Mostly I only allow my daughters to watch tv when I'm fixing their hair. They are like zombies when they watch and don't move or blink their eyes, which makes fixing hair easy.
One thing I don't understand is parents who leave the tv on ALL THE TIME. Most playdates my oldest daughter goes to consist of her friend playing by herself while my daughter is fixated on the tv. Last week her friend said, "Let's go play outside!" And my daughter said, "Can we watch a movie?" And her mom said "yes, since you are the guest." If they were at my house and my daughter's friend wanted to watch a movie, I would have said, "Are you kidding me? Get outside."
People are amazed when they come over and we don't have the TV displayed in the main rooms of the house. My kids' playmates are initially disappointed that they won't get to watch TV or play Xbox here.
But at the end of two hours of playing with my kids -- just playing with toys and imaginations -- most kids don't want the fun to end, and they ask to come back.
Parents are suprised that I don't use the TV more. Now, don't think me Amish. We watch movies sometimes, but I am careful about what comes in the house.
I just feel that kids need more time becoming imaginative and creative. TV inspires an "entertain me" attitude. The more that we adults give up and and give in, the more dependent we all become on the idiot box.
Here's a thought. When my kids come up to me and say "I'm bored," I give them a litany of things to do: color, write, play with legoes, ride a bike, play in the sand, make a tent out of blankets, etc. After all, I took on the task of raising and loving and cherishing my kids -- not entertaining them. Yes, I play with them, but they know I am not going to be their monkey with cymbals on my hands all the time.
When they say my ideas are no fun, I tell them to go clean their room. No, they don't go clean their room. But five minutes later, lo and behold, they are off playing with legoes, playing in the sand, building forts in the living room.... being kids.
How old are your kids? You also have more than one which gives them someone to play with without you. I can only take so much Hi-Ho-Cherry-O or dinosaurs before I need to do something my age level.
My kids are seven and four and four (boy/girl twins).
Let me build on my last paragraph (above) about cleaning up.
The trick, for me at least, is in speaking the unspoken language of “GO AWAY!” For example, when I tell my kids “Go clean your room.” I know that they won’t. They know that they won’t. But they go to their rooms or outside, knowing from my statement that I won’t let them watch TV. So they pick up a toy.
At some level, they probably start to think, “I should clean up like daddy said. This lego goes in that lego box over there,...” and then the gerbils in their heads start running around the wheel and they get creative: “...but it sure would make a cool laser blaster on my Lego pirate ship!”
So for the next thirty to sixty minutes I can finish dishes, do laundry, cook dinner, watch soap operas, and eat bon-bons.
For three years, obviously, I had the solo kid. Yes he was a litle bit clingy, but -- like I said -- daddy don’t dance. I treated him the same, from what I recall.
I am happy to read a book to them and color with them and push them on a swing for a bit when I can. We take outings to the zoo, three or four parks, four museums, the mall, grocery shopping, etc. probably once a day -- but I also have MY stuff (see list above). I bet you know the feeling.
As a matter of fact, I just got back from a kids’ museum where I spent most of the time obsessing on your simple question. (Obsessing is one of my strong suits.) Now, they’re upstairs playing by themselves. Or sleeping. Or they got into the liquor and gun cabinets again. I'll check in a minute.
If none of that works and you still can’t get the static cling out of the kids, I always suggest velcro clothing and walls. Staples leave marks. ;-)
Funny! note the picture of the redneck time out...Duct tape can work too!
We have a TV in our family room. It is equipped with an on/off button. My kids are good about when I say the TV stays off, it does. If I am not making dinner or rotating the laundry (washer/dryer/folding), or some other task, I am 100% available and present to my kids if they need me. Of course, I like to encourage independent play. My kids are 7 (in June) and 4 (in May). It gets easier to get things done when they can go and play together on their own.
But, don't get me wrong; I love to paint and do art projects with them. I love playing Scrabble Jr or Dino Math Tracks with them. I love making music and singing and dancing with them. I love playing baseball with them. I'll do as much as I can with them as long as they'll have me because I know someday, sooner that I realize, they'll be "done" with me.
But, I digress! I originally started to write to agree with you that TV is generally bad for the imagination and yes, I know what you are talking about when you create an opportunity like" Go clean your room", something like that always happens around here too and they end up calling me up to show me this cool pattern they made with their pattern blocks or some other creation. You get up there and they are looking at you all proud of what they did and you are looking at them so proud of who they are. It's great! Of course their room is even messier than before, but that doesn't matter. They still have to clean it up!
I voted for none, but I meant no commercial TV. He sees it occasionally when a football game is on. Otherwise, we let him (7 years old) watch an hour of videos of his choice a day, and two hours on Saturday and Sunday, unless he's being punished for something, in which case it's one of the first privileges that goes bye-bye. He usually chooses Power Rangers or Sponge Bob or Scooby Do.
For a SAHD of three it is hard to do housework sometimes and my two older boys don't really nap too much so usually I put on treehouse which is good age appropriate tv programming for kids to learn and play...Lots of interactive programming and educational stuff too.
My daughter watches TV more than I wish she did, but in the past few months the situation in our house has changed and I feel as a parent one should be flexable and aminable to changes. It's been unbearably hot and humid in NYC for about a month, I hurt my foot and am in the process of getting treatment, my wife and I both had lung infections. It limited how much time we could devote to non-TV stuff. Thankfully my daughter will get up after an hour or so and say, "Let's do something else." I'm happy with that. I feelt it's a balance. TV or videos are OK but they need to be counterbalanced with "face time" and outdoor activities.
TV sucks out the life force
Mostly I only allow my daughters to watch tv when I'm fixing their hair. They are like zombies when they watch and don't move or blink their eyes, which makes fixing hair easy.
One thing I don't understand is parents who leave the tv on ALL THE TIME. Most playdates my oldest daughter goes to consist of her friend playing by herself while my daughter is fixated on the tv. Last week her friend said, "Let's go play outside!" And my daughter said, "Can we watch a movie?" And her mom said "yes, since you are the guest." If they were at my house and my daughter's friend wanted to watch a movie, I would have said, "Are you kidding me? Get outside."
zombies indeed
People are amazed when they come over and we don't have the TV displayed in the main rooms of the house. My kids' playmates are initially disappointed that they won't get to watch TV or play Xbox here.
But at the end of two hours of playing with my kids -- just playing with toys and imaginations -- most kids don't want the fun to end, and they ask to come back.
Parents are suprised that I don't use the TV more. Now, don't think me Amish. We watch movies sometimes, but I am careful about what comes in the house.
I just feel that kids need more time becoming imaginative and creative. TV inspires an "entertain me" attitude. The more that we adults give up and and give in, the more dependent we all become on the idiot box.
Here's a thought. When my kids come up to me and say "I'm bored," I give them a litany of things to do: color, write, play with legoes, ride a bike, play in the sand, make a tent out of blankets, etc. After all, I took on the task of raising and loving and cherishing my kids -- not entertaining them. Yes, I play with them, but they know I am not going to be their monkey with cymbals on my hands all the time.
When they say my ideas are no fun, I tell them to go clean their room. No, they don't go clean their room. But five minutes later, lo and behold, they are off playing with legoes, playing in the sand, building forts in the living room.... being kids.
How old?
How old are your kids? You also have more than one which gives them someone to play with without you. I can only take so much Hi-Ho-Cherry-O or dinosaurs before I need to do something my age level.
How old are your kids?
My kids are seven and four and four (boy/girl twins).
Let me build on my last paragraph (above) about cleaning up.
The trick, for me at least, is in speaking the unspoken language of “GO AWAY!” For example, when I tell my kids “Go clean your room.” I know that they won’t. They know that they won’t. But they go to their rooms or outside, knowing from my statement that I won’t let them watch TV. So they pick up a toy.
At some level, they probably start to think, “I should clean up like daddy said. This lego goes in that lego box over there,...” and then the gerbils in their heads start running around the wheel and they get creative: “...but it sure would make a cool laser blaster on my Lego pirate ship!”
So for the next thirty to sixty minutes I can finish dishes, do laundry, cook dinner, watch soap operas, and eat bon-bons.
For three years, obviously, I had the solo kid. Yes he was a litle bit clingy, but -- like I said -- daddy don’t dance. I treated him the same, from what I recall.
I am happy to read a book to them and color with them and push them on a swing for a bit when I can. We take outings to the zoo, three or four parks, four museums, the mall, grocery shopping, etc. probably once a day -- but I also have MY stuff (see list above). I bet you know the feeling.
As a matter of fact, I just got back from a kids’ museum where I spent most of the time obsessing on your simple question. (Obsessing is one of my strong suits.) Now, they’re upstairs playing by themselves. Or sleeping. Or they got into the liquor and gun cabinets again. I'll check in a minute.
If none of that works and you still can’t get the static cling out of the kids, I always suggest velcro clothing and walls. Staples leave marks. ;-)
staples leave marks!
Funny! note the picture of the redneck time out...Duct tape can work too!
We have a TV in our family room. It is equipped with an on/off button. My kids are good about when I say the TV stays off, it does. If I am not making dinner or rotating the laundry (washer/dryer/folding), or some other task, I am 100% available and present to my kids if they need me. Of course, I like to encourage independent play. My kids are 7 (in June) and 4 (in May). It gets easier to get things done when they can go and play together on their own.
But, don't get me wrong; I love to paint and do art projects with them. I love playing Scrabble Jr or Dino Math Tracks with them. I love making music and singing and dancing with them. I love playing baseball with them. I'll do as much as I can with them as long as they'll have me because I know someday, sooner that I realize, they'll be "done" with me.
But, I digress! I originally started to write to agree with you that TV is generally bad for the imagination and yes, I know what you are talking about when you create an opportunity like" Go clean your room", something like that always happens around here too and they end up calling me up to show me this cool pattern they made with their pattern blocks or some other creation. You get up there and they are looking at you all proud of what they did and you are looking at them so proud of who they are. It's great! Of course their room is even messier than before, but that doesn't matter. They still have to clean it up!
Keep It Fun!
Videos only
I voted for none, but I meant no commercial TV. He sees it occasionally when a football game is on. Otherwise, we let him (7 years old) watch an hour of videos of his choice a day, and two hours on Saturday and Sunday, unless he's being punished for something, in which case it's one of the first privileges that goes bye-bye. He usually chooses Power Rangers or Sponge Bob or Scooby Do.
Childrens tv.
For a SAHD of three it is hard to do housework sometimes and my two older boys don't really nap too much so usually I put on treehouse which is good age appropriate tv programming for kids to learn and play...Lots of interactive programming and educational stuff too.
Ditto
My daughter watches TV more than I wish she did, but in the past few months the situation in our house has changed and I feel as a parent one should be flexable and aminable to changes. It's been unbearably hot and humid in NYC for about a month, I hurt my foot and am in the process of getting treatment, my wife and I both had lung infections. It limited how much time we could devote to non-TV stuff. Thankfully my daughter will get up after an hour or so and say, "Let's do something else." I'm happy with that. I feelt it's a balance. TV or videos are OK but they need to be counterbalanced with "face time" and outdoor activities.
Be Seeing You.