I didn’t think there was anything wrong with introducing dvds and apps at a relatively young age. In fact, I was thrilled when I realised that half an hour of Octonauts would let me do the dishes uninterrupted.
It started out ok, a half hour or two most days when I needed peace. Over the last couple of years it spiralled, until the first thing he asked when he woke was “Can I have a dvd?” and he would insist there was nothing to do, refusing every activity I suggested (including fun things like painting or baking) because all he wanted was to stare at a screen.
I tried one day to see whether he could self-regulate and get bored. He watched three full length dvds before lunchtime and screamed when I wouldn’t put on a fourth while we ate – at which point I ended the experiment.
Screen time became an obsession, an addiction. It turned my loving little boy into a raging monster, only ever interested in his next ‘fix’. He would even beg me to watch the news, because he knew it wasn’t something I would put on for him – he was that desperate for anything televised.
I tried reducing the daily screen time – one episode of whichever CBeebies program he chose. It didn’t work – he begged and screamed for more for the rest of the day.
Finally, after Christmas, I decided that we had to try cold turkey. The first week was hard, but I could see some gradual changes for the better. By the end of the second week he was playing happily for hours in imaginary worlds and in the third week he told me, “I really want a dvd but I know I’m not allowed” and then went off to play something else.
Now, screen time is a treat. An occasional reward for good behaviour.
I used to think parents who let the kids watch only one program/film per week were in some way being unfair to their kids. Now I am one of them, and it has brought only good things to our home.
Setting Sparks 