When my son was going through a growth spurt about 6 mos ago, we were concerned that he would eat a big dinner and then want to play, and would spit it up. He is now 21 months old, and we are still in the habit of letting him watch 1/2 hour of tv after dinner. The problem is that now he barely eats any dinner, and wants to go straight to the TV! He will get out of the kitchen chair and shake the baby gate that blocks off the tv room and cry, and now he is throwing mini tantrums when I don't let him watch. What do I do to fix it? Do I just ignore his tantrums? Do I let him eat in front of the tv? (This doesn't seem like a good idea, though, but he will eat then.) Please don't just tell me to never let him watch any tv; I also have a newborn and the tv helps for a few minutes here or there when I have to tend more to the newborn. Thanks, mamas.
He will get used to the rules. We didn't have tv but we had videos. So they went in when I needed some down time for myself. Stick to your guns. The rule is tv after dinner, if he only eats a little bit then so be it, but do not feed him after dinner. He will not starve. I would not allow him to watch the tv while eating dinner. That will become a bad habit very quickly.
Sick to you rules, no tv until after dinner. There is nothing wrong with him watching tv for 1/2 hour a day. Just keep reinforcing the rule. The tantrums will end eventually, just ignore them for now. Don't worry if he doesn't eat a lot, he'll be fine.
Letting him eat in front of the tv is an extremely bad idea. Two reasons; it will teach him to eat when he does watch tv then he will begin to associate the 2 of them together and studies have shown that families that eat together are much closer, communicate better, have better social skills, etc. (Ever see the ads for the Family Table?)
My parents had a little tv in our dining room to help us eat during dinner. Maybe you could do something like that? I like to have distractions (doesn't help i'm severe ADHD lol) and worked great for us. :) (hey, TV's not a bad thing...)
Hi Becky, Some ideas in addition to the great ones below:
1. Can you put background music on during dinner? We love it (usually jazz), and have a ritual of doing one dance after dinner. Then you could turn on the TV. having the dance after dinner lets your LO know that rushing dinner will not bring immediate TV.
2. Offer a book at the table if your LO is "done" eating to prolong his time at the table
3. Read your LO the book or newspaper at dinner to also help prolong his time at the table (it is also fun and a nice habit to discuss community or world events together)
HTH
I have seen this with TV in so many kids that age. Including both of my own. When it happened with our kids the TV "broke". It was very sad. About 2 wks later it was magically fixed and they had gotten over their addiction. (we unplugged it)
Make a picture timeline. 1 = picture of people eating 2 = People clenaing up / doing dishes 3 = picture of tv. Explain to him that you eat, clean up then get tv. Go over this every meal. He'll catch on quickly.
I do not think letting him eat in front of the tv will do you any good.
I would keep the routine as it is. Do not let him eat in front of the tv unless it is a special family thing (picnic on the floor or something). We keep food at the table. I try to let my kids do fun things regularly like watch a movie in the evening but we have played and done other things during the day, and I use that time to get dishes done, do laundry, or relax for a bit and catch up with someone. It is okay to have a routine that he WANTS to do, just remind him that dinner is first. Bring him back to the table and reaffirm that television is after the family has dinner. Make sure you are not expecting him to sit at the table too long--that is really hard for them as well, especially if he has already eaten.
He cannot really control himself very well yet, so the tantrum is probably him making sure you know how much he wants to do that. Since you regularly let him watch tv he should know on some level that he will get to. Or you could vary when he watches tv so it is not just after dinner to help him learn that it is a treat and to control himself better.
His eating will be up and down. My kids are eating better when I do not insist they eat if they are not hungry enough to. I try to let them play for a while before breakfast, etc. A little television can truly be a lifesaver, especially with a second little one, so I would be the last person to critize that! :)
If you can, maybe try and disassociate TV with dinner.
If he knows his numbers's, you can tell him that the TV goes on when the clock says "Whatever" (but make sure it'll be after dinner time).
And what we've started doing with my 2 year old. He can get out of his chair, but he has to play by himself quietly until we're finished. Only then will we play with him.
Also, if he's eating good breakfasts and lunches, he may not want to eat all that much dinner (that's usually how my son is). I guess what I'm saying is, if he stops eating, let him. He won't starve himself.
Good luck!
we usually have icarly or something on during dinner. I grew up that way and dont see much of a problem with it, as it's mostly background noise while we talk about our day. In your case, I would tell him he cant watch his tv unless he finishes his dinner, and stick with it, unless you're fine with tv during dinner.
I'll probably have 10,000 moms mad at me for this but we let our daughter sit at her little table and chairs and eat while watching TV. She tends to sit quietly and eat slowly, which I think is good. We have a great room, so we can be at the dinner table and still have a clear view of her in the TV area. Our routine for talking about our day is during the preparation of dinner, which she helps with, usually by setting the table or getting the condiments, etc. (She is 4, though). During dinner, she gets her 30 minutes of TV (usually one tv show) and we get to eat and talk as adults. After dinner, we do bath time and then read books to wind down for bed.
Let him watch or say no T.v Unless you eat
