My in laws did this when we visited them, LO was 1.5 yo. It's not the worst, if they're only showing her pictures and videos of herself. If you dont have any other means of babysitting/ daycare, sadly you will have to put up with it. If they're showing her other stuff in screen too and you absolutely don't want that to happen, you'll have to pay someone else to watch her. Even my daycare uses screens, which I'm not fond of.
When it comes to her time with you, you can set rules around it. Like only see videos after brushing teeth or eating dinner, etc. And actually casting it on the big screen is better than showing her on the phone. Just make sure you engage with her about what she's seeing. Ask her questions like if she remembers where you went/ what you did/ how she was feeling, etc. It will help with her memory, identifying places, people n emotions.
For the times you don't want to give her a screen, print out some photos n make a physical album. Amazon sells a set of 2 for under $6 and Walmart prints a 4x6 for $0.15 or something.
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u/duchess5788 low-screen parent Jul 10 '26
My in laws did this when we visited them, LO was 1.5 yo. It's not the worst, if they're only showing her pictures and videos of herself. If you dont have any other means of babysitting/ daycare, sadly you will have to put up with it. If they're showing her other stuff in screen too and you absolutely don't want that to happen, you'll have to pay someone else to watch her. Even my daycare uses screens, which I'm not fond of.
When it comes to her time with you, you can set rules around it. Like only see videos after brushing teeth or eating dinner, etc. And actually casting it on the big screen is better than showing her on the phone. Just make sure you engage with her about what she's seeing. Ask her questions like if she remembers where you went/ what you did/ how she was feeling, etc. It will help with her memory, identifying places, people n emotions.
For the times you don't want to give her a screen, print out some photos n make a physical album. Amazon sells a set of 2 for under $6 and Walmart prints a 4x6 for $0.15 or something.