Comments on: How To Break Your Toddler’s TV Habit

By: Amelia

Amelia — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 01:51:03 +0000

In reply to Rachel.

I would also be interested in hearing about this… I would prefer to reduce my daughter’s TV time but not eliminate it entirely, because I enjoy watching it with her! We watch musicals, PlaySchool (an Australian educational program) and library rhyme time where they sing songs and read books, and she chats to me the whole time about what’s happening. She absolutely LOVES to dance and copy dance moves so I am not comfortable cutting out her “dance” time just for the sake of completely eliminating screen time.

Any tips, community?

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 23:21:02 +0000

I got rid of my tv because I kept wanting to watch it. I honestly think it’s harder for me to give up than him. I did get a projector and that way we can still watch some tv via Netflix/Hulu/Disney or whatever, but when I need to put it away I can just stick it in the closet. I still struggle with not watching it as much as I want to. I thought about getting one just for the olympics but decided he can just watch the next olympics if he wants to, he’s 6 now. He does have a Tonie box that he loves and we are going to make the switch to the Yoto box for Christmas so I think either of those offer some good ambient noise/storytelling for when you need a break. You can mix in a few of your LO’s favorite cartoons via you tube and convert it to MP3 (there’s instructions online) and then they are at least able to use their imagination more not be glued to the screen. Ok I’m not an advertiser so I will stop going on about it, but it is an option. Best of luck to you, cherish the moments!

By: Edith

Edith — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 16:27:32 +0000

In reply to Edith. I forgot to mention, what parents usually don't know is that only 9 minutes of screens can change their vestibular system. It sends them into "sensory overload mode" and they stay in that mode for the rest of the day. Expect an hyper child after exposure. So, for a little bit of peace with the screen you pay for with the rest of the day. That is not a good deal.

By: Edith

Edith — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 16:22:25 +0000

I eliminated screens for my 3 year old a year ago. They were affecting him big time. His language, his social skills, his visual contact, his interest in life in general. Little by little he has been recovering: we took him to language therapy and he started improving his prelinguistic skills first and now he has started to talk. Now I see how other mothers struggle with their kids due to screens. I understand their fear to eliminate them. It was hard at first for me too. I thought he wouldn’t eat without them. I thought I wouldn’t have time off ever. But a year after I wouldn’t put a screen in front of him for the world! He can stay still and quiet listening to music. He can entertain himself with toys. He can stay seated at meal times. He stays engaged with life. I was talking with his 4 year old cousin the other day. What do you like more, T.V. or playing with your best friend? TV! she answered. She prefers TV over anything else: cake, friends, toys, outings to the best parks and to waterparks! To her, nothing is better than T.V. That made me sad. I don’t want that for my son.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 19:58:50 +0000

Struggling with something similar… we started to allow 2 minutes of a show while he used the potty. We didn’t want to use bribery but we got desperate and we gave in. Now how do we backtrack without compromising potty training success?

By: Barbara Ann Doucet-Kehoe

Barbara Ann Doucet-Kehoe — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 08:50:38 +0000

In reply to Sarah Meagher. A play invitation is an activity you can set up and leave out that is different from the regular toy shelves.

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 20:20:31 +0000

In reply to April W.. You aren’t a bad mom or lazy! You have an incredibly challenging situation to work through! I don’t think it’s bad that you used tv. If you do want to move forward into other options ( especially when you are done with school then audiobooks, music and podcasts might be good options! I’m like you and like to have something on. Be gentle on yourself!

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 07 Aug 2020 20:15:18 +0000

In reply to Ami. Thank you for this comment! I agree, it’s helpful to have a thoughtful approach to tv since eliminating it isn’t always an option.

By: Willie

Willie — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 09:24:21 +0000

In reply to Alex | Perfecting Dad. Thank you, great idea!

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 19:42:12 +0000

As far as tv making it hard to sleep, one way that i have mitigated that, in addition to cutting back on tv time (but to be honest, not nearly as much as it needs to be) is by changing the display settings. You want a slight sepia tone (orange-ish brown). My tv has a pre-set one that is exactly that. My phone has the same. It filters out the blue light that keeps you up and causes some anxiety. You won’t see any orange. It is just way better o. Your eyes and brain. As far as cutting back on tv or anything else, people (including myself) way over think things. I am all for out of the box thinking. Potty traini g was hell and no matter what i tried, no progress. I have just put the movie player away. We dont have cable on purpose. Play something else . there is screami g but keep doi g it and it sinks in. Worko g on screaming as a seperate issue has really helped other problems too. Also, psychology has finally come through with proof that too much talking trying to solve a tantrum does not help. They are mad and sad at the same time. It is not seperate yet. They are on overload, hence the melt down. The only thing that they can really handle is super simple instruction. ” go to your room” is actually really helpful. Time out to gather themselves , calm downand removes from situation. It is also defffinate. Then after that you might be able to address something or maybr not if it is forgotten. Age makes a huge difference too. The book “123 magic” really really helped me.