trick-r-treat

I think a lot of us are guilty now of using Sesame Street and the most current kid shows, such as Dora, as babysitters, because it keeps kids quiet. The problem is, it gets hard to break them of the TV habit once they get older and should be more active. Video games and computers also keep kids sitting. What are other alternatives to getting kids addicted to these things?

tater03

I have this trouble with my sons and the video games. What I have done is make them earn the time they are on playing video games. If they play a board game or do something constructive than they earn a certain amount of time ect.. I find it is way harder in the winter when they cannot get outside and run around. The other thing is I have bought some of the learning video game systems and games that way they are at least learning something at the same time they are playing video games.

Stephanie2377

Turn the TV off! My son will be 2 next month. He allowed to watch a 30 minute Little Einsteins once a day. Otherwise, the TV is off (for my son) We do craft activities, go on errands, read books and play outside.
You, as the parent, have the control on how much your child can watch. I would have TV as a reward, even, not as a right. Perhaps you set a certain amount that your child can watch on the weekday, and on the weekend. Then, they can keep, earn or lose TV minutes through behavior. TV should be something special, not something they veg in front of.
Also, we plan on video games being an earned reward (if we even have a system) and computer time being also earned minutes.
I will keep my child as active as I can, and won't allow him to zone in front of the TV.

jmeyer3131

When they get older, the problem becomes the computer. They need it for schoolwork, then they find their friends online and you certainly want to give them the opportunity to "chat" some. Because of the amount of homework some get that they have to do online, it can be difficult to figure out when to tell them they have to stop.

For the most part I give my daughter time limits and tell her if she's got homework, she has to fit that in with the friends within that time limit. She likes getting good grades, so she'll focus on the homework first. On the other hand, she's really good with telling me exactly what homework she has, making it easier to judge what is appropriate online time.

The bigger exercise problem around here is that our four main seasons are winter, winter, winter, and summer. When it's zero and below I don't want her out; when it's high nineties I don't want her being physically active outdoors. We don't even walk the dogs in those extremes. She's not into sports. This is why I'm glad there's physical education in schools, and why I finally broke down and spent the money on DDR. We both get a workout that way.

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happy2bg33k

We have the same rules in our family. My husband is a computer guy by profession and built our daughter her own computer for the holidays this year but we didn't put an internet connection in her room. If she wants to use the net she has to be downstairs in the living room.

Lately, our little one prefers to be on the computer instead of watching tv which I encourage because he is playing educational games and learning some nice eye-hand coordination. Of course the other piece is that we just turn the tv off and say enough is enough!

mamab

We have certain times that the tv is allowed to be on. Since I homeschool, we sometimes watch things that are educational as a part of school. Generally, though, the tv doesn't come on until school work is done, or my husband comes home. Unfortunately, he thinks it has to be running when he's here. It's really frustrating, too. We'll have peace and quiet, he comes home and on comes the boob tube and breaks the whole mood.

Stephanie2377

Oh, this is my husband, too! On the weekends, I always tell him TOO MUCH TV!!! I can't stand it. I love the quiet, with some music playing. My son is nicely playing, and it is just such a nice atmosphere. Then, my husband comes in, plops down in his chair and ON goes the TV. He isn't much into sports, so he is usually watching something on the Discovery or History channel. But, it is still NOISE.

Beth_Inrus

I would agree with mamab - we have very strict rules for when the kids can sit down and watch TV. Here's something that might sound silly but it worked for me - just imagine that you're a kid. You have no idea about most things in the world so everything is brand new and adventurous... create crazy silly games to play with your child when you get into that mentality. I don't know - putting myself in a little child's shoes just makes games more fun and exciting... and if you get into it, they tend to follow!

Kaytee

I agree too. We do watch a good amount of tv here, but I am also a fan of it myself. lol I can do with out tellatubbies though!!!

But we mainly watch in the mornings (kid shows) and then the afternoon is for playing, of course today she is watching Elmo, but I'm sick and its just easier.

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Beth_Inrus

Are there any other parents out there that are just creeped out by the Telletubbies? Sounds like it - *lol*

What I find funny is when you are watching a kids show with the child, the child inevitably gets up to go do something else, and the parents are still enthralled with the show. Hehehe... or does that just happen to me?