I think my 2 yr old surfs the net too much...

[suzi2]

He spends a lot of time watching Me Too on the sky+ planner and then a lot of time surfing the cbeebies website.

Now I know that everyone will just say "don't let him"... BUT... it's been going on so long now (since a couple of months before DD, 7 months and never sleeps, came along) that I don't know how to wean him off it. I don't have a lot of time to spend with him.

Any ideas?

[FrannyandZooey]

Hmm

could it "break"?

I would try things like playdough, sand, water play instead for this age

It's good you realise there's a problem

[dolally]

Get him to register with mumsnet and let us have a real toddler's point of view.

[Spidermama]

Now you're making me feel guilty because I never let my 2.5 year old near the computer.

Sorry. Not much help.

[AussieSim]

Cold Turkey on the computer and distract with something more appropriate and interesting for him. Find out from his nursery what he enjoys doing there - painting, building with blocks etc etc. It think it is in his best interest to take this in hand now as it will only get harder as he gets older. I don't know what your personal circumstances are but it sounds like it would be a good idea to try to figure out how to spend more time with him. I sit my DS's 4 and 2 at the breakfast bar with paper and crayons and scissors while I prepare dinner or whatever. HTH

[funnypeculiar]

DS would sit in front of CBeebies all day if I let him! How about:

try a timer - set to how long you are 'ok' with him doing it. When the timer goes off, time to do something else. Clear, simple, stick to it.

And perhaps introduce some set times (eg ds knows he only has tv after lunch, whilst dd is asleep - would never ask for it at any other time.

It'll probably be a bit shitty for a few days, but at this age they do get into new routines fast, imo - we decided we didn't like ds's routine os 20 mins Cbeebies online before bath at about this age. First night, did something interactive & off screen with him instead, second night, he didn't ask for it. Amazed how easy it was, tbh.

Good luck!!

[suzi2]

Things break a lot in this house but it still doesn't stop him asking all the time and I admit I've been too rubbish to fight it for too long. DD is very demanding but we're sleep training her at the moment to try and get her to take naps and give me more than 5 hours sleep a day so perhaps if that works I'll have more time.

Spidermama, it's my laptop which I keep forgetting to put away that he uses. He's terribly good on it. But I never get a look in.

I like the idea of a timer. He's pretty good at accepting things if he knows what's going to happen. Might build it into a routine for him...

[suzi2]

Plan of action... we're away for a couple of days next week and there will only be channels 1-4 and no computer. Once we're back we'll be setting a schedule for both!

[HarrietTheSpy]

my daughter loves youtube and makes me show the video of the waterskiing squirrel every morning.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXcaFC1vF0Q

[mezzer]

2?? Really. Do you mean 2 but almost 3 or just turned 2? And, he can actually surf the net?

dd is 20mo and I won't let her touch the computer cos I'm afraid she'll pound it to death (i use it for work...). Maybe I'm being too paranoid?

Sorry, not offering much help...I like the timer idea.

[mummypig]

A schedule sounds great suzi2.

In our house we have set times the boys are allowed to do anything involving a screen - i.e. watch tv or go on the computer (they haven't been allowed on the playstation yet ) and they choose what they want to do. sometimes it overruns, especially if dp is policing it, but they rarely challenge the basic arrangement.

I have a 4.15pm slot to allow me to get tea ready without too many demands, and sometimes as soon as they get in from school/nursery they are demanding 'is it 4.15 yet?' But once they realise they actually have to entertain themselves for a bit, they often settle down and play, forgetting to remind me to turn on the TV/PC when 4.15 actually comes round!

It is hard with a baby around, though, and no other child to distract the older sibling. Also I get more pestering when ds2 (3yo) is in the house with me on his own than when they are together. Ds1 is often happy sitting doing colouring, and when he was younger he would play with his train set, or flick through books, but he still ended up watching a lot of TV progs or DVDs when ds2 was little. Ds2 isn't bothered about colouring and won't look at books on his own, but is quite into jigsaws and cars though, so if he finds some stuff like that around it can sometimes absorb him for a while.

Also when ds1 was born I remember getting a leaflet from the ABM which had some great suggestions for entertaining older siblings while breastfeeding a new baby. It was actually an Australian Breastfeeding Association booklet and you can order it here. It might be helpful?

[suzi2]

mezzer, he was 2 in august and has been doing it a while - can manage the touchpad mouse and trackball one and can play some of the games too. As well as IM daddy! He still doesn't talk much though lol. I would suspect your LO could manage very well, but I wouldn't encourage it at all!

pmsl harriet, must not show DS that or he'll be on youtube too!

Thanks for the tips mummypig, my friend is a counsellor with the ABM so I might see if she has that booklet. I'll get that schedule drawn up when we're away I think!

[Mungarra]

My two could both use the mouse at 2 and a quarter and could navigate the Cbeebies website. I let them do it as much as they liked and both did it a lot for a couple of months and then lost interest in it.

Now they are 3 and nearly 5 and they only use the computer for about half an hour a day, I guess.

I think the Cbeebies website is great and it's better than watching television, which I do limit.

[Marne]

Dd1 (3.6) loves using the PC,she has taught herself to type and last week i caught her on e-bay looking at tents