Do you have rules and restrictions on when/how/what your dcs watch?
dd is nearly 4, and has become increasingly fixated by tv. She didn't watch much at all when she was little but since starting pre-school she's got into a routine of lunch then quiet time in front of the tv while ds sleeps. And then it is on at other times during the day - occasionally after tea, or sometimes if I'm busy with ds. It's never that much in total, especially compared to some of her friends - maybe an hour or an hour and a half a day. And not every day - it's not on much at the weekends.
Over the last week or so we've got to the point where she now just wants to watch tv - it's the first thing she asks to do, and if it's not on she'll claim to be bored. My mum is looking after her today and just phoned to say she'd turned it off after quiet time and dd had hit her . This is totally out of character - she has been under the weather the last couple of days but that's no excuse and I'm pretty annoyed with her.
So, tonight we're going to have a long chat about why we don't hit people, and I was thinking about setting some ground rules about tv so that it's very clear to her when she can and can't watch it. So, for instance, she can have it on after lunch, and that's it. Or she can have it on after lunch, and then one programme after tea (we have Sky+ so it's quite easy to ration/organise)
But then I wondered if that was a bit ridiculous. I don't have a problem with saying "no" when she asks for tv, and frequently do, so that's an option, but I think that makes it hard for her to understand when it's ok and when it isn't.
Am I overreacting to this? Not to the hitting, that's obviously not acceptable, but to her tv addiction? I'm just not sure where it's come from - she's always been perfectly happy to take it or leave it in the past.