TV

Why is it that the TV turns kids into total butts? Our kids don't watch much TV so when they get their time it's a big deal. I am glad they look forward to it because it means they aren't watching too much. Their TV time is an occasional week night, it is on Saturday and Sunday mornings and now and again we have a movie night. And it's a REALLY big deal when we order pizza and all watch and eat in front of the TV.

This morning (Sunday) was a day where the kids could watch TV. Bob usually gets up really early so he helps them with the TV. They aren't allowed to watch before they ask and they aren't allowed to ask if we are asleep. Bob said last night that he wanted to sleep in. I (tried) honored that request. This morning I was the first to get up. They boys had climbed into bed with us (Sophia is at her grandparent's house) so I told them to leave the room and I would be out in a minute. "Daddy is sleeping. Be quiet." I collected my clothing so I could get dressed downstairs, I combed my hair and brushed my teeth. In the 2 minutes that it took me to do that the boys came into the room 3 times. Each time I guided them out saying, "Do not come in here Daddy is sleeping." And each time it was with increasing frustration and anger.

When I emerged from my room I was REALLY mad. I had asked for 2 minutes and they couldn't wait. The BIG emergency was...... They had 2 cars that they were fighting over. This has been an issue before, see "We Only Have ONE Special Car." Come on guys, really? Can you not fight for 2 minutes? We have hundreds of cars and really? You have to have the same ones? Yes they were fighting over 2 cars. Coulter had 'em, Kees wanted 'em. I immediately directed them downstairs where we could talk about what had just happened.

I sat them down on the couch and gave them a talking to that ended with, "You lost TV because you didn't do what I asked." Tears....screaming.....crying and a whole lot of "THAT'S NOT FAIR" when on. Really? Not fair? After a few minutes they calmed down so we could finish our discussion. I told them if they could play nicely in the basement for a half hour they could have some TV. This meant no fighting, no taking cars from the other guy, no yelling. They agreed. If they violated any of the agreement the time would start over. They agreed to that too.

So off they went to the basement. They weren't thrilled but they were agreeable. They played for almost an hour. They forgot about TV. That is how it should be. When they did remember they came and asked for the TV and I turned it on. They even agreed on what to watch. Terrific!

After their show ended they became total terrors AGAIN!

I am not sure what TV does to kids but it is really no good. Some of our best weeks are the ones where I announce, "No TV for the whole week." They always are resistant, the first hour is a pain because they complain and whine but after that they are fine. When they get up in the morning they don't even ask because they know what the answer will be. AND if they pester me about it I tack on TV-less days. They don't pester me often. They sleep in because they know there is no TV. When they sleep in, I get to sleep in. That is a win, win. When they do get up they start playing, they use their imagination and they tend to get along.

Why do kids get so grumpy after a TV session? Is it because they haven't been using their imagination? I am trying to figure this out. Maybe when they're engrossed in the TV watching experience they become so mentally lazy that they can't figure out what to do when the entertainment or stimulus is turned off. It is totally indulgent and when it's off they still want to be indulged but no one else in their life is going to indulge them like the TV. That must be it. I'll admit that the TV is a quick, easy and initially cheep babysitter but I find that I pay the price later so I am very aware of the penalty when I do it. What's even worse is if Bob lets the kids watch TV too much and then I have to break them of it. Then I don't even get the benefit of the little bit of time off. Now that, that is no fair.

There is so much to do that doesn't involve staring at the idiot box. And as I sit here blogging, my little boys are playing cars in the basement. They've been down there for an hour and there hasn't been one nasty word between them. To the contrary, they're laughing. They know TV is done for the day. So I am sticking to the "less is more" motto as far as the TV goes. Less idiot box = more imagination and laughter. Now that I can stick to.