also can't see our TV from the kitchen table, and that's where I try to get them to eat.

Nope, not really.

I like my son to be focused on eating. He's four, so it's already enough of a challenge to stay in our seat and use the correct side of the fork (that is, not the handle, ha ha.). Our kitchen table looks out over the backyard and between the resident song sparrow and squirrels, my son has a hard enough time eating his breakfast. But to each their own....

we watch the local news every morning, no cartoons they just get too wrapped up in them. It is funny we have a TV on the counter that the only time it is ever on is between the hours of 6:30-8:15 every morning other than that it never gets used.

We do not watch TV during meals.

I guess I am considered a black sheep then too. I have 2 young children though and dont have to worry about getting out of the house on time. The only time my daughter(who is 3) watches cartoons is in the morning. The rest of the day it is on what me and my husband want to watch. I grew up watching tv during meals, so to me it is no biggy. We don't watch junk though. During the day while I am doing my cleaning if I get a chance she watches movies in my bedroom. We have a very busy/hectic house since we have a 2 month old also so anything to get my daughter quite so I can feed and put baby down for a nap is great for me. She has learned alot from her cartoons(dora the explorer, oomie zoomie) I am very suprised.

I grew up watching the Today Show at breakfast and we watch it now. We have a tv in the kitchen. It is almost always on and tuned to a news channel. We've seen some cool things and learned stuff too during breakfast.

No - they wouldn't eat anything!

But a couple of mornings a week, I do let them watch about 1/2 hour of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Jungle Junction while I get ready for work. They don't see any TV the rest of the day though during the week. We do let them see a movie on most weekend mornings though. :)

uh...yeah! that's how i get ready in the a.m.! :)
that's the only t.v. for the day though cause he's at daycare....'cept a little I Love Lucy in the p.m. when we're wrestling or playing trucks on the floor! :)

We have a strict no tv during meals policy...so nope. Especially not in the morning- on Tuesdays and Thursdays my daughter has to be at preK by 8 and she is already a dawdling eater (and generally has to be woken up sometime after 7am). :)

I do. I don't like that I let them, but I do. Breakfast only though.

We started only letting them watch HD Theatre's "Sunrise Earth" which shows complete silence except for the noises of whatever location were surrounding the cameras at the time of the dawn shooting. The Artic, Florida Manatees, a total eclipse in Belize ... such beautiful breathtaking locations. It was a little comprimise; they get tv, but nothing with commercials and no talking. Very good show.

But then I caved. They now watch Bugs Bunny. And I'm okay with that. How else is my little boy going to learn to take that left turn at Albuquerque?

We sit at the table and eat our meals. AFTER meals, they're allowed to watch it, but not during. Half the time, my kids only have the tv on for background noise anyway.

How would people watch TV during breakfast??? Is there a TV in the kitchen eating area or nook? We don't have a TV in the kitchen....but now that you mention it...I could watch Oprah or Ellen while I'm cooking dinner...

Answer is no....no TV during school days...weekends are OK though.

No TV in the morning in our house; too hard to get anyone motivated after it's on. Our child started kindergarten this year and for the most part, we don't let her watch it Mon-Thurs, either. We occasionally might make an exception if all homework, bath, teeth, etc. are done and there is extra time. But usually we play together if there is extra time. Weekends are fine in the morning and evening, though.

LOL. I do, and it's the ONLY time I let him watch tv during the week :-P

Guess it doesn't make much sense, but he wakes up much more ready to interact than I do, plus I still have to get ready for work. I throw on PBS kids, he watches Between the Lions, and I drink my coffee and/or hop in the shower.

I leave in the mornings before they eat breakfast, but their dad listens to the radio in the mornings, so no TV. I'm a teacher, and in the summer when I'm home we watch the Today Show in the mornings while we eat breakfast together, or we all eat breakfast outside (without TV). Like you, we don't watch TV during dinner.

Breakfast is the only time i really allot for that. Curious george and cat in the hat. Then the bus. There isnt any t.v. watching upon returning home, its homework, playing, making dinner, bedtime routines, etc... But in the mrning . Yep, we are total couch potatoes.

since we have an open concept floor plan, my boys can see the tv from the breakfast table so yes, they do get a few minutes of cartoons in the morning while eating....if they didn't, it would probably be stone silent since I'm usually running around trying to get myself finished, snacks packed, etc...they enjoy it, I don't see the harm :-)

The boys eat breakfast and after they finish they can watch their show (though today it was the wedding!). Sometimes I'll pause the TV so they can watch a specific show.

Yes. Granted it's just me and DD at this time of the morning so she watches a little HubBub while I check my email and set up my work (I work from home). Dinner is a full family affair with no electronics allowed.

Sometimes. Most times, though, I want to sit and talk with them and hang out over breakfast time. It is our family's designated meal to sit down together.
It isn't cable so they tend to get local channels and PBS Kids:)

We were never allowed to watch TV during any meals when I was growing up. We only had one TV in the house, and it was in the downstairs living room. We ate our meals in the dining room, upstairs. (when I was living with my grandma...)

When I was living with my dad, we still weren't allowed. Our kitchen was next to the living room, but the way it was situated there was no way to see the TV.

My DD is only 1, so she doesn't really care yet. lol. But I liked growing up, and having family time at our meals. I'm planning to have family meals at the table together... but who knows, maybe when my DD is old enough to feed herself I will be desperate enough for some 'me' time that I will let the TV keep her entertained while I get other stuff done. It's hard to say what I will do until it happens. :P

No it doesn't they have plenty of time to watch TV during the day,the TV is off here at my house everytime we eat i'd rather talk to my kiddos about their day than hear the TV nonsense

Depends if your trying to get out the door for work or school and it's a problem then no. If you have young ones not going to school and your not on a time frame then no biggie as long as it's not taking them an hour to eat.

No tv during any meal time. I'm obsessed with getting them into the habit of talking about themselves or the world at the table. Plus I grew up eating all my meals w the tv on and it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

yes, unless I am having a hard time getting them ready for school, but they are really too busy to watch it anyway since they are playing.

We frequently watch tv while eating, but we don't eat breakfast.

Funny. I don't like watching tv in the evening either. For one, it's harder to turn off because they know they are going to bed and might not want to and second, whatever last images are in their mind will continue to be on their mind for bedtime. You never know what they perceive or notice.....even during commercials. That impression can do a lot on the mind and their rest.
It could be sending them mixed signals if they are allowed at one time but not another. However, if it works for you, why change it? I think a small dose in the mornings doesn't hurt as long as they follow your rules and get what needs to be done, done.

I try to make mealtimes personal. We talk about what we've got planned for the day at breakfast, generally miss each other at lunch (she's at school, I'm at work), and then talk about what we did during the day at dinner. It's nice and keeps you involved. My daughter doesn't watch too much TV, so when she does, she's like a zombie; completely entranced. I'd be afraid that there would be no conversation, no sharing, if the tv were on. We sometimes make an exception if we're doing a dinner and movie type night, where we make dinner and then eat it while watching a new movie together.

No tv at any meal (you can see the tv in the living room from the eat in kitchen table). Now I'm enforcing a no iPhone/iPad ban at the table, though the hubby still manages to carry on decent conversations. He is self employed and works from home, so sometimes emails are still going back and forth during dinner. We are trying to find a balance :)

Our dining room is directly behind the living room, you can easily watch tv from the table. So, yeah my kids watch tv during breakfast. But it doesn't bother me, once 9 am hits, it's time for school (I homeschool) and the tv isn't allowed back on until school and chores are done. I personally tend to check my email while I eat my breakfast. After school and chores they are only allowed 1/2 hour of video games each or a show. Then the tv stays off until evening if there is something my husband and I want to watch. Dinner is our time to sit and talk with one another, and be focused on that and nothing else. So we have the no tv at dinner policy too, and most of the time lunch as well.

I'm the opposite. During breakfast there is just not enough time for my daughter to get into any tv. Its all about getting ready for school. Saturday I dont mind. As for dinner we do actually sometimes watch some tv while we are eating. We talk alot me and her so it does not interfere with that part of the relationship

No! We don't watch TV when we're eating. If anything comes on, it's the radio or music.

They need to concentrate on their meals, not just sit there staring at the screen. But then we don't believe in watching much TV period. My sister thinks we're weird because I don't let my kids have one in their room (her son has his own TV along with an xbox & DVD player and he's only 5) and because I have a special cover over our TV. The kids know that if it's on to not even ask for a movie etc. unless all of their chores are done and even then it's weekend only unless it's a special ocassion (like a birthday) or I got my hands on something educational, etc. I just don't believe that the kids need that much air time. Even in the morning as I'm preparing their breakfast & lunches I'm still talking to them as they do their chores or going over their homework. If they have extra time in the morning they'll usually pull a book out to read. That's much more engaging than a TV show, especially as ridiculous as most cartoons and other children's programing is now.

My kids never watched tv during breakfast. They ate in the kitchen and there is no tv in our kitchen or dining room! My kids were not ever allowed to watch tv at all before school, not needed. The a.m. focus was on getting ready for school and work, no time to dawdle and lose focus with t.v.

I restrict the TV watching.

Yep, me too! We NEVER watch TV during lunch or dinner, but they sit in front of the TV and eat breakfast every moring. I think it is because I am so busy getting everyone ready for school that I do not sit down to eat myself until the kids are at school. Dinner we all sit down as a family and eat together. It works for me!!