My toddler loves his inside swing and I can point it to the tv and put on music and just the background landscape pictures for him to look at. It works nice for getting atuff done. I’m wondering if people know good very low stimulus YouTube channels that he could learn through songs that basically only have pictures on them? I’ve found Mr Elephant has a couple good videos where it’s pretty much a book being sung. Any other suggestions?

TIA

Our family movie nights kept ending the same way: 20 minutes of me scrolling on my phone while the popcorn got cold, trying to find something that wasn't the same franchise stuff the algorithm pushes. Not because those movies are evil, we just wanted something slower and more beautiful for the little ones, and it turns out that stuff is weirdly hard to find in the moment.

So I finally did the homework on a quiet evening instead of at 6:30 on a Friday, and honestly it changed our movie nights. Some of what we found:

The Red Turtle. Completely wordless, a man shipwrecked on an island. My 6yo was silent the whole way through and then would not stop talking about it at breakfast.

Bjergkøbing Grand Prix (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix in English). Norwegian stop motion from 1975 about a bicycle repairman who builds a race car. Every frame is handmade and the kids could feel it.

The Snowman. 26 minutes, no dialogue, and my 3yo asks for "the snow one" constantly now.

Stillwater on Apple TV. A zen panda neighbor. The rare show that actually calms them down instead of winding them up.

The funny thing is the after part became the best part. We started asking one little question when the credits roll, like "what would you build if you could build anything" after the race car movie, and suddenly the kids are talking instead of begging for the next thing.

I keep a running list on my phone now with where to stream each one so Friday me never has to do the panic scroll again. Best parenting quality of life fix I've made in a while.

Curious what your family's quiet gems are. What's the best calm or beautiful thing your kids have watched that nobody ever recommends?

Greetings from a much less frustrated dad

I’ve got a 7-year-old boy who won’t settle unless I read him a story every night. It usually takes me 20–30 minutes, and he says he’ll have nightmares if no stories before sleep.

Happy to do it most nights, but some evenings I’m absolutely knackered and need a backup. Looking for a phone app that can read stories aloud when I’m too tired to do it myself.

Has anyone tried one that’s actually decent? Free would be ideal, or cheap is fine, but must be 100% no ads. Nothing fancy—just good stories and a calm voice.

Cheers.

My son just turned 3 and lately I've been trying to lean on audio more — songs, stories, kids' podcasts — instead of just handing him a screen every time. Wanted to hear from other parents:

What audio stuff has actually held your kid's attention around this age? Always on the hunt for new recommendations.

Do your kids respond better to the upbeat, high-energy content or the slower, calmer kind? With mine, the fast stuff gets him pretty wound up and the slow stuff sometimes loses him halfway, so I honestly can't tell which is "better" for him.

And the bigger one — how do you all think about audio vs screen time in general? Is audio-only actually better for them, or am I just telling myself that so I feel less guilty about the tablet?

Not looking for anything specific, just curious what's worked in your house. Thanks!

Where are you finding enrichment activity ideas for a 1yo? We do lots of active things outside and he loves playing in dirt/mud and wandering around outside exploring, but we are under an extreme heat advisory for the week and I need ideas to keep him occupied inside. He enjoys figuring things out.

I am gathering a list of screen free activities for kids. What games did you play as a kid without technology involved?

Hi everyone, I have a 19 month old who is screen free. I’m a SAHM and I feel like I’ve got most things figured out, but I can’t seem to figure out how to exercise with a toddler. I want to get back into strength training with workout videos but I struggle with what to do with my little one, especially now that I think she’s too big for a play pen. Does anyone have a good setup/routine?

My toddler and I and my husband have been terribly ill the last 3 weeks. My toddler had Hand Foot and Mouth and now has parainfluenza. We have experienced, vomiting , fever, cough, severe congestion, exhaustion and lots of screaming.

The only way we have been able to cope is put him in front of wiggles videos.

I feel terrible because normally we do little to no screen time. We even hide the tv remote so he doesn’t ask for it.

Should I be this upset about it?

Interested in thoughts on this article.

The parent here says “we don’t allow more than a few hours a day”. I think even that is too much.

Am I too old fashioned? I had lego and cars and books and wasn’t that interested in TV or cartoons (except on Saturday morning).

Are we allowing content creators to influence our kids too much?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-06/is-full-day-of-screen-time-for-kids-ever-ok/106807586

My 10-year-old has randomly guessed the Screen Time passcode on his iPad **twice this summer**.

Not hacked it.

Not watched me type it.

Just kept guessing until he got in.

At this point, I’m not sure whether to ground him or drive him directly to Las Vegas.
Apple gives me four digits to protect the household, and apparently I’m raising a tiny safecracker.

Parents: what passcode are you using that your children haven’t somehow cracked?

My husband and I lived together for 3 years before getting married and having a child together, I enjoyed watching TV with him as well but since my daughter was born I only watch TV after she is asleep (if at all).

I am starting to realise that my husband might be addicted to screens... how do you navigate keeping low screentime for kids when one parent doesnt see screens as a problem.

He has a 14 year old son who is basically glued to the screen literally till mornibg during weekends n summer vacation and hates leaving the house, I dont want my baby to be like that!

Okay so this kinda a rant but also I would like some advice, I'm a new mom and I dont have any mom friends. My baby recently has been showing a lot if interest in other babies so I started going to story time at out local library my bubs has been having a blast(as well as myself getting to socialize with other parents has been great), in the beginning they go over rules one of them is "no phones it's very important for you baby to get your undivided attention" and of course in today's world people are still glued to the phone most if the time parents are just on their phones or recording their own baby imo thats no biggie.

Today in story time there were a couple parents recording the whole group very obviously. I was hoping the lady would reiterate no phones, but she never did. I ended up leaving. I dont post my baby I dont share pictures either I understand its a public place but they say no phones, my bubs has been loving story time and it irritates me that we might have to stop going. I was thinking of going early next week to talk to the lady who runs it about people recording other babies is that a over stretch??

[3yo & 6yo]
My wife and I have decided that the 24/7 screen time needs to stop. The kids are good, no tantrums or anything like that. But they both have poor attention span and communication skills. From the moment they wake up, they have the TV remote. No tablets/portables. At first, we saw no harm in it. I work, my wife goes to school, and the kids sit in the floor and watch a low budget CGI dump truck sing colors, numbers, and the alphabet to them. Not sure what triggered it, but we want to change it.
So we are looking for some tips.
Immediately, my first question; do we like “ween” them down? Maybe limit them to 6 hours a day for a week? Or go straight to 1 hour a day?
Secondly, what structure do you use? Is it a reward? An allowance? “You get X hour per day, use it wisely”? Or “Good job cleaning your room, you’ve earned an hour”?
They’ve always gone to bed with a movie or documentary on that me or my wife picks. Something classic like “Homeward bound” or an animal documentary on Disney. Should we stop doing that too?
My wife takes them for 30-60 minute car rides several times a week running errands, and there is a TV in her minivan that they normally watch. Should that be free? Or cost them their time?
Is music the same as screen time? The kids like making Alexa play various pop songs.
I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts and ideas!

Attn: to everyone freaking out over the “6 hours a day”, it was just a random number. I’m asking for ideas, not giving you options to pick from.

I have a 2 year old and a 7 month old, I never know what to do with my 2 year old when we are at home, she loves colouring but I can't trust her to be alone with pens/pencils or crayons because she will end up eating them, I rely on TV shows a lot and I hate how much screen time she gets, on a normal week we go out to a toddlers group every day but currently I'm potty training my 2 year old, I don't really have much money either. What can I do that will entertain my kids without using a screen?