TV in Preschool? 🚩 Time to Change the Channel!
Hello friends!
Picture this: You drop your child off at preschool, and the first thing they see? A big, glowing TV screen. You come back for pickup—yep, it’s still on. Red flag alert! 🚩
At The Melbourne Preschool, we believe kids learn best by doing—not by zoning out in front of a screen. That’s why we strictly limit TV time to:
✅ Short (under 15-minute) educational videos that support our lesson plans. We require our teachers to list any media on their Lesson Plans each week so parents know exactly when, what, and why a video was included in a lesson.
✅ Planned fun movies on Summer Mondays (which we announce in our monthly Newsletters so you know exactly when and what your student will be watching!)
✅ A rare, rainy Movie Friday—only when back-to-back rainy and stormy days keep us inside for too long do we consider putting on a movie in the afternoon- sometimes we all need a little treat to break up a rainy week!
And That’s it. Why? Because research has shown that too much screen time can do more harm than good.
How Much is Too Much?
Experts recommend no more than one hour per day of high-quality screen time for kids under 6 (AAP, 2016). But in a preschool setting? That hour should be spent playing, exploring, and learning—NOT watching a screen. Studies show that excessive screen time can hinder language development, reduce attention spans, and limit social interactions (Madigan, 2020). We believe that parents should choose when and what their children watch on a screen. This is why we greatly limit screen time in our center so if you choose to turn on Miss Rachel or Bluey at home- you know your child will not be over the suggested screen-time limit. Our students are busy exploring, having fun and getting dirty on the playground at school- not staring at a screen.
What Should You Ask?
If your child is watching TV every day, or at drop-off and at pick-up times, it might be time to ask:
🔹 Why is the TV on so often?
🔹 What is my child missing out on while watching a screen?
🔹 Is this the best use of their time at preschool?
We believe in active learning, hands-on play, and real-world experiences. So while an occasional movie can be fun, you’ll always know when (and why) we’re watching—because transparency matters to us.
So, next time you see a TV on at drop-off at your daycare… ask yourself: Shouldn’t my child be playing instead?
Come join us for a tour to learn about our hands-on and play-based curriculum, see our awesome custom playgrounds, and tour the classrooms to see our variety of toys, activities, and different educational centers we have to keep your little ones busy and entertained -without a screen- all day long!
Check out just a small selection of our daily activities in the gallery below! Toodleoo!
Sources:
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). (2016). Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics.
Madigan, S., Browne, D., Racine, N., Mori, C., & Tough, S. (2020). Association Between Screen Time and Children's Performance on a Developmental Screening Test. JAMA Pediatrics.
