Woman Babysits Two Kids With No Screen Time. She Started Learning New Things From a Four-Year-Old: ‘This Is How Children Should Be Raised’
She's on the no-screen-time side of this debate.
A babysitter (@babysigner) went on TikTok to talk about her experience caring for a two-year-old and a four-year-old, who she claimed had no screen time. Because of the experience, she believes no screen time for young children is the way to go.
“They’ve never seen a movie, they’ve never seen an iPad. They’re not allowed to look at pictures on your phone,” the babysitter claimed. The parents allegedly only had a projector screen in their bedroom because the family doesn’t own a television set. Some parents toss their kids’ iPads out of the car window when they’ve finally had enough, but the babysitter claims these parents she works for heavily restrict their kids’ gadget use.
“All these kids do is read and play, and they are some of the most intellectually advanced children I have ever met in the six years I have been in childcare,” the babysitter claimed. She said the two-year-old can already speak in full sentences. Furthermore, she claimed that the child’s room is filled with encyclopedias and an assortment of other books.
“The four-year-old occupies himself with just his imagination, like, three to four hours a day. He makes his own biomes in his playroom for all of his organized animal baskets that he organized himself by time period and climate,” she added. Although there is a lack of gadgets, the children are able to play and have fun in their own way. It’s not a strict childhood, where they’re forced to study math and reading subjects all weekend long.
“They’re so smart, like I learn multiple things from them every single time I see them. Like, I’m genuinely learning new information that I’ve never known my entire life from a four-year-old,” the babysitter claimed. These children solidified her belief that kids should go without screens.
No screen time debate
“This has just truly solidified the opinion that I’ve had forever—that children should never, ever, ever be given screen time,” the babysitter said. She continued, saying that she would “judge” people who choose to expose their kids to screens, despite the negative impacts it might have on their children. The babysitter believes a screen-free childhood is best for kids, and it’s “not hard” to provide children this lifestyle. “This is how children should be raised,” the babysitter argued.
The video went viral on TikTok, amassing more than a million views and more than 220,000 likes. Other people weighed in. They shared their stories in the comment section, talking about the differences they observed in kids based on screen time.
One social media user who claimed to be a nanny said, “I nanny for 2 families and one has unlimited screen time and the other only has a movie night as a family once a week. The difference in behavior is insane to witness.” Based on her observation, she elaborated that the children with low screen time are “way more creative and patient and able to handle discomfort.” On the other hand, children with more screen time were often dysregulated and “can’t play independently, they need constant stimulation.”
One parent wrote, “I raised my child on books. She does 200 books a summer and is leaps and bounds ahead of her peers who are on screens.” But not everyone was on board with zero screen time. Some commenters believe parents should still let their children watch movies but keep gadgets to a minimum. Others found no movies excessive, with one commenter emphasizing that this is just one success story involving no screen time. She added that this example couldn’t be representative of all children exposed to media.
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