Curbing the TV

[memory maker]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get my 4 yr old to not be so obsessed with the tv. We try to limit, but when his sister was born he watched more of it. Now we need to cut a lot of it out. Anything that has helped others?

[kaya3]

we got into this trap when ds 2 was born. ds1 watched more tv the first month that the baby was born than he did his whole life. we just gradually cut it back, and replaced it with something really fun, like playdoh, or making cookies, or naked in the tub with shaving cream. eventually we got it cut back, and now my boys watch one show(usually dragon tails ) before bed. just start small, and gradually decrease the tv time. also....don't feel guilty. you are doing a great job!
krista

[LunaMom]

A friend gave me the idea of "video tickets" and it worked so well in my home, I think because the tickets hold the power, not the mom, and you can't argue with tickets.

Make tickets out of colored paper and tell your child that each one is good for a half-hour video or program. Decide how much tv you feel comfortable with and give him that number. My dd got two a day, but some people might want to give only a few a week - that's up to you!

When he wants to watch something, he has to hand you a ticket. I kept mine in an envelope that I hung from the tv shelf. It was amazing how dd would just look and say, "Oh, I'm out of tickets...guess I'll go draw at my art table."

Good luck!

Oh, by the way, we made special exceptions for rainy days when we had "family movie time"!

[bestjob]

We do the same as LunaMom... each child gets 3 tv choices (like LunaMom's tickets) per week. Each choice is for 30 minutes, so a long movie uses up all their choices. Sometimes (about every 3 weeks) we have a movie night, which is "free". We've been using the system for about 3 years now. I like it that the kids decide for themselves when to use their tv choices, but it really curbs the monster. When my 9 year old is busy, she can go for weeks without turning on the tv. We've always had really limited tv at our house (no cable and I don't buy videos, so we get one channel with good reception and we get either rent videos or borrow them from the library.)

The downside of really limiting the tv is that it becomes a forbidden fruit. My younger kids are surprised at how much tv other children watch, and they are a bit silly about it when they discover that when they are at other people's homes they can watch tv. It has led to some uncomfortable times when I've been with them at someone else's house and my kids look so guilty about watching a half hour of tv that the hosts think that I will be angry about my kids watching tv. On the other hand, from about the time that my dd was 7 ears old, she realized that tv really isn't all that fun and that even if you can watch tv, there are many more fun things to do when you're visiting. The kids I know who watch a lot of tv don't seem to have made that connection.

What I don't understand is why people would invite my children over to play and then turn on the tv, even if asked. I would only rarely watch tv when I had guests, unless we were all interested in a special event, like a sports event or a movie we wanted to discuss.

Oh, dear, I'd better get off my soap box!

[LunaMom]

Not before I climb up there with you, bestjob! I also don't see the point of TV during a playdate. In our house, we have a rule about that. While I do cringe when DD goes to a friend's house and the TV is on the whole time, I figure it isn't going to kill her. Fortunately most of the families we know have similar attitudes about TV, so it rarely occurs.

Sorry, back to our regularly scheduled thread...