Ways to Limit Tv

Music is a great way to not get kids to watch TV. We are not into TV. The kids are not allowed TV during the day. They can watch a show with the family after dinner before bed and thats it. During the day we play music. They love it. Don't be afraid of tantrums they will happen. Tell her the TV doesn't work while the sun is out. 4 year olds will believe anything. As soon as she realizes you fear tantrums, well, you can expect them. If she throws one sit her on her bed till she's done.

Hi J.,

I have something that worked for us. Make "Tv Tickets" (Something visual and she can have like her own money) Decide how much time you will allow her, write it on her "TV Ticket". This can work a couple ways for you, not only will it help to reinforce her number recognition, and counting, but will also help her learn time and budgeting, and you could also use extra 5 minute-30 minute tv tickets as incentives for behaving or doing chores. You can also take tickets away for misbehaving, not listening, throwing a tantrum, ect. Tv tickets can carry over if you want, so if she does not watch tv one day because there is a movie or something she doesn't want to miss later that week then she will have enough time. You can really work them however you want. maybe even get her a special wallet or purse to keep her tickets, kids love to pretend they have money or pay for things and it might help get her excited about it.

When she wants to use her tickets, I would suggest starting her time at the hour or 1/2 hour, so she can catch a show from beginning to end. There is nothing like a tantrum from a child who was in the middle of their favorite show only to have it turned off midway through!!

I would also suggest to have books or activities for her when it is not tv time, such as... books, sidewalk chalk, coloring books & crayons, a sand/water table or sand box (outside for the sand things of course!!!) or even cleaning supplies that are her sized, like a kid vacuum, broom, dust pan and mop. You can either have it quiet and chat together or let her pick what music to listen to. Things you know will work for her, keeping her occupied and not thinking about tv.

You can even have Field Trip Adventure Days.. anywhere can work. The park, the Mall, local fire or police department, library ect. Just for a change of pace, and get her out and about and seeing new things.

Anyway, this is what we did, it worked for us. Good Luck & have fun! :)

-T.

My daughter is the same age and luckily shes not into tv like most kids. However, she does like to watch a few shows on the sprout or noggin network which is good because there network shows are geared toward preschool deveplopment and learning.

But I've noticed that whether the tv is on or not and were playing a game or theres an activity she's invovled in she can care less about whats on tv...We paint, draw pictures, play memory card games, bingo, dolls, ABC games, have tea parties, create arts and crafts activites by using things in your kitchen drawers and home cabintes also consider letting her help you prepare dinner anything to keep her energetic 4 year old mind active..Soon her tv habits will melt away!!!

Slowly ween her off tv by applying some of these suggesstions. If that doesnt work you simply have to be firm with her.. Its for her own good too much tv can slow her thinking concentration.

Best Wishes,

M.

Just clearly explain what the rules are before turning it on and then give her a five minute warning before it's time to turn off. I also think by really limiting it throughout the week she'll get used being without it and not expect it. My girls (5 & 9) just know it isn't even turned on during the week at all. Weekends we loosen up and they are free to watch in the mornings or evenings. Basically if there are a lot of other fun things to do and kids are out of the "habit" of watching they won't even think about it. At 4 my kids did well when I started them off with an activity like coloring, puzzles or looking at books. Then after a few minutes I could go do something else and they would entertain themselves for a while. Finally, we keep our TV in an armoire with the doors closed, she'll be far less likely to even bring it up if it's not the focal point in the living room.
You are very smart to be concerned about too much TV, it's not just the dumb shows that are on but all the other learning and experiences that kids miss out on while they are sitting in front of the tube. Good Luck!

That's a really hard one! Our almost 9-year old still has a hard time turning the TV off when it's time.

Two suggestions.

Limit it by shows instead of time. Choose shows you feel she really benefits from and let her watch them every day. Watch them with her if you can. (I still miss watching Sesame Street!) Focus on the fact that she gets to watch those shows regularly, make it a routine, and schedule something positive that happens after the TV goes off, like a small snack or a tickle session or something like that.

One thing we tried with our son, with videos, was to use colored dots on the cases to mark the 30 minute, 45 minute and longer ones. We would tell him he could choose whichever color there was time for. This seemed to work for him and for us.

Good luck!

K. K.

If you're not sitting down to watch it with her as a learning tool, then TV should only ever be a reward and should never be a babysitter.

We limit TV to a few shows that we record on DVR (like TIVO) and my daughter gets to watch 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, if that. Most of the time we listen to music and dance, color, paint, and read ALOT of books. My daughter is really into the Backyardigans right now, so we went to the book store together and bought a bunch of their books. So, instead of watching them on TV, we read them. I also L. all the Crayola color wonder stuff, much less mess!
L.

Tell her ahead of time (when she is not already watching TV) that she will be watching less TV going forward. If you feel the need, you can give her a reason, although I don't think it's necessary. And then, turn the TV off. I'm sure she'll pout, whine, and/or throw a tantrum at first - that's the only way she has of making sure you are serious with this new rule. But one or two tantrums are a small inconvenience when compared to the benefits of playing outside vs. watching TV! We recently did this in our house when we realized that their TV watching got out of control over the winter. I had expected far more resistance than I actually got. Now, after a few weeks, they don't even ask to watch TV anymore - they just run out to the back yard to play. It also helps that my husband and I made a conscious effort to turn the TV off ourselves, so we are leading by example.

J.,

Take her to the store with you to buy a "TV timer". Then set it, and when it goes off, so does the TV. It works for me!

Busy Mom of 3 boys!

My kids often hated turning the TV off. I sometimes found it easier to not turn it on in the first place. We play alot of DVD's - old sitcoms (Brady Bunch, Flipper) and movies. We subscribe to Netflix which is great for that. Some of the kids channels are hard to turn off because they always have a preview and say what's coming after that show ends - and the child keeps asking to watch one more show and the next thing you know your child has been watching TV for 2-3 hours while you putter around the house or check your e-mail. I like programs that end after 30 mins and then you can easily turn off the TV. Otherwise, you can turn it off and endure the fit until your child gets over it. They will get over it. I also have lots of children's books on CD or tapes which my daughters' listen to alot. It's a good idea to get a handle on this now, but habits can always been changed. There are times that my girls watched more TV and right now we only watch one hour before bed - as a family. And it's almost always DVD's. I love Netflix! The descriptions for movies on Netflix are excellent in that they are very clear about what age a movie might be appropriate for and describes what specifically is objectionable.

We set specific times that TV is okay.. 30 minutes to an hour after school, after dinner for a bit. Consistency and set schedules will work wonders because she'll know the routine. When the T.V. is off, try to have fun games; arts and crafts, story time etc that will keep her busy. Tantrums are such a normal response to our children not getting their own way! I have a 4 year old girl and a 6 year old boy and I've had to deal with the occasional tantrum :). My advice is to not get too emotionally wrapped up in your child's tantrum. Just stay calm and let her let off some steam. Pretty soon she'll understand that you're the Mom, and what you says goes and then her tantrums will most likely subside.

Hope this helps!

P.

We took a very strict route with TV. No tv at all--no movies, cartoons --until our daughter was 3 years old. This was based on very reliable research about the negative impact of television on the developing brain.

Now that our daughter is 3 1/2 she has watched movies at school (once a week) and a movie at home a couple of times a month. There's a saying that "it's hard to get the toothpaste back in the tube". Once you start with a liberal tv policy, it's hard to get them to see limiting tv as anything other than punishment.

Try to encourage other kinds of stimulation, such as playing games with family members or doing art projects.

As hard as it is, remember that YOU are the parent in this situation and it's up to you to set expectations and to help your child grow. As much as she might hate limiting TV, it's the right thing to do.

Maybe set a timer and when it goes off, that's when it's time to turn the TV off. it helps if the TV is not visible when it's not on, such as putting it in a cabinet or in a room that is used mostly just for tv viewing.

It's going to be impossible to limit TV if the child has a tv in his/her room.

There is an awesome device called The Time Machine. You can check it out at http://www.amazon.com:80/Time-Machine-Childrens-Managemen.... It's worth the $45. The children have to earn tokens that go in the machine that turns on the TV and video box. Each token is only worth 1/2 hour of TV. Hope this helps. Whining and throwing a fit over limited TV time means the TV is turned off and another token has to be earned for more time.

L.