T.V. is my daughter's crack.

[~Boudicca~]

Seriously. I wouldn't call us TV-free by any means, but I am working on it. I've been working on this for a few months. Instead of turning the TV on first thing in the morning, I am completely forgoing it unless I need to get in the shower (and I am sorry that 10 minute TV-babysitter is really necessary when I don't have time to screw around and no one else is home). There are some days when we don't watch it at all and others when I am not feeling good or they're not feeling good so we'll veg on the couch. The kids probably watch about an hour and a half a day versus the all-day Noggin/TDISE marathon we used to have going on.

This has been very hard on dd1. Some days she is oblivious to the fact that the TV is not on constantly and other days she goes absolutely ballistic because it is not on. In the last couple months, she became hooked on Power Rangers at my MIL's house (she watches the kids 3 days a week), and I started letting her watch one Power Rangers show a day with maybe a little Noggin here and there.

She really does act like she has an addiction of some sort when she doesn't get to watch TV. Like she will throw a fit and just generally badger the hell out of me about why she can't watch cartoons.

I am really sick of the TV being a constant source of irritation in this house. I really don't want to get rid of it completely (and it would never happen because DH is a media/technology geek if there ever was one), but I just don't want her watching it all the damn time like she usually wants to. And I am sick of her acting like a junkie that can't have her fix. So how do I alleviate this problem?

[jadekat]

I don't have any advice. We are having some of the same issues. I did cancel our satelite dish so that's a start. Good luck mama!

[goldfinch]

How old is your daughter?

Have you noticed a pattern to her fit-throwing and constant-badgering? Does she do it more when she is bored or tired, or wanting some attention, or is it really more about the TV itself? My usually well-tempered (non-TV-watching) kids (3.5 yrs) will sometimes throw fits and badger me about things that seem totally random... so I'm wondering if some of the fit-throwing is age-related, or just her expressing her rage about being 3.5 and not in charge, a kid in a world run by grownups, or something like that, and not really about the TV per se.

Just a thought. Admittedly possibly way off-base.

[smartair]

Go T.V. free. Then it is a non issue. We do not turn on the tv while the kids are awake. Give her three days and she won't ask anymore... IMO allowing it sometimes gives mixed messages. SOMETIMES it's okay, why not all of the time? Think kid logic. Addressing the issue of your partner: My DH (who LOVES sports) is aware that if he wants to watch tv he is more than welcome to go upstairs, shut the door and watch his game. The kids are not to watch. We decided this before they were born so he knew this going into having kids. Is that an option for your partner?
If you seriously want to end this just get rid of tv time altogether. Just my .02. Good luck.