How I weaned my son from excessive TV

We created a monster

It all started when Luke was a baby.  He was pretty fussy to be honest, and one day at a restaurant I noticed that he magically stopped.  I assumed he was asleep.  I was mistaken.  He was drawn in to the TV hanging over the counter. It was love at first sight.  I couldn’t even feed him in front of the TV anymore because he would strain to catch a glimpse.  We learned to use this to our advantage in helping him calm down during the fussy spells, which were even more frequent when we moved overseas and even Mama was struggling to remain calm.

The problem arose when Luke felt entitled to watching a movie at his beck and call.  Gives on demand a whole new meaning.  Seriously his 2nd word was moo-mie (not really, but almost).  I began dreading hearing him yell out moo-mie because I knew we would battle it out and some days it just wasn’t worth it.  Now, I am all for appropriate movies and TV for kids, but I do not think my children need it as a crutch instead of creative play.  Nor do they need a veritable soundtrack for their play.  They should be able to just play. The fact that it is summer weighed in a bit, but we live in Scotland and it was in the 30′s and sleeting last week.  Don’t be confused- we’re not Australia- we’re on the same hemisphere as the US- it’ s just a lousy summer. 

So, a week ago, I realized I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone:

1. Wean Luke off 2 movies/day (& begging for them)
2. Be a more intentional mom

This meant that I had to slow down (kills me) and actually sit down and play with the kids.  We all loved it!  As a result, I came up with the following things to do with kids.  Some are outdoors, most are indoors.  And here are some more ideas from Sarah, at A Wife Loved Like the Church.

Painting.

Fun Things to Do {with kids}

• Read.  Luke has never been a reader, but if you do dinosaur roars with a book, he’s all in.  Even better if the book actually features dinosaurs.  So, I try to have a reading time each morning to get him more used to it.
• Magnets.  Seriously, sit down and help them put magnets on metal stuff, like radiators.  Great time to talk about how magnets work and what they’ll stick to.
• Play with their toys.  Sit down and line up all the dinosaurs.  Go from biggest to smallest or vice versa.  Do this with anything: cars, dolls, etc.  It’s a great lesson in sorting.
• Crafts: stickers, paint, colors, etc.  We do it all.  This really needs to be supervised with a capital S.  Remember these fun spring crafts? What about making jellyfish?
• Puzzles. Over and over again.  Again having boy-friendly puzzles helps.
• Chalk.  There’s not an abundance of (or any) sidewalk chalk here.  So, I get the cheap kind from ASDA and use it outside on our patio.  Since it rains all the time, it washes away quickly.
• Go on walks.  There’s lots to talk about as we walk.  Plus, it gives me the opportunity to teach Luke his boundaries (hand-holding while crossing the street, not running ahead, etc.).
• Go to parks.  The kids love it, and it’s  a great opportunity to meet new people or meet up with friends.
• Join a play group.  We go to 2- one with other Americans and one that is more of a ministry with our church.  We meet new people, the kids have get to share, and I get to talk to adults.  Win-win-win.
• Bake.  My 2 like measuring things and breaking eggs.  If I’m brave, we bake together.
• Have a picnic lunch or snack time in the backyard.  Why not??
• Visit Daddy’s school and play on campus.  Great study break for Josh.
• Run errands.  They have to happen.
• Blog.  Wait, I would never do that with the kids around.
• Pour water.  Man, Beks and Luke love them some water.  They could spend a lot of time pouring water, from anywhere into any container (or onto any floor).
• Spin in my office chair.  They like to take turns spinning in it and running on the couch.  Where’s their mother?
• Stretch their imaginations.  Christy suggested this one- as she said it, “stretch their imaginations by combining toys that would not normally “go together” — like putting cars with the play dishes, or making little people interact with books, etc.”
• Play in THEIR rooms.  There is something very special to kids about Mommy and Daddy playing in their rooms.  I try to do this often.
• Pretend cook.  Whether we use the play kitchen or not, we do a lot of “cooking.”
• Games.  5 balloons (Thanks, Aunt Sharon!), Guess Who, Cherry-Picker, CandyLand, and made up games are our favorite.  I like playing and not always letting them (Rebekah) win.  It’s a great way to teach her good competition and perseverance instead of entitlement.  Ouch.  That’s a tough one for us all.
• Play Dough.  Always a fun one.
• Rolling a ball.  Truly, we sit down and roll a ball between us.  Loads of fun for the wee ones.
• Window watching.  We watch people, but mainly cars, trucks, cats, birds, and airplanes.  This one is more for Luke.

I was really surprised how much better the days went when I sat down for longer periods of time and played with them.  Plus, I got a break when Josh came home and we could still pop in a movie at the end of the day as a special treat or as I cooked.  I have been equally surprised how quickly Luke quit begging for movies.  I think he is the type of kid who has to learn how to play.  I am eager to teach him, and he is an apt pupil. 

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

As a side note, last week our church’s play group hosted a craft area as well.  I quickly set Rebekah up with what she needed and started to return to the play area with Luke.  A friend had just asked me if Luke wanted to do the craft, and I flippantly responded I was sure he didn’t.  Bless his little heart, he grabbed my hand and led me back in, plopped down, and got to work.  I have a lot to learn as a mom- always give them a growing opportunity when so easily available!

Hard at work.

I LOVED that Luke jumped in on the craft too!

Showing Mama.

Related posts:

1. Rebekah & Luke
2. Rebekah & Luke love babies! (no, I’m not pregnant)
3. Dallas Family Play Group
4. Making Lions
5. How to Make Paper Plate Turtle {or Dinosaur!}