tv and computer

[lcl]

does your toddler like usng the computer and watching tv? if so, do you limit these and how?

my ds loves both and would watch disney channel 24 hrs a day if we let him

[mudder17]

Well, my toddler's still young, but she watches the Signing Times DVD occasionally and nothing else. She does watch us when we're using the computer, but other than banging on the keyboard, she doesn't use the computer either. We're hoping to severly limit her access to TV as long as possible (we never watch when she's awake). She doesn't stay still for even the whole Signing Times, so I think as long as we can distract her with alternative entertainment, we don't need to worry about her getting hooked on TV (at least not any time soon).


Eileen

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http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...n_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


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[lcl]

thanks for your response. my ds will be 3 yo in august. i actually don't watch any TV at all. my DH would love to watch some but our DS hogs it. i think it all started with the baby einstein videos. he requested them all the time esp when he was sick when he started daycare at 14 mo when grandpa was babysitting at home

[wendmatt]

DD LOVES both! I def limit TV, although not as much as I'd like. I'd be happy to have no TV but same as you, since those Einstein videos she wants her "wideos". I let her watch Elmo in the morning (gives me some peace at 6am!) and then 20 mins of Barney or Red Dog if she remembers which is most nights. If she's really fussy in the day I'll put on something (I know it's not a perfect baby sitter and I do sit with her!).
She loves to write her name on the computer and now has a Thomas the tank Engine game she wants on often, but not every day.
I do feel guilty if she watches too much so do try to limit it. She knows she can't watch too much, so I'll tell her as soon as so and so has finished we have to turn it off. She's pretty good at knowing when she has to turn it off, although she will try to get more TV if she can!

[mudder17]

Ah, that makes sense. It's one of the reasons I'm trying not to let her watch too much signing times--so that she doesn't get hooked. She is occasionally requesting to watch it, now, although she will watch for about 10 minutes and then go off and do something else. One thing you could try, if you're trying to limit his TV, is to distract him with other activities, like going outside or sitting and drawing with him or playing blocks with him, etc. But I think outside activities are probably the most useful, because as he exercises his body, he'll be less prone to want to sit there and stare at the TV. We just got ourselves a wading pool to put on the porch and DD's been really enjoying that. We are planning on getting sand for her sandbox (just picked that up yesterday, too, but forgot the sand, LOL), because she's been digging in my plants lately. :) Anyway, chances are that outdoor activities--heck any sort of physical activity--will help break the habit.

HTH somewhat!

ETA: FWIW, I used to enjoy vegging out, especially in precollege, when I would tend to want to do that after school. BUT, then I hit college, and was WAY too busy to watch and ended up watching virtually no television during my four years.

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...n_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catca..._4_Kaya+is.png

[hjdong]

DS is only allowed tv 1x a week - Sat. nights. He would love it all the time. But he more or less accepts this. he will ask me to "count the days" until he gets to "watch frog." On the one hand, i do think this is a little strict. On the other hand, I think if I let him watch furing the day, I would have the tendency to think, "well, just one more show, and I can get one more thing done." So, it's more to force me to interact with him than anything else. The caveat to this is that when DH comes home, baseball goes on.

As for the computer, I do limit it (he maybe uses it once or twice a week). But if he's really whiny, crabby, annoying me, he watches songs on it (the media player that plays a design when the song is playing). I was just telling my DH the other day that we're going to have to decide how frequently we're comfortable with it, because he's starting to ask for it more often.

He is so used to not being allowed to watch t.v., that it's not really an issue to say no. He expects to hear no when he asks.

[lcl]

that's good advice. not sure how we can undo things. ds likes going to the sites on the computer geared towards children (ie sesame street, wiggles, etc) . he can navigate pretty well with the mouse. that is how he learned the alphabet and numbers and how to spell. we both work fulltime and being pregnant this past year and having a 3 week old baby currently did not give me much energy to interact with him (although i do try when i can). i'm trying to be more strict but DH and all the grandparents give into him.

[mudder17]

Since your DH and grandparents are helping to care for him, it seems like you won't be able to adequately limit his time on either of these unless you get them all on the same page. If you can come up with some alternative activities they can do with him, maybe they'd be more willing to go with it.


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbo...n_gold_12m.gif , 16 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catca..._4_Kaya+is.png

[lcl]

thanks for the suggestions. grandparents take care of him when he's sick from daycare. DH takes care of him when i work weekends and pm's. since i am on maternity leave now i will try to come up with a plan for alternative activities and get everyone on the same page.