Well it’s been 30 days (more than that actually) since we set out on our 30-Day No TV Challenge and I am happy to report we (I) survived the challenge! For those of you just tuning in a little over a month ago my husband and I set out to put a cap on how much screen time our oldest daughter was getting. We decided one-hour a day would be an appropriate amount of time to allow her to watch her beloved Disney Junior (and sometimes Dora the Explorer and Bubble Guppies) TV shows. The only rules were that she get one-hour TOTAL on any screen i.e. TV, computer, iPad, phone etc. and that my husband and I were exempt from the one-hour rule :). Here’s how it all went down:
If you remember I was concerned about our nighttime routine. We used to allow Isla a few minutes of screen time on one of our phones before she went to bed so yanking that from her made me very nervous about bedtime. Surprisingly this didn’t phase her at all. Instead we all enjoyed a few more cuddles and back rubs. Double win!
As far as the daytime went I pretty much kept true to what I said in the original post – that I would allow Isla 30-minutes of TV time in the morning during breakfast and the last 30 during her quiet time after school or after our busy mornings. They were both a success and she rarely asked if she could watch more. Even when she did and I said no she wouldn’t beg me for “just five more minutes” or cry because I didn’t comply. Instead she often came into my office and colored in her coloring books, typed on her computer, played with her sister or the dog and even started reading pretend reading books to herself while I worked.
I did my best to be organized and get my work done early so I wouldn’t be tempted to put Isla in front of the TV but sometimes that just didn’t happen and I have to admit that there were two occasions where I did go off the one-hour rule and let her watch another show, which is usually an additional 20 minutes. BUT to my surprise she never finished watching the show! NEVER! In fact, I think she was bored with it and preferred coloring, reading and hanging out with her little sister. Success!
If you’re considering doing a No TV Challenge I highly recommend it. Your child may just be waiting for it!
Awesome Jena! We cut out some TV time when school started this year too. It was a little tough at first but we did manage to settle into a routine that involves less screen time!