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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

is it normal for a 3 year old to want to watch the same film (or bits of it) every day?

44 replies

madamegazelleslover · 21/02/2014 17:43

DS is allowed about 25 mins of TV a day. It has been DVDs - Peppa Pig, Thomas until now. But since he's discovered Toy Story he wants to watch either a bit of the beginning, or the end, every day. At weekends he wants to watch the whole thing.

He just loves it.

But it seems to be verging on obsessive - can't handle the TV going off even though he's given lots of warnings. Cries, shouts.

Talks about watching it a lot

Should we be indulging it?

I hate the lure of the TV and if i had my way, he wouldn't watch any. Maybe our time constraints on it have encouraged him to want it even more. Hard to say

Advice please!

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hercules1 · 21/02/2014 17:45

Yes, it was for ds anyway.

monkeyfacegrace · 21/02/2014 17:46

Embrace the tv.

Put it on, and go soak in the bath.

No big deal, and totally normal.

wintersdawn · 21/02/2014 17:48

my dd 3 will watch the tweenie song dvd we have till the end of time if i let her, but has no interest in disney. a friends ds 3 has been known to watch toy story 1, 2 and 3 in a day.

MrsDmitriTippensKrushnic · 21/02/2014 17:48

Mine all did this - DD was obsessed with Toy Story then Monsters Inc, the DSs with Thomas the Tank engine. It passed and then they fixated on something else. DD at 10 will still have preferences for a particular show which she'll watch to death then swap to something else. I guess it's comforting? I know I reread books I enjoy over and over again (not without something inbetween though!)

Original poster

madamegazelleslover · 21/02/2014 17:51

Ok, I feel better.

I love Toy Story and thinks it's great, but I hate the idea of him being so sucked into anything he's virtually comotosed on the sofa.

Why should I embrace TV? He's got a life of being in front of screens ahead. I know that. i just don't want it to be suck up his life now.

OP posts:

MyNameIsKenAdams · 21/02/2014 17:52

Dd 2.2 is a Wall-E fanatic. She will ask for it daily. Obsessed.

Auntierosemary · 21/02/2014 17:54

Yes, my 3 year old daughter wants to watch bits of Mary poppins every day. I think it is good for her - lots of repetition helps her to understand all the dialogue and plot and get to know the characters more, and she has memorised lots of phrases and repeats them in conversation, eg if I tell her to hurry up she says "spit spot"! She was the same with story books when she was really little too.
It must be better for them to watch half an hour of one film than half an hour of TV with six programmes, no? (Not that I object to TV.)
And I think learning songs from films is good too. Haven't watched toy story, are there songs in it?

iloveweetos · 21/02/2014 17:55

My DH did this when he was young. He would watch superman over and over from a young age. His mum would send him to people's houses to baby sit with the video as he was very clingy. Completely forgot about her once the fil started lol
He's very intelligent now (although could still watch it 10 times a week and knows every line)

Original poster

madamegazelleslover · 21/02/2014 17:57

When I say TV, we've never actually watched any programmes, just on DVDs.

No, Toy Story doesn't have songs. I don't know what he's learning - except that he has decided by wearing the Buzz Light Year costume he, too, will be able to fly - but it is great writing and characters, and the quality is there.

But if he's doing that, he's not doing something else, and he totally struggles to entertain himself - almost all the time - and it makes me sad that TV is the only thing he'll happily take himself off alone to do.

OP posts:

Original poster

madamegazelleslover · 21/02/2014 17:58

Ilovesweetos - maybe DS is clingy, that's why he needs to always have someone to play with. ALWAYS. I don't think of it as clingy because he's got a big personality and he's bold, but it's true - if I sent him out with the Toy Story DVD, he'd set up home with a stranger, it's that compelling to him

OP posts:

FiveExclamations · 21/02/2014 18:10

My DD watched Robots over and over and over and over and over and over and over...

She's 11 now and only tends to watch it when she's ill, I think there is something about it that she finds comforting.

I'm wondering whether, as his TV is limited, perhaps he wants to watch something he knows he will love instead of risking his TV time on something new that he might not? Like me with eating out, it's something I have a limited budget for so when I do I tend to stick to the same few restaurants where I know I will be happy with the food and service.

TinyTwoTears · 21/02/2014 18:16

Yep, except we are now watching toy story 3 every day at ds1's instigation. He is 6.
He loved toy story at 3 and it helped him talk a bit more as he was quite slow to talk.

His favourite line was "YOU ARE A TOYYYYY!"

Watch toy story 2 and 3, they are great!

dreamingbohemian · 21/02/2014 18:24

It's really normal and I wouldn't worry about it. Eventually he'll get sick of it and move onto something else (Toy Story 2 is even better I reckon).

Half an hour a day is not a huge amount, and I think it's not a bad thing for them to sort of tune out for a bit.

My son is around the same age and lately he's been having the most elaborate play games based on the DVDs he watches, singing the various songs, etc. It makes him happy and it's not rotting his brain so I'm not worrying about it.

Yama · 21/02/2014 18:28

Ds's first obsession was Peppa Pig. Now it is Octonauts.

He gets upset when we turn it off but will easily be won round with a game of Tig or Hide N' Seek.

Solo · 21/02/2014 18:28

It was Thomas for Ds too...videos, he had the lot. Dd has not been obsessive about anything on the TV though and I don't have a video or DVD player connected now.

LynetteScavo · 21/02/2014 18:28

Yes, indeed. Which bit of Thomas and the Magic Railroad/Shark Boy and Lava Girl would you like me to quote?

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 21/02/2014 18:33

My two are still like this at 8 and 10, they must have watched Despicable Me 2 about twenty times since Christmas. Does drive me a bit nuts but I use the time to get on with other stuff.

Kezzybear · 21/02/2014 18:35

I have seen toy story one, two and three so many times. Ds2 particularly loves the second one and would watch them back to back all day if I let him!

EirikurNoromaour · 21/02/2014 18:35

I have the tv on a lot of the time. I wasn't allowed to watch much as a child and as soon as I could buy my own, plus when I loved alone, I got in the habit of watching it or just having it on in the background most of the time.
I thought about trying to restrict DS tv exposure but just couldn't do it. It didn't come naturally to have quiet in the house. So now he's a pretty well adjusted tv watcher, he enjoys some things but by no means obsessed. He can happily 'watch' a film whilst building a Lego car or doing a drawing, which is often how I watch tv, with half my attention. I'm quite happy about his attitude to tv and I put it down to not controlling exposure too rigidly.
I know that wasn't what you were asking but to answer your question - DS has favourite films but doesn't obsess in that way.

threepiecesuite · 21/02/2014 18:37

Cripes, 25 minutes. That's a random amount, not half an hour?

DD (4) watched about 5 hrs yesterday, Tangled then some Ben and Holly. It was raining out and she was tired. We got the duvet down and had a snuggle, it was lovely.

teenagetantrums · 21/02/2014 18:37

It could be worse, My DD was obsessed with a barbie DVD at 3 and my DS watched the same Pokemon film for about 2 years, honestly the worst DVDs ever made, I had to put a DVD player and tv in their room i just couldn't stand it.

Pascha · 21/02/2014 18:39

Oh yes. Cars, Cars 2, and Planes here. Its tedious but at least I know I can get half an hour to tidy up and cook dinner if he's settled brumming races with his own toy cars while its on.

TiredFeet · 21/02/2014 18:39

Ds (3) is like this, but after a month or so he moves on to watching something else obsessively. He only gets about 40 mins of tv a day in total (in 3 slots, first thing in morning, after lunch and before the bedtime routine begins), if its a film he knows he only gets a bit of it each time.

myitchybeaver · 21/02/2014 18:42

My sister is a barrister. She is considerably younger than me and watched 'the care bear movie' every day repeatedly for years. No brain rot. Normal relationships. Normal development in every way. Drove me bonkers though!

Moreisnnogedag · 21/02/2014 18:44

Oh god yes. Pixar have a lot to answer for.

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