It started off so innocently. Let the kids watch a show or two, it’s okay. I remember watching tv as a kid. But somehow, it went from one show in the morning, to one in the afternoon and at night. Then, they each wanted to pick their own show, and wouldn’t agree upon what to watch. I gave in, thinking it couldn’t hurt. Before I knew it, we were spending WAY to much time watching tv. They would wake up early to request a show, come home from school wanting shows, and then argue over who got to pick a show at night. Instead being a thing of an enjoyment and maybe giving me a minute, or 30, to myself, it turned into the enemy.
When my kids did get their choice of show, they would want another and then tantrum when I refused. This behavior was definitely not tolerated. It all came to a head when my youngest started screaming at the top of their lungs that they wanted another show, and wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer. Well, that was it! Goodbye tv!
That’s right, I took it away from my youngest for 3 days straight. My eldest only had one show a day, which my youngest wasn’t allowed to watch. Did it go well……no. There was a lot of screaming. I tried to reason with my youngest saying that tv is a treat, you need to earn it. Bad behavior will result in another day without tv. Can you guess what happened???? That’s right, they went wild, got very upset, and lost tv for more days, a week total. To my surprise, after about 5-6 days, my youngest stopped asking for a show. Instead, my kids played games, made crafts, built cardboard houses out of amazon or Walmart boxes. Yes, folks, I’m actually on the side of less tv is better! Somehow I have come out on the other side, with some bruises b/c it wasn’t easy, or pleasant, but it can be done.
I was letting tv be a babysitter, which in the end, wasn’t working for my family. Kids do need down time and brain breaks, but for us, I realized that tv wasn’t helping, only opening up the door for bad behavior.
I’m not here to judge or say how someone should run their family. I’m just sharing my trials, triumphs and failures in hopes that it can help someone else.
Best of luck to everyone out there. Feel free to share your stories with me! I’d love to hear them.
kellyswemba.com 