S/O obsession with movie

[jenniferadurham]

My DS, will be 2 in Dec, is obsessed with Cars the movie. Omg. We watch this movie at least 3-4 times a day. And its the only thing that calms him down. Oye. My DD did this with Lilo and Stitch...I knew EVERY word to that darned movie!! And now my DD knows every word to this movie. Lol

Do your kids do this too? It's kind of cute/kind of annoying. Annoying bc we only have one tv in the house. I'm thinking about hooking up one of our other tv's that jut sits there to only play DVD's.

[Chamomile Girl]

I'm sorry I don't think this is cute at all. Are you serious about watching it that much? That sounds like torture (for you) and not very healthy for your DS.

This makes me . Thanks for the heads up on what dangers may lurk down the road for me.

[Kuba'sMama]

I personally don't think it's that bad, and very common. I think the 2 year olds just need lots of repetition, because their minds can't wrap around the whole thing all at once. Or maybe repetition just feels good, I don't know.
My older ds had many phases, Bob the builder at that age if i recall correctly. My daughter went through a Dora all the time phase.
You'll be happy to know that they are very well adjusted kids who actually don't watch a lot of tv at all now! My kids also used it to calm down and actually it coincided with them getting rid of their nap, but still needing down time.
As long as you are setting healthy limits and doing other things as well I don't think it's a major problem.

[jenniferadurham]

Well we HS during the day, so I'm not sitting there watching it all day. We usually keep it rolling...and he watches it on and off during the day. It's not like he's watching it from start to finish every time lol. THAT WOULD DRIVE ME LOONY!!! My DD used to watch every minute of it...but I had no clue..I was so young I didn't know any better.

It's funny though bc I have seen it straight through so many times...like when he really wants to sit and watch it...I see a new scene almost every time! Lol or hear new words...it's like it's adding new stuff just to pull my leg! Lol

[Chamomile Girl]

I guess I just find the thought of a movie continually going in the background really strange because we don't have a TV. And because my kid is close to age to yours and doesn't know what a movie even is yet because I have thought him too young... I dunno, just a reality check for me I guess.

[physmom]

DD is obsessed with the Cat in the Hat movie (and the books... oh, and she had him as her imaginary friend too... BUT if you take her to see someone dressed as him in person, watch out! ). She could seriously watch it OVER and OVER and OVER again. I think it's mostly because of the songs (DH loves them too and sings them all the time) because many times she'll ask to march around the house and sing "Calculatus Eliminatus".

We don't let her watch it too much, though, because she would just sit there and watch it on end if we would let her. Today, for instance, we didn't put it on at all. That being said, I did have to read her Green Eggs and Ham a number of times because she thinks the guy is the Cat in the Hat too.

I've heard this is really normal in toddlers and they love the repetition just like they love to hear books read over and over and over again too.

[Lisa1970]

My older kids were in to Barney I think it was. I am actually not sure as it was so long ago. My middle children, they got in to Harold and the Purple Crayon for a little while. They have had other shows, but the DVD player is rarely used at this point.

[sweet~potato]

My ds1 was obsessed with the Stuart Little movie when he was that age.  I don't think it's so awful or abnormal, a little annoying though because he would stand there and whine for the movie when it wasn't on.  He also wanted to read the same stories over and over and over.  I think it's just the way some toddlers are.  My almost 2 year old doesn't sit still long enough to actually watch anything, lol. 

[sleepingbeauty]

My littlest sister loved Shrek (Don't get me started on that one...).  W loves Spongebob and Cinderella.  Z isn't a TV fan but will watch Clifford if it's on.

[Hannahkatiebell]

My DS is going to be three in Fenraury.  We're going through it, too, with Toy Story 2.  We've put a limit to only once per day though starting a few days ago. I pulled out all my old Barbies and he now has three characters dolls from the movie, so he's doing more imaginery play with them, so that's helping. Good luck to you! Let me now what helps you and maybe it will help us!

Also, we mamas should help each other, not judge.

[SubliminalDarkness]

Would the soundtrack work? I remember being obsessed with Beauty and the Beast at one point(I just had to IMDB it to make sure I wasn't admitting to being obsessed with it at 14 or something, but I was 7, phew). My mom bought me the soundtrack and I just listened to it all.the.time. The movie was watched, too, but far less often than the soundtrack was listened to. 

[ShyDaisi]

Micah started doing this with Toy Story just after he saw it for the first time several months ago. He literally wanted to watch it back-to-back-to-back, all day long. I tried to curb the number of times he watched, but it was met with whining and crying. At first I figured he was just obsessing over the TV as we were basically a TV-free household prior to that, but it continued day after day after day. One day I put my foot down and said no. He could make the movie start by himself, so I "broke" the TV -- I unplugged it from the wall. That was probably extreme and I am sure there is something "wrong" with doing it that way, but it worked.

The first day was the hardest - lots of screaming and crying. I tried distracting with other activities, but he constantly resorted back to asking about, whining about, and crying about wanting to see the movie. The next day was better, followed by a better next day, and so on. Within a week, he had stopped asking or attempting to fix it himself, and started seeking out other activities. He started pretending more, playing with his blocks, DUPLOs, cars, trains, and puzzles, and "reading" books.

I don't regret it one bit. He is much more active and interactive without the TV, and he uses his own imagination to create people in his made-up scenarios rather than those created by someone else. The TV is "fixed" now, but his "addiction" is gone, so it isn't as much of a problem. I do on occasion allow him to watch one movie or show on DVD, but it is one time and the DVD is borrowed so the inclination to watch it more than once isn't an option.

I would say if it works for you for your child to have access to the TV that often, do nothing. If it doesn't work for you, put your foot down and change it. But, make a decision one way or the other - vacillating back and forth will only confuse a toddler.

[Everrgreen]

I am NOT a tv person at all.  And I really wanted to keep ds tv-free.  But, I am a solo parent and have had a very rough year, so I bought my son a couple of 'baby signing time' videos just to give myself a break.  Well, OMG, he has become obsessed with them.  He asks to watch them all.the.time.  I try and limit it as much as possible - distract him with toys, a snack, helping me with a chore, or getting out of the house.  But he still watches it probably 2-3 times a day.  Luckily they are only 30 minute videos.  So it's only 1-1.5 hours tv time.  Still more than I think is healthy for an under 2 year old.  At least he's learning lots of sign language!

[lookatreestar]

this is interesting to me too... my dd is a relaxed kid and enjoys tv but is fine if tv is not an option. (sometimes we go days without, no issues), however she is not into disney movies, not sure why? maybe too long?

we really like cartoon shorts 5-10 min cartoons for between activities or while i put the baby down etc.

[Magali]

My ds goes through phases of really enjoying certain movies/shows.  We are 100% into watching shows (not television, but commercial free shows/movies) in our house and let him pick how often he wants to watch and what he wants to watch.  Right now he is really into Toy Story 3.  Totally cute that he knows the words!  We have several tv's and computers in the house so we don't all get stuck watching shows we don't want to.  I'd definately hook up the other tv.

[redvlagrl]

We are a TV free household but have had to deal with this sort of thing on a limited basis (youtube videos - normally that hippo that sings the "in the jungle" song). DD would beg for the same annoying vid over and over again. Basically we just went cold turkey. I don't want her to watch TV/youtube for any length of time. She did cry a bit but once she figured out that I was serious. I distracted her with reading and plyadoh etc.

I would go cold turkey for a while ("lose" the DVD - be prepared for freakouts!) and then "find" it but limit it to once a week or 10 mins a day (set an egg timer).

could it be that your DS is not calm between watchings of the movie because it is actually ramping his brain up while he's watching? It might be interesting to see if his behavior changes. Or not :)

[AirMiami]

We are not tv free, but if I don't feel like putting something on I just say no, even though I know a tantrum is coming. Mine is almost 2 as well, and she LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba, but she doesn't ask for it very often. I try to keep tv to a before bed snuggling routine, after books and such. My husband works nights and it's always us two alone, so it's very nice for me to lay down and watch something with her in bed. She seems to have a decent attention span and is very very verbal, so I'm not worried about it.