Hellobee Boards

It was the tablet for us this morning. He was giving me such a hard time about putting it down to get ready that I had to take it away all together.

We're ok with him watching tv, he only started being into within the past couple of months. But we do try to limit it and one thing we've started doing is that he can watch tv after dinner, only after he cleans up all of his toys from the day. He loves having a job to do and that way he earns his tv time. He's not even 2 yet so I do predict him being less able to be distracted as the months go on!

We only allow screentime (TV and tablet) on the weekends. We try to give a warning of when the TV will turn off and we use an egg timer for tablet. We usually get complaints with those warnings but we try to line up the next activity (or we're usually going someplace) at that time so they know what to expect next.

When we do get crying (usually over show choice, whose turn it is to choose, etc), they go into time out with the explanation that they're not allowed to cry about TV, tablet, treats, or other fun things.

We watch too much. I'm really embarrassed by how much she watches. (Like 3 hours a day of her own shows....that doesn't include when she's watching whatever sports DH turns on when he gets home from work). But usually she doesn't cry to eat h it after being turned off. She's pretty okay with transistions if she's given a warning in advance (when Doc is over, we're turning it off!). But since I said that I'm sure we'll have issues the rest of the week

What if instead of watching until you get home, they can only watch 1 or 2 shows? Lately, DD doesn't watch tv during the week but when she does, she knows she only gets one show (or two short shows). Once I deviate from that, then the tantrums happen.

She also knows that if she cries/throws a tantrum about the show ending, she doesn't get to watch it the next day.

Yep, E gets upset when I tell her "no tv, we're going to have dinner soon" and she wails "no, no dinner! no dinner!". If she acts up, I don't turn it on at all. But then I realize we also have nights where we're all playing nice and she won't even ask for it. So i figure it's a trade off sometimes.

If it makes you feel better, I take E to the park a lot when I pick her up from daycare and now she cries when she sees DH come get her, not me, LOL.

But also, I think it's an issue because DH is home solo with the kids a few nights a week while I work, which means those nights are different than other nights....and like most kids, mine thrives on consistency and routine and right now, we're kind of all over the place, and I'm also not going to put a bunch of stipulations on how he should parent both kids (which is overwhelming at times! i get it!) when I'm off doing some personal development shit for myself.

I figure this....if she's going to cry b/c i say no tv, well....i give her a hug, tell her i'm sorry, set out some stuff she CAN play with (like play-doh, markers) and point her towards them and let her know that mommy's going to do some dishes and clean and "let me know when you are ready to play with me and I will play with you". I've had the best luck, though, when I hand the baby over to DH and take E into her room and start "playing" with her toys and talking like "oh, i need help!" and she will come help me and build a tower with me. So, redirection, I suppose.

But yeah, she refuses to eat sometimes b/c she wants to watch tv. If I can get her involved, she does better---i let her "dump" stuff on the salad or sit on the counter while I'm making dinner. Last night, she was SO upset about dinner, and i got down and asked her if she wanted to smell what I made and it was a big production of lifting the crockpot, smelling it, and deeming it acceptable for consumption. Complete with picking out her own plate and fork and whatnot....and we avoided a meltdown that way. Transitions are hard.

Whew. That was long. But anyways....I feel ya.

Could you, on the rare days you are there before them, let her still watch one show when they get home?

The TV is often a point of contention with my husband and I. He is someone that has the TV on at all times. I by no means am anti TV but my son gets so mesmerized by TV that he gets so sucked into it and can for hours. We have had periods where we have taken away TV in the am and only watched at night before bed and I like it that way but somehow it just ends up on in the morning and I don't have the energy to battle it. But yes my son will beg for TV!