Too Much TV? - Bloomingdale,IL

my older daughter went through this and my solution was that the TV "broke". I unplugged it. And only Daddy knew how to fix it. And gee, some times he could and sometimes he couldn't. LOL. It worked. A few days of the TV being broken and the habit was broken.

Hi, I read in a parenting mag. that kids only should watch t.v. 3 hrs a day, otherwise they might get problems later on. I been only letting my little girl watch 3 hrs a day since she was born.

One of my magazines had an article a long time ago. it was a plan to keep kids on a schedule of sorts. it had things for tv/play / reading etc and a food system also. we used the food one but here is how it went

use construction paper and cut out some litte squares that say TV and then some that say reading and some that say play and some that say nap/quiet time etc....
put them in a spot that he can get to. each one is for a specific amount of time. say half an hour on the tv time. longer on the play and reading times etc... what you do then is have only as many tv times as you are allowing. he gets to choose when to use them. he can save them all for one day or use them a few a day or not at all. it puts controlling his tv time into his hands. he will learn that hey i can watch sprout every day or i can watch it all on one day. email me if you want me to give you more info. good luck
S.

I'm not one that thinks TV is a bad thing. We watch a lot of TV. (My kids are active, thin, smart, healthy.)

If the TV has been on a while, the kids will most likely wander off to do something else. If they think it will be turned off at any moment, they'll be glued.

If you are busy (and you are) just be sure he's watching appropriate shows. Not everything has to be "educational" but you can tell the difference between junk and stories with a good "message".

Give yourself a break. There are a lot worse problems to worry about in life than if your kids watch too much Diego. It's also fun to snuggle together for a show and laugh, sing, dance and learn.

Just stay connected with your kids, and you'll know when it's time to turn it off. Relax and enjoy your little angels without the guilt.

I find that I always pay for TV time with cranky kids, if I let them watch too much while I'm trying to get things done on the weekends. I also find that if I let them get bored, they find constructive and fun play (after some complaints). My kids are older, but 3 is old enough to be able to do a lot on his own - art projects, trains, cars, whatever he likes. Maybe he is feeling cooped up with the rainy weather we have been having. If you can get out, even in the rain, for a half-hour in the morning it will probably help a bit. Or if you have the room, let him set up an obstacle course, fort, or other physical activity inside. Or make room for a dance floor and both kids can boogie for a half-hour. I have those "bouncing off the walls" kids and there's no shortcut (for my kids anyway) for letting them get their wiggles out.

The AAP says no more than two hours of TV a day in general for kids (not sure what they say for each age).

I have a general rule of no t.v. during the weekdays. On Saturdays or Sundays with yucky weather, we can turn it on for the kids.
Of course I don't always stick to this, especially when it's been raining for days straight or my kids are sick, but I almost always notice that once the t.v. goes on, the attitudes get worse.
When the girls were younger, they watched a lot of t.v. and I always felt bad about it..kind of guilty while they were sitting in front of the t.v. They're now 3 and 5 now and it's probably been two years since they've seen Wonder Pets or Little Einsteins. :)
I feel much better about the occasional movie when they haven't watched t.v. all week. It makes it much more special for them.

At that age, no t.v. is best. Solid scientific studies find that t.v. watching decreases vocabulary (it doesn't matter if it's educational - it's not how little ones absorb info - they're better off following you around the house as you clean) and increases ADHD/ADD. I'm one for cold-turkey, so if it were me, I'd just turn off the tv and say no more tv - then stick to it. He'll probably through a few tantrums over a couple of days, and then he'll forget all about it.

Children under 2 should not watch any TV at all, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. After 2, children should watch no more than 2 hours a day. Not only does TV watching mean kids are less active, but they are also exposed to a lot of advertising for unhealthy food and also can mindlessly snack to excess while watching. I found a really interesting website that promotes a healthy lifestyle message for kids that includes info on TV watching. The message is called 5-4-3-2-1 Go!. Here is the website if you're interested: http://www.clocc.net/partners/54321Go/index.html. Good luck!

I know it might seem like the TV is helping you to get laundry done or get dinner made- but if your son is that obsessed with it, then the TV is what is CREATING the bad behavior with your other kids, not helping you.

When my son was small, he watched maybe a half hour to an hour of tv, but not every day of the week. Ever since he was a baby, I have been told that he was remarkably 'self' entertaining- would sit and look at a board book, play on his own with blocks, etc. without having to be 'interacting' with someone else every second. Now he is 10 and still has a really great attention span, especially for a boy.

I am convinced that severely limiting TV at a young age is the reason for that! Your's son's tantrums just go to show how important the bright shiny world of tv has become to him. Do you really want him to be so focused on that? It may be that your other kids have different personalities and it isn't an issue for them- but for this one child, it is obviously a problem.

Don't let the toddler rule the house! It may mean a few unpleasant days, but I would just hang a sheet over the TV and tell the kids that it is 'broken' and they cannot watch it. Give them some safe toys to play with or let your son come and play with pots and pans in the kitchen or something while you make dinner- but BREAK THE HABIT.

Please trust me when I say it will only get worse. How you treat TV now is going to set the tone in the future for tv, video games, computer time, etc. If your son is already a junkie at a young age, it will be much much harder to keep his habits reasonable when he gets older.

Just suck it up and turn it off! If he bounces off the walls for a few days, then so be it. He will get used to not having tv and moderate his behavior, but only if you make the change. Good Luck!

Hi - we go to Town and Country Peds and they actually give you take home information that recommends no TV until age two and then once they are two - no more than 2 hours/day. My doctor actually said that includes tv and computer time. (my 3 year old loves to play "noggin" on my computer). This has been a complete challenge for us because our 3 year old loves TV too. He watched a little more when we had a new baby in the house but now I am really sticking too the 2 hour limit and it is broken into an hour in the morning and an hour around dinner. We always shoot for less but 2 is the max.

Good luck,
H.

The best amount of TV for a 3 yr old is none. I was in email contact recently with the author at the National Institute of Health of the recent large study on the impact of TV/video/computers on children and he advises against any TV etc until after age 5. But if that isn't possible or you still sometimes need a little break, then no more than 1 hour a day. More than 8 hours a week has been shown to have a lot of negative effects.
I find with my little 2 and a half year old that if I let her watch it, then she wants more and more. If I manage to get her to do other things - playing in the basement, coloring, her dolls house whatever, she then asks less and less for the tV. I wish I could just go cold turkey and watch none but as a single parent, I sometimes need to take a call for work or do something that I really need a few minutes of uninterrupted time. I do try to bring her into the kitchen with me when I am cooking and get her to "help." I have read that children are becoming much less proficient with planning and process because they are exposed to far less - dinner comes in a bag, lots of things are ready made and so they aren't learning how to plan and organize a project. So letting them "help" in the kitchen can really help with this plus it gives you more time with them to chat. Your 3 yr old could also help you fold some of the clothes - okay so you will likely have to refold but you can give him a little pile of his own to do. Same goes for other cleaning - make it a game. Good luck.

Ugh, TV both a blessing and a curse. I know the experts recommend no more than 30 minutes or something like that. My personal feeling is based on your child. Obviously kid friendly edu-tainment, like Sprout, PBS Kids etc, is better than Spongebob. But if your son has suddenly discovered this pre-occupation with the TV to the point where he acts out when not allowed to view it, it may be too much TV. My suggestion to fill his time might be to go online to the websites of the channels he likes to watch and print off activities for him to do. My daughter likes to color Elmo and connect the dots to Dora. It would be something he can do alone, still have him see his "friends" but not sitting in front of the TV. Good luck.

Sorry not to answer your question exactly, but just wanted to say be careful with the other two kids! They recently released a few studies linking tv-watching under two years old with learning disabilities and ADD in the future. Apparently the images are too much for their little brains to handle. This includes all those supposedly baby-friendly videos like Baby Einstein. Not good!

For your son, everything is ok in moderation. As long as the kids still do other things and play outside and with toys like we did as kids, everything will be ok. :)

I found that if I turn it on whenever my sone wants that I can avoid the tantrums and he gets tired of it very quickly. He rarely will watch a whole show. His favorite show is Imagination Movers and frequently when he watches them he then runs in his room and finds his toy guitar or drum or start playing his piano and forgets the t.v. The only time he will really veg out in front of it is if he is very tired or not feeling well. Otherwise, even though it is on , he is running around everywhere else!

In my opinion, any amount of tv DAILY is too much tv. If it cannot go a few days off without being noticed, there is too much reliance. Studies do prove (and I've noticed the pattern as well) that time in front of a screen (tv, computer, video games, etc) does actually have an effect on the development of the brain. With more tv, there is decreased attention span, increased impulsivity, etc. Google toddler/preschool tv and attention span...something like that and you will find the articles/studies. As children interact with toys, their little minds are developing an awareness of cause/effect, push/pull pressure awareness, how things work, etc. It is so much better for them to manipulate things to learn as opposed to stare at a screen "learning"/memorizing these tidbits from kids programming. Yes, there are days I feel the challenge of keeping them busy without arguing, but I try to remind myself that they are learning important social skills they wouldn't so quickly grasp if I flipped on the tv for some peace and quiet. So my suggestion for your sanity in the process of trying to wean tv time? circulate toys putting some away and bringing out things on rotation, particularly things like Legos, moonsand, art materials, etc....things they can explore and experiment with as they play. Obstacle courses were mentioned and are wonderful. Just a little setup keeps these guys busy as they go through it and then take turns switching it up a bit. Best wishes! That weaning part is real hard, but once the routine is set getting "busy" doing other things, the tv really is not missed often at all! They are good just playing together while I clean the whole house when they are reminded of things they haven't played with in a while. :)

My three-year-old twin boys get one or two cartoons on weekday mornings (but it has to be something with some educational value, like Dora the Explorer or Super Why), unlimited cartoon time on Saturday mornings (this is earned with good behavior during the week), and no cartoon time on Sunday. I think the unlimited cartoon time on Saturday mornings really helps for a few reasons. One, it keeps tv from being a "forbidden temptation": since my kids know they can watch more tv on Saturday, they don't fight me for more tv time during the week. Also, it allows more time for me to catch up on chores I might not have had time to do during the week and also gives me some "mommy" time, since we do a lot of educational/art projects in the morning during the week. Finally, the fact that tv isn't forbidden makes it not such a big deal to my kids: even if I leave the tv on all morning, my kids will lose interest in it after a few cartoons and move on to playing with their toys.
In the end, you have to do what works for you, but I think tv is like dessert: moderation is the best policy, because kids will only want what they can't have even more. Also, if you don't already have one, invest in a small tent and stock it with items for him to "camp out" with" puzzles, books, pillows, whatever would keep him occupied and entertained. Good luck!