tv/video game obsessed child

my three year old son, Chive is OBSESSED with tv and wii.

the rule with wii is - "no wii until after dinner" - and this rule stands all day every day (though he nags and nags to play all day long)
if he isnt asking to play wii, he is asking to watch tv or a movie... and i still havent figured out the rules of it

he always watches Diego between 11:30 and 12 (IF he eats his lunch in time) to fill in the gap between lunch and his nap. but occasionally he will watch a movie at 8am ish and then something on tv after his nap!! (i think this is WAY to much)

we always have at least one outing a day (usually in the morning as its way to hot by the afternoon) and he has excess amounts of toys and pencils/paper to play with. so its not like he is neglected in other areas of play! if he chose to like those things as much as the tv. he is like a lazy teenager! already!

what are your thought on tv. and how much do you allow per day?

 

My kids watch way too much, no doubt. But if DS isn't watching, he's usually destroying the house, so yeah... they usually watch a bit, then wander off to play, then come back after a while etc. We didn't have tv before we moved 6 months ago, but it was manageable because they really only had two rooms to play with and nothing they could get into... now at least while they watch I know they won't get in trouble. They have great imagination skills and are healthy though so it doesn't bother me that much anymore, but honestly most shows bore them now. They have learned some things with Dora etc though so it's not all bad.

We don't go out that much anymore though because 1) it's a real pain to put them in the car nowadays, 2) with the snow and cold, it's even more work, 3) there isn't much to do that doesn't cost $$. So sometimes it's whatever gets us through the day really.

 

M-F the kids usually watch 30-40 minutes in the morning while I am getting them dressed, packing lunches, getting ready for preschool and my work, etc. Then they watch another 30 minutes before bed with a glass of milk and a "cookie" (Teddy Graham, graham cracker, etc.)

Sat and Sun they usually watch about an hour in the mornings when the first wake up - sometimes longer if they ask to watch a movie instead of what is on TV or DVR'd. Then they usually watch another 30 or so minutes before bed.

We play Pandora the rest of the day. Sometimes, on especially grumpy or we-are-so-sick-of-the-cold-we-could-scream days, we'll have a special mid-day movie and a fun snack to break up the grumpy/winter blahs.

I would prefer they watch less TV, but I'm okay with the amount they watch.

 

Mine dont watch very much, at the most 30-40min in a day. But I would say mine only watch tv about 3 times/wk. But on one morning on the weekend we let the kids play our iphone and ipad for about 30-45minutes. and once and awhile (maybe once/wk) DH plays Wii with them for about 30-40min. So, although mine dont watch a lot of tv (as there have been weeks that go by that they dont watch it), they do play a few games on the ipad, and they play wii about once/wk.

 

Even now, my girls only get to watch it for about an hour in the mornings, then they usually watch one movie either at lunch or while I'm preparing dinner (or they can play their explorers during that time, but they don't get to do both). They probably only get about two hours each day of gameplaying/TV. This is the way its been for years and it has worked really well for us. Somedays we will go all day without ever turning on the TV and they rarely ask for it. When we first got the explorers they were asked for constantly, but I just keep reminding them that they only get them after lunch or supper and then I set the timer. Now that they have had them for a little while, they rarely ask for them, I usually have to ask them if they want to play them. I am very lucky, however, to have two girls that play really well together.

 

My kids watch anywhere from no TV one day to an hour or so another day. It depends on what we're doing. Usually I have them watch TV so I can make dinner or get dressed in the morning. My kids don't play video games yet.

 

My girls watch 30 minutes of recorded TV once a week. Monday afternoons are tough for me, so I plunk them in front of Dinosaur Train and let them watch one episode while I de-stress and cook dinner. The rest of the week the TV is off. They've never played video games.

How much TV your child watches is up to you... and only you know how much is too much. However, it sounds like you think your son watches too much (or asks too frequently). We started having this problem, and so I seriously limited TV. For me, the nagging about TV far outweighed the free time I got when my kids watched TV. It's a lot easier to limit TV than you'd think. All you have to do is create a routine like one TV show every morning after breakfast and one after dinner, or one movie on Tuesdays and no TV at other times. Then stick to it. Don't cave in to the whining. Your son will quickly realize that TV happens at certain times and whining about it doesn't get results. And if he doesn't understand, try cutting the TV and Wii off entirely for a few weeks. That will reset his TV "clock" and you can start your routine fresh.

 

None, and for the reason your experiencing right now. I'm no hippie and I was excited at first when I started playing DVDs for them and they would sing and play along. Then once I turned it off it was crying for at least 5-10 minutes followed by begging the next day! It was the same reason why I never gave them a paci or bring them into my bed. Just one more thing I would have to deal with and cut off at a later date. Believe me all those things would have made my life EASIER in the short run but it only gets worse, again it only gets worse.
They DO watch DVDs but it is not part of their daily routine at all. In December when they were sick, when my DH goes out of town and I need a short break, etc. If it's not part of their daily ritual perhaps the daily reliance will go away.
Take it from me, my mother worked for Atari in the 80's and we had ALL the video games known to man at the time in addition we had all the cable channels and a TV in EVERY room...my schooling suffered. Perhaps cut if off for a week and see it he misses it?

 

Honestly I watched 2 hours of tv or more a day when in school, and played video games a lot, and I always had excellent grades, so even if they watch some tv and play video games it's not the end of the world... just need to make sure they know to do homework first once they are in school, and still have physical activities etc.

I have no intention of getting a wii for a few years though!

 

Our kids generally watch for 10-30 minutes (depending how fast they are with breakfast and getting dressed) before daycare, and another 30-45 minutes after daycare while I get dinner ready. On weekends it's more like 2 hours a day, but usually not all at once.

I think even that is too much. It's not so much that it's bad for them (although I think it is, in larger amounts) but more than they get into the habit of just watching TV when they're not doing anything else. We have to actively say "No more TV until 5:30" or whatever, and then sometimes facilitate finding them something else to do.

It's not too bad at the moment, but we've gone through phases where they beg for TV, refuse to turn it off when asked, etc. When that happens, we have to restrict it a lot more. For instance, if I tell them it's time to turn it off in the morning and they have a fit, that means no TV the next morning. Period. Give them an inch and they will take a mile.

And yes, what she said! :ibiggrin:

 

I agree with this. We pretty much only watch TV at certain times, if at all. Our times are late morning (so I can get dressed or do a bit of cleaning) and late afternoon (so I can cook dinner). If the kids are happy playing we skip TV for that time.

 

We also have a TV schedule. Right before going to the sitter's house (some mornings), and while I cook dinner at night. On the weekends its a little more relaxed, but I really hate having the TV on "in the background," so I keep it off most of the time.