Monday, January 14, 2008

Endless TV

Okay, I'm starting to feel really guilty about how much Natalie watches tv. I'm going to just confess how much I let her watch it. Then, I want you to either a)tell me your child watches just as much or more, or b)give me suggestions on what you have done to help cut down on tv time. It's usually on 1 1/2 to 2 hours in the morning and I will let her watch 1/2 hour to 1 hour in the afternoon. This does not even count the time she watches her dvd player in the car. Which I don't turn on every time we go anywhere, but I will turn it on probably half the time. Wow, I can't believe I'm telling you all this, now I feel even guiltier, but I really do want some help and advice!

7 comments:

bethany said...

I think it's really okay Liss-there is a time and a season for everything and until Annie has a normal sleep schedule and is a little older, this might just be Natalie's season for TV :)

That said, when you do want to end the TV watching, some ways that I have found to work-break the remote-not as motivating to watch TV if you have to get up to change the channel (no really, this is our current solution. Zak is notorious for being a channel flipper and it annoys me to no end-problem solved)...unplug the TV-sometimes Jak will just go and turn on the TV himself and it's hard to convince him that he should be doing something else, if it's unplugged, he can't turn it on randomly. I've found if I can keep Jak entertained in his room with coloring, etc. he watches a lot less TV. I don't know if any of those things will work for you, but that's all I got.

stephanie said...

i think natalie is at a hard age. she can't really keep herself occupied yet, and you are busy with a new baby. i wouldn't worry so much about it. pretty soon she will be in a new phase and on to other things.

Are We There Yet? said...

I've been reading your blog for awhile now but dont think I have ever commented.

I think our daughters are about the same age (my daughter is almost 2) anyway, she watches pretty much the same amount of tv if not more then your daughter.

Our tv is on mostly all day. She's not always watching or even playing in the room that the tv is in. I partly need the noise just so I dont feel so lonely with just her and I here alone all day. But I dont want it on shows that are bad for her so I just leave it on PBS or other cartoons.

I try to make sure I read to her and do puzzles and other mind stimulating things with her daily.

I know when I was little that I watched a lot of tv and I think I turned out ok. I was still an active kid and got good grades.

I hope this helps some

Heather said...

Melissa, your kids are SO cute! I've never seen them. They are big too! It's funny how their hair colors are so different. Scott told me you commented on Emmy's hair,yes, sadly it is getting darker and darker, but it still has the streaks. People ask me if I have it done. In what world would I take a four year old to the salon to get highlights? Anyway, my kid watch WAY more TV then that! I find especially when I have a new baby it's hard to find the energy to keep them occupied in other ways. There are a ton of websites, starfall.com being my favorite, that would be good to let her play on. It would help her learn the sounds the letters make and beginning reading.

maines said...

Hey Lissy loo! I was feeling guilty about my OWN tv time, so I decided to come waste time looking at blogs. Started with mine, went to Cort's fam, then to Annie (used to be Gurlock) and then to yours. Natalie is beautiful and the tv time hasn't appeared to turn her into a complete vegetable yet, so I think you are just fine. Hope you are doing well! -Shalaine

Jodie said...

Stila watches a lot of TV, too. Especially since she started liking any kids' show. Does Nat have play food to go with her kitchen? We got Stila that and a table and chairs from IKEA and she will "cook" for hours...

Holly said...

inez watches as much and more on some days. i am just so tired these days. i have a dr. appt. next week and i think i have vitamin d deficiency. anyway, sometimes tv is the only thing i can do to keep from going insane from being trapped inside from the cold and snow. well, i guess we could always move to southern california.