Kids & tv. A modern day parenting dilemma?
This morning I had to take a long hard look at myself, and got a little bit of perspective back into the equation.
First, a little bit more background.
A few days ago, after being kept up all night with the tribe having nightmares (a spooky tree, a buzzy insect, you get the gist), the lovely Big A and I decided to cut all kids tv time to zero.
No more cartoons in the morning.
No more iCarly at night.
No more Avengers (the cartoon variety, not the blockbuster), Spongebob, Adventure Time, Dora.
This of course caused outrage. According to the tribe ‘it wasn’t fair’, they were pretty sure they would be ‘really bored’ and of course the old chestnut of ‘all our friends get to watch kids tv’ was thrown in (that one never disappears, does it?).
We stayed strong. Well, until this morning, when a friend commented, it was a little unfair. I mean it was, after all, ‘school holidays’. So surely it was ok if they ‘had some fun’?
I wavered in my resolve. Was I being a zealot and laying down the law too much, being too strict?
That’s when I gave myself a huge reality check.
We were talking about tv. And more so, foxtel (cable for our international friends). Also, it is a BIG tv, which they have the privilege of viewing from a BIG comfortable couch, in air-conditioning comfort, in a nice home, in a lovely suburb. There is no hardship to be had. By anyone. Just a comfortable life, with healthy food, great education and access to a lot of privileges.
So I am pretty sure, I am not being mean. In fact I am certain of it.
Not only that, a huge upside of the kids-tv-ban has emerged. The whole tribe is reading more, speaking to each other more, and well, being nicer kids (not that they were horrid before, just that this ban seems to be bringing out their good traits).
I probably sounds incredibly old-fashioned by saying this, but bear with me here. Watching television is not a ‘necessity’, and cutting the time my kids spend in front of tv doesn’t make me a ‘tough parent’.
Or does it?
Have you ever cut your kids off from a ‘necessity’ like tv?
Enjoy xx
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I think the tough parent aspect of banning tv is making sure it’s enforced, and that’s tough on the parent, not the kids. I’ve never banned it outright, but don’t allow it in the morning or for an hour before bed time. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes to a small person’s ability to get to sleep.
I agree it can be tougher on the parents, I sure felt the pain of the enforcement! We’ve since relaxed a little, and have now found a happy medium. You are spot on, tt really does make a differenceto the little ones sleep routines. K x