Hello. For a long time I was going through a major mental health crisis. Lots of bad things happened to me, I was single parenting and had no family around and I was in a dark place. During this time my poor 2 year old watched a lot of television- I know it’s awful, I am so ashamed of myself, but it was the only way I could cope.
Im getting better now and my son (now 3) goes to a bit of nursery, we go out every day, socialise and do lots of activities. He is a fairly switched on kid and has no developmental delays which I am so thankful for. He’s starting to read letters and can spell his own name and county to 30, so thankfully television hasn’t held him back there.
But he has zero patience, cannot play with toys for more than a few minutes And will not play alone. I’ve cleared out all his toys so he isn’t overwhelmed and have a few that are varied from puzzles to cars to building things - all age appropriate and all bits he enjoys. But he never goes to play with them, he’s asks for tv all the time. I say no, and he loses it. When he’s upset he asks for a cuddle and then tv, showing that he is using it for comfort as well as me.
I feel awful. Someone on here said you can tell children who watch too much tv as they have no patience. I am desperate to get this right. I know I’m a terrible mother who has massively screwed up. I am praying I haven’t done any permanent damage - please don’t tell me anything about the brain being so or the neural pathways and tv too long - I get it, I have really screwed up. How can I do damage limitation here? What can do I do to fix my mess? If he’s upset then I comfort him. If he asks for tv I say no because I want him to seek comfort elsewhere, but how can I increase his attention span, lengthen his patience etc? I read that children his age should be playing independently for 30-40 minutes, he won’t even do 2.
Please don’t have a go at me, I know I’m the worst mum. I am desperate to make this right.
Thank you.