Since she was a baby she likes to watch tv or movies a lot. I didn't see anything bad with it in the beginning because I always took her out to do other activities like Gymboree, Story time, mom's groups, inflatables, parks, etc.. you name it. The thing is that she gets bored at home and even though she has plenty of toys, they don't make the 5 min attention spam, only TV does.
I always try to turn off the TV and limit it, but she always cries and goes to her room. Then she comes out after a while and starts doing something with me in the kitchen, and then again after an hour of me trying to distract her and playing with her, she goes back and asks for TV. She is 3 years old now. She is going to pre K 4 hours in the morning. She doesn't like to play with the baby either. She loves me to sit with her to watch the movies and she would talk along pointing at things, etc.. I've tried reading to her, playing, but nothing seems to be enjoyable enough for her. The weird thing is that we don't watch that much tv anyway, to say that she is copying from us.
It is hard to go out in the afternoons because I have a baby and is getting cold, plus she gets home really tired and I know she wants to chill out. Sometimes I take her for a walk with the baby around our neighborhood but then again as soon as we get home she'll be asking again to watch TV.
Has this happened to anybody?
Just don't let her watch more than 30 minutes or so a day, and once that is over let her know that she is done watching TV for the day. She may be upset at first, but she will get used to it and her attention span will improve with less TV. Good luck!
Get rid of the tv!!! You are the mom...no means no ALL the time...even when it comes to the tv. She must understand that now or you will be in big trouble later.
Make and post a schedule of her daily routine. I did it when I taught kinder. Make it like a chart. You can include snack time, nap time, walking, clean up and tv time. You'd be surprised at how much kids like to follow a structured schedule. They like knowing what is going to happen and when. Put
1. time - activity - picture of activty
Example:
9:00 Brush teeth,comb hair, make bed(pic of bed, comb,etc
9:30 Make breakfast and eat (pic of cereal box)
10:00 Watch Teletubbies
10:30 Swing outside and go for a walk
Hope this helps
I'm in agreement with some of the other moms - get rid of the TV. We got rid of ours a few months ago and haven't missed it at all (my daughter didn't watch it, but I was addicted). I would rather my daughter grow up playing outside, playing make-believe, reading, etc., than sitting in front of a cartoon. She is only 15 months old and we never let her watch TV when we did have it, but now it's not even an option.
Very simple solution: Get rid of the TV!
We did it when we left our parent's homes and have never owned a televsion since. We NEVER miss it! Our kids see it when they are at gma's house, and they are zombies. At home, we talk, we play, we spend time together, they go outside (trampoines are a good replacement! So are treehouses.) We go for bike rides...
Just get rid of it. You'll never miss it and someday when they are gone you will thank God you did it and have all these great memories of your kids... instead of memories of things you saw on a box.
I so wish my daughter would sit down and watch TV for just 15 min. It has never held her interest. We do a lot of arts and crafts. Pull out the water colors, finger paints, brown sandwich bags and anything they can glue on them. Do you have a fenced in backyard? Put the baby in a bouncy seat and let your daughter play outside. It would be a change of scenery for both kids. Letting them veg out to me is not so bad. She has been in school for a while and sometimes we all just want to relax and take it easy.
R.,
I have to agree with many of the other posters to limit the TV as much as possible. Really, nothing good comes from watching TV. I always had a rule of 1-2 hours of TV a day and that's it. Once my kids got to be school age we totally cut out the TV on Mon-Thurs. We have a movie night on Friday and that's about all the TV my kids ever watch and they don't ever even ask for it. Instead they are fabulous readers and also highly creative. They would prefer to read over watching TV any day which I think is awesome. Have you tried listening to music? I used to listen to a lot of music with my kids. There are some great kids CDs. Good Luck!
Take the TV out of the house, drop it off in a friend's closet for a month. She will totally adjust, but it will be hard at first. My mom got rid of our tv for several years and my little brother is a genius! He spent all his time using his imagination and it shows. Children who sit and are passively watching tend to end up doing their life that way, will not be active, goal oriented people. Won't be problem solvers because you don't have to figure any thing out when you watch tv. Seriously it would be a huge gift if you get rid of it for a while. And please don't say it gets cold there, I moved from Texas to freezing Sweden, and here they dress the kids appropriately and boy do they spend a ton of time outside, so good for them.
We had some problems with this--we don't watch that much TV, but our daughter (this started when she was 3; she is almost 5 now) will often go into hysterics when her program is over, especially if we don't let her watch another one. Our solution is to cut the TV completely while at home. We tell her that TV watching just isn't working out and we aren't going to be turning it on for a long time. She's mad at first, but she gets over it, and eventually find other things that she wants to do. It works best if I can find time myself to play with her. It's hard with cooking dinner and all that (I work full time), but it keeps her from asking about the TV). She loves Mommy time.
We do watch the occasional video as a treat, and in the spring we'll watch American Idol as a family (and a few Christmas specials in a couple months), but it's definitely easier to enforce if my husband and I don't watch any TV before she goes to bed, and we rarely do. Now that the TV is used only for special occasions, things are going much more smoothly.
I'm guessing that older kids may be a little more challenging to control; getting rid of the TV might be the solution then!
You've gotten some great ideas to help her learn how to play and entertain herself. The sooner you do it the better so she will be full able to handle school. The hardest thing for teachers today to compete with is all the stimuli kids get. We don't flash, make cool sounds, change every few seconds, or entertain non-stop. We get lots of kids who can't handle being in a classroom very long because we are boring compared with what they are used to.
I agree with many of the posters limit the time on the TV. My oldest daughter LOVES the TV and will do nothing else if it is on. Even now everytime we turn it off (her time is up) she gets upset and throws a fit. We have started heading it off by telling her it will happen and if she throws a fit she will not get her TV time later/tomorrow. She is 5 but the concept can probably be adapted to a younger age level. This seems to be working and the tantrums are less frequent. She will find things she likes to do outside of TV if there is no other choice.
GoodLuck
My daughter is the same, she would do anything to watch and asks me repeatedly each day. We try to do just one show a day, but it makes her tired and cranky, when it's time to turn it off, she's like an addict. It is really hard sometimes. I also have a 3 year old and a 4 month old. If the two older ones are at each other fighting at a toy, it's so tempting to just turn on the TV and they instantly stop and stare at it. I've realized that the more TV they watch the worse it is for them. I once went a week without it, and they were so much better. It's very bad for their attention spans. I try to use it only when I need it, like to cook dinner or something. My daughter is not yet 5, but she would rather sit and watch than just about anything. My 4 month old will crank her neck around to see the TV. I try so hard not to let her see it. I've read that anything before the age of 2 can increase the likely hood of ADD. Just try to keep her busy. Good luck
My daughter is 5 now and has had the same problem. What I did was to limit T.V. to 3 half hour shows a day. I try to record her favorites and I've watched all of them for content. If the T.V. is on, my daughter will not play or move or anything! I try to use the T.V. watching at times when I need a break or I am trying to fix dinner and she is cranky. I've been in play groups since she was born and 1 - 2 hours of T.V. seems to be "normal" for many of my friends. I just make sure we also spend time reading every day, go to play dates, get outside every day to play or go to the park, so that she is not just wanting to watch T.V. Usually on the weekend, she watches less T.V. because she will play in the garage or outside while daddy is working around the house. I just think you need to set limits and at 3 she definitely understands "you can only watch 3 shows". Mine started fighting naps around 3.5, so I let her watch T.V. during "quiet time". I do have friends who don't allow any t.v. at all, or only watch videos occasionally. My daughter has actually learned alot from watching shows that have Spanish words (diego), Mickey Mouse - counting, colors, shapes, etc. so I don't think all t.v. is evil. I just think you need to make sure the shows are educational.
It's nasty when they are hooked on the TV. We have always had limits on TV time.
When the kids were in elementary school, the teachers had a TV Turn Off Week once a year. They sent home recipes of cookies or dinner to make together or games or mazes, books to read, etc....
You spent one week planning for it and the next week all the TV's in the house got covered up! After the week was done, none of my kids wanted to go running to it and turn it back on. The husband did though.
Maybe next week can be TV turn off week at your house!
Yes! The best way to nip it is to unplug it. She will go into withdrawal for awhile. Then, she will learn to play. Your daughter doesn't know how to play. When my kids start up with saying they are bored - they are immediately put to work (dusting, sweeping, mopping, cleaning cabinet/dishwasher/refrig doors. etc.). They either will find something to do or they get really into the cleaning thing and like it (depends on the day). But, being bored is not allowed in my house. Only boring people get bored :-)
When the digital transition took over, it took a long while for me to find the time to switch over and we still haven't done it right. But, for those several months, my kids didn't have the option and they became very good and figuring out something to do. But, it took a while.
Your daughter does not know how to entertain herself or use her imagination thinking of what she can do next. That has to be learned and developed. The only way it worked for me was unplugging it and I didn't even do it totally on purpose (I did it on purpose for a few days just to see how they would react - but the months thing is what worked). When I was a kid I only remember watching cartoons on Saturday mornings.
You have to limit it and force her to go be bored in her room or in the backyard. Go in with her for a few minutes, or give her several ideas and then let her go. Let her be bored. It's the best thing you can do for her. She will hate it and find something to do even if it is merely mopping the floor!
Have you tried doing any kids computer games with her? Sesamestreet.com is a good one. It has familiar characters and is more interactive than just the TV. If she likes music, you could have her dress up and sing and pretend to put on her own show. If she has a friend over for a playdate, does that distract her from the TV?
At my house, the TV is on a LOT even during dinner. This is just how my husband was raised. We don't have a set schedule(which is a great idea that someone else suggested), but we at least have "TV watching turns". When my son is finished watching one show, then his turn is over and we change the channel to something he finds boring.
It sounds like you already have a good balance by going out and doing lots of activities, and by not putting a TV in her room.
