Ever since my husband and I discovered the Disney Junior app two years ago our oldest daughter, Isla has been addicted to TV. It started innocently enough. Somebody had mentioned the app and my ears instantly perked up. Not because I wanted my daughter to obsessively start watching TV, but because it was Disney and not one of those weird kids shows that have your child singing creepy songs and dancing around like a lunatic (which turns out they do anyway.) With a little hesitation my husband and I both decided to download the Disney Junior app, only vaguely realizing that by doing so we could never go back.
Disclaimer: Isla was not completely television free prior to the Disney Junior app. In fact, she was very into movies like Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo, and she probably watched too much of those as well, but the app definitely upped her level of TV watching.
It was the day after Thanksgiving and we decided to head to Caps on the Water. It was our first visit and we were both pretty excited about the food and atmosphere and a little nervous too. Sitting in a seat quietly while your parents chatted is not a toddler’s idea of a good time. Isla was a newly two-year old (I can see you all nodding your head and smiling right about now) so past experiences had taught us that my husband and I would tag team her, one taking her down to the beach while the other hurriedly shoved food into our mouth before switching.
This would also mean that the entire lunch my husband and I wouldn’t really get to talk, having to wait until the car ride home to do so. Whew! I’m exhausted thinking about it, which is why the second we sat down and Isla started grabbing at the salt and pepper and sugar packets on the table and desperately trying to escape her highchair, we both agreed to try the Disney Junior app. Much to our surprise she happily accepted the offer (nothing had ever worked in the past) and we enjoyed an uninterrupted lunch for the first time since we had her.
“This is amazing!” I remember saying as we both smiled and sipped our drinks. Finally, lunch and dinner out were possible. We were instantly hooked and so was she but at the time it just felt so darn GOOD we didn’t really care what kind of hold it was going to have on all three of us.
The device watching slowly picked up after that and next thing we knew Isla was watching one of our phones at what seemed like every turn. It was so much that my phone was constantly dying and I began to realize that I had created a TV/technology needing monster.
Eventually I reclaimed my phone and we started watching Disney Junior On Demand, but no less often. I knew Isla was watching too much TV but I wasn’t quite sure how to break the habit. I work part-time from home and sometimes getting up extra early or staying up late to work doesn’t always happen so in order to get things done I had created a habit of letting her watch one of her shows.
I will say that as she’s gotten older she doesn’t seem to want to watch TV for as long but it is still more than is recommended. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that television and other entertainment media be avoided for infants and children under age 2. They go on to say children and teens should engage with entertainment media no more than 2 hours a day. Read more here.
Knowing this I decided I needed Isla to cut back, so I came up with this 30-day no TV challenge. Here are the guidelines:
There are only 2 rules:
1) Isla gets 1 hour of television/screen time a day. That includes on my phone, TV, computer, car etc. 1 HOUR MAX!
2) This does not apply to adults in the house. I rarely get an hour to watch TV so when I do have the time I’ll take it and won’t feel bad about it.
The Plan:
I think the hardest time of the day to break Isla of TV is when she wakes up. With that in mind I think I’ll let her watch 20-30 minutes while she eats and gets out of her sleepy fog. Monday, Wednesday and Friday should be relatively easy since she is in school for half the day and we spend a good hour at the playground after that. I’ll give her that last 30 minutes of screen time as a part of her “quiet” time when we get home from school and/or after errands so she can wind down a little.
During the hours after quiet time I plan to fill our time with simple things I know she loves like playing in her room, crafts (suggestions welcome), play dates, ice cream dates, cleaning (she actually doesn’t mind cleaning if I let her use the vacuum), reading, bike riding, pumpkin patching (yes!) and anything I can to keep her occupied and away from a screen.
My Concerns:
Nighttime. Period.
I have no idea how Isla will react when I tell her she’s hit her TV time limit but hopefully she’ll get the monkey off of her back pretty quickly and we can begin to enjoy some other fun things together.
Ok, I’m off to turn off my TV and start my 30-days. Will you join me?
We use a Melissa & Doug behavior chart. Our daughter earns her screen time for certain behaviors. 30 minutes per magnet. We track the time on the white board part, so she sees how much she has earned and used. Our limit is 2 hours per day, as long as she has enough to use (less if she doesn’t). It has worked pretty well for us. If she’s earned the time, she gets to choose how to use it (games on computer, TV, iPad…). All adult supervised and pre-approved, of course. 😉
Good luck!
That’s a great idea, Elizabeth! I might be heading to Target tomorrow to get one of those!
You really need to change the title of this article. This isn’t a “no” tv challange, it’s more like a “I’m going to stop using tv as a babysitter” challenge.
Good Post! You are right on here. I know it’s hard, but our kids our worth it. As moms, this is not something we had to deal with as children ourselves, it wasn’t available. It’s ok every now and then, and as a treat, but it can be addicting and their behavior will be demanding as a result of giving in, which is not something you want to feed into!
We do that in our house. 1 hour electronics during the week and 2 on weekend. ( excluding homework that needs laptop).
I always tell her ( almost 10 yr old daughter) there are so many other things… It is nice when the time runs out. She draws plays piano dress up etc.
I have no problem with them a bit. But yep the time can spin out of control if not in check.
Way to Go! Jena. We went without TV for almost 10 years after our TV broke when the children were little. We really didn’t miss it at all. You will find that you read aloud, play, talk, and really, I mean actually really listen to music instead of spending away the hours in front of the TV. Also- the children really begin to play and make believe on their own. Their imaginations just blossom.
I think that you will find that TV is not all bad, but certainly is addictive and eats away at the clock. However, watched in small amounts and used judiciously it can be a life-saver for a mom or dad!(Like when you are desperate for a shower and need to know that the children will stay in one spot for 12 minutes!)