when visiting the inlaws...who have the t.v on alot! what to do?

[Gwendolyn's babies]

About once a year we visit the inlaws. They have the t.v on almost all day. I am not saying I don't enjoy it. I love to watch the decorating makeovers.

But...my husband and I both feel.....really lazy when we are visiting there. We don't necessarily care for all the shows that they watch...and it's really hard to monitor what inappropriate commercial might "pop up" and the children before I know it have seen it.

We try to go out and do things but we are visiting them ya know?

anyone else have this situation?

[zinemama]

I'm in that boat right with ya. And you know what? I take a "when in Rome" approach and just go with the flow. It's not going to hurt the kids in my opinion, and it would be way too much trouble to get into it with people we see so rarely.

[fek&fuzz]

How long are you there for? Can you stay in a hotel? Are there times it's on and no one is in the room and you can just shut it off?

[Llyra]

It's like that for us at my own parents' house. The TV is on all the time, and while I find myself able to ignore it, and my kids pay it very little attention, poor DH is like a zombie the whole time. He just can't help but watch, and it makes him cranky and headachy.

I tried hard to get my mom to turn it off when we were visiting, when DD1 first came along, and all I did was offend her. Honestly, it's not her, it's stepdad, and I can't tell him what to do in his own house, and it doesn't bother me enough to say I won't go there. It's just not that important to me-- a few hours a month is nothing.

I have pointed out to my mom how DD's behavior deteriorates with too much TV.

I'll give them credit that they at least monitor the content a bit when we're there, and put on nothing I'd call totally inappropriate.

[nataliebassoon]

Personally, I'm okay with the idea of being lazy and watching tv on vacation, but you have to follow your personal convictions. The idea about just turning it off if ILs aren't watching it seems like a really good one, though.

[Hannahsmummy]

I know that this is the less than popular approach but have you talked to them about having it off until the little ones are in bed or away from the house?

Or is it that you are having trouble staying away from it as well? Sorry, I'm not clear from the post.

I am not keen for my daughter to see any TV at all if I can help it. I do realize that a little on holiday when others are watching something isn't likely to cause long term damage. However, in our case, I'd have to deal with the fallout from it in my daughter's behaviour etc. So, I ask people to please keep it off.

Thankfully we have families that are willing to comply with the request with minimal complaint. In fact my MIL is waaaay better than my mother about this.

[Nicole_ac]

I am so in the same boat, both at my ILs' and my mother's. I just turn it off when I can put my hand on the remote. Or I watch the shows with them.