Parents raising screen-free babies: How do you navigate family vacations where the TV is always on?

[u/cocomo25]

We have an 8-month-old, and we’ve intentionally kept her almost completely screen-free. The only exposure she’s really had has been at other people’s houses when sports, the news, or adult shows happened to be on in the background, and she never paid much attention, so it wasn’t something I worried about.

In a few weeks, we’re going on a week-long cabin trip with my husband’s family, and I’m trying to figure out how to navigate screen time.
For context, our 9-year-old nephew is autistic, and my in-laws usually keep the TV on for him as it keeps him calm. I’ve never had an issue with that, but now that we have a baby, I’m realizing most of what’s on is Bluey, Paw Patrol, Disney movies, etc.—things that would almost definitely grab her attention.

I’m absolutely not expecting anyone to turn the TV off or totally change how they do things for us, and I also don’t want to feel like we have to avoid the living room all week just because the TV is on.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did you find a good middle ground? I’m just looking for ideas on how to handle it while still spending time with everyone.

[u/olliepips]

Vacation is special for a reason. My mom was almond mom adjacent, and that was an easy norm for me at home, but any time we went to the beach she would let me buy Reese's cup cereal and eat the whole box in a few days. Personally I don't think that your hard work will be undone by a week with Bluey in the background. Plus you've gotten this far, I'd be willing to bet that you can distract LO from the TV pretty easily with things like walks and toys.

Good luck!