how to stop my dd's tv addiction.....

[kitkat9]

I'm ashamed to say that my 2 year old dd seems to be obsessed with the tv..probably all stems from my reliance on it to occupy her while I struggled through pg with dc3.

I really want to wean her off it. It's becoming ridiculous. We turn it off all the time but she either turns it back on herself or throws a tantrum until I give in .

We're in the USA so it's not even cbeebies!

She just seems to crave the noise of it - half the time it's on she wanders off and finds other things to do, but as soon as I switch channels or turn it off she's straight back over to it and the fighting starts...

I am not opposed to dc's having some tv time, say an hour a day, but it seems to be constantly on. I need advice on how to break the cycle. Is it a case of just unplugging it and weathering the storm?

Yes is the answer to your last sentence

Turn it off.

Sounds like ds! there is no magic I'm afraid, you just have to unplug it.... we have set times when he can watch the tv which seems to help

I'd go cold turkey and take the plug out or take the remotes away

Turn it off and put music/radio on, they like back ground noise I think.

Agree with having radio on, can you get digital on your laptop, because on bbc7 they have cbeebies on the radio, from 2pm, it is great and dd likes listening to it when she is doing other stuff. Like your dd, mine seems to hate it when it is quiet, so sometimes the TV seems to be on just for background. I would try and work out a good schedule, ie when there is decent stuff on - I - ahem, dd loves some of the stuff on Playhouse Disney (Imagination Movers, Mickeymouse Clubhouse, Johnny and the Sprites) and Nick Jr (Dora). Then really plan what to do in between, craft time, snack time, cooking etc, we spend half the day out of the house which also helps!

DD1 went through a really bad phase from about 14 months (when I had dd2) to just over 2. Now (she is 2.11), she can take it or leave it a lot of the time,and is much better at playing on her own. Having said that I love it when we all cuddle up on the sofa to watch a programme we all enjoy, and a lot of her imaginative games are based around tv shows, so there are definately positives to TV.

Good luck, and don't beat yourself up

I find that once its on, its impossible to switch it off without a tantrum.

Just don't switch it on in the morning and distract her with things to do. I do have the radio on for me though.

I relied on it loads after ds2 was born and I was recovering. I had it on permanently so am trying to limit it now.

Ds1 now gets that the tv only comes on in the evening for a couple of hrs.

thanks for replying...i know i need to do stuff to distract her but it's hard at the moment, ds2 is 6 weeks and i'm always feeding!

i think i'll try to phase it out in stages, ie unplug it and have none before the school run, etc

good idea about the radio - we can get bbc radio over the internet, will try that

she's too young to reason with so i'm just going to be strong...{shudder}...i'm the grown up, i'm in charge....i'm the grown up, i'm in charge....

Yeah it takes about a week and then they forget about it. It is a shame coz TV can be useful when you have to do work or something. My 2 and half year old asks to watch telly about 6 times a day and has the screaming ab dabs when I say no. I do let her watch it in the afternoon before we go to do school run - I usually regret it as she turns into an android.

Our DS 2.11 is rather keen on the TV. At first we were just too overjoyed by the freedom it gave us to eat hot meals and read the paper to notice how much time he watched it, but then his behaviour started to decline a bit so had to address it.

What I am trying to do is limit it rather than eliminate it. When I get DS from the CMs its all a bit of a rush because I need to get dinners ready as soon as I get in, also he is tired from his day so I see nothing wrong with letting him watch for half an hour. We tape stuff he likes on Virgin Replay so he knows that he will get to watch one Bob the Builder episode and one Chuggington or something like that rather than having it on all the time.

What works for us now is that DS loves playing games. He has a magnetic fishing game and would much rather have someone play with him than watch TV so just get that out and he is quite happy for it to be switched off.

If you are happy for her to watch TV, that's fine by me.

But if you are bullied by a two-year old into doing things you don't in your heart of hearts think is ok, then you need to rethink your position. You are the Mum, the big strong reassuring person who is in charge. They need to know that you are big and strong and they can't shake you. It makes them feel secure to know that Mummy is in charge. If they can make you change your mind by screaming, then there is noone around stronger than themselves- and that is scary for a small child.

When my dcs had tantrums (and dd was a drama queen) I never gave in; I did not want to reward it.

In the present instance, yes I would unplug the thing. But I would also practise my own ability to weather tantrums in other situations.