It's a slippery slope, this T.V. stuff! Maddie didn't watch any television until she was probably 15-18 months old. And then it was only Baby Signing Times (which, by the way, I credit as the single-most influential factor in preventing several tantrums since Maddie learned all of her signs this way). Did I mention she knows about 50 signs now? Anyway...our slippery slope began innocently with these amazing DVD's. Maddie LOVED them. Then we discovered Baby Einstein. She would wake up super early after a rotten night's sleep and I fell into letting her watch these magical will-hold-toddler's-attention-while-Mom-gets-time-for-herself DVD's first thing in the morning while I gulped my coffee trying to wake up. Then one DVD became two, and then before I knew it, our morning routine now consists of at least one hour of Sesame Street, and a Curious George. Sometimes we watch two Sesame Streets and throw in a Sid the Science Kid, and Word World, and that hour of T.V. has somehow turned into...(gasp)...4 hours. Slippery slope!!
I decided no more T.V. Not even a little. If we are going to break this habit, I think we are going to have to go cold turkey for a while. We went most of the day with no T.V. until I laid down for a nap and left Daddy in charge : )
I thought it would be a gruesome battle of the wills, but surprisingly, Maddie and I had a pleasant morning. We stayed home from church because she ran a fever all night and wasn't sure if she had something contagious. I'm convinced now she's just teething. I saw her very back molar poking through her gums tonight. I had to engage her lots of different activities when she asked (signed) to watch T.V. But it was fun. NO tears! Just a little redirection and attention from Mommy is all it took today. And I realized there is a connection to Maddie asking for T.V. and my being on the computer. So, guess what? No T.V. time for Maddie means no computer time for Mommy! (boo hoo!). I guess I'll just have to blog when she goes to bed now. This should be a very interesting week. : {
Good for you! I don't have this issue with Lucas yet because he has no interest what so ever. But with my daughter it is a constant battle. When she gets home from school sometimes she will watch TV until dinner. I feel guilty about it and I'm not sure what to do. It's winter and boring and frankly I watch too much too. You've inspired me though and I'm going to try to do better.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck! I'm really interested to see how this changes our days...it's hard at first, but I think it will be much better after a week or so.
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