Grandparents not following our no screen time rule.
Our little boy is looked after by my in laws once a week whilst I’m at work. I was initially going to put him in nursery for my 2 working days but my in laws insisted that they have him for 1 day. He is their only grandchild and wanted to spend extra time with him.
I am very grateful that they have him and they are excellent grandparents to our little boy. However we do not allow our 2.5 year old to watch any TV at home. My in laws have started to show our son TV shows whilst at theirs (Peppa pig, Paw Patrol and Bluey etc) I have asked them to stop as it’s causing issues at home. Our little boy is getting upset when I tell him that he cannot watch these shows at home. This is leading to meltdowns and tantrums. Prior to this, we had none of these behaviours.
I have tried speaking with them multiple times but they keep letting him watch these shows at theirs. They have said that he gets upset when he cannot watch them.
Should I put my little boy in nursery for 2 days a week and not with his grandparents? How can I make them respect my parenting choices?
For context, my husband had also been involved in all of these conversations.
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If you are completely adamant of no screen time then , yes tell them that he will be going to nursery. Although they do have screen time at most nurseries, YouTube yoga here, a Julia Donaldson movie there etc
you're extremely lucky that your child's grandparents have offered to watch him, do they take him anywhere? Maybe they struggle to fill all day and need a rest?
Your concerns are valid and I do side with you that they should respect your wishes but at the end of the day you can't control other people, espeecially what they do when you're not around and because of that, you have to make a decision if them letting him watch tv is something you can forgive or not. Someone can also argue that this is not about screentime but a trust concern, as when they don't follow your wishes what else do they do and not do when he's there with them, and this is not to give you more headache but to weigh in what really matters to you. Sending love. x
You said no TV. They introduced numerous TV shows. You have been considerate and given them chances to amend their behaviour - they keep letting him watch the TV shows.
Logic dictates if you don’t want your child watching TV, then you cannot trust the grandparents to abide by your rules, therefore you send your child to nursery.
Even if they swear blind from this day on they will not do it again - they will. They’ll slip up, get tired and put the TV on for 10 mins whilst they have a cuppa in peace. But they’ll lie to you when you ask. Once the trust is gone, it’s gone.
Thank them for their help and see what nursery places are available to you.
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