Anybody got a good system for restricting/regulating telly time?

[purpleisa]

Hi

Having some probs with DD (4yrs / preschool) who would watch telly all day if I let her. She never used to be like this (and I blame myself a bit because what is easier than lettting them watch telly when you are pregnant and exhasted!?)

Lately she has been very moody and seems to be losing the ability to amuse herself with her toys (and of course all the new ones from Christmas have overwhelmed her with choice!) and complains of being "bored" all the time. I do play with her as well of course but sometimes housework etc does need doing! Her attention span is definitely decreasing and I think its a combination of increased telly watching and having too much choice re:toys. The toys I can hide and only have a few available at a time but with TV I need a system (preferably one where she can be involved in monitoring her use too - she responds well to that with other things).

I would like to let her watch up to an hour / 1 1/2 hours over the day but in seperate blocks eg 20mins before nursery / 20 mins while I'm preparing lunch and say 20mins or so in the evening or before bedtime. Ideally I'd like some sort of chart but I don't want to use stickers as I find these a really effective reward for other things (e.g. tidying/reading etc). Just wondered if anyone had a system for TV or computer usage that they have found effective??

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Hmmmmmm tbh I would say if the sticker system is working for other things then I would introduce it into TV time too!

When my DD was younger (nearly 17 now) I was very strict about how much TV she watched from the start so didnt have a situation where I had to reduce it however as she got older computer time was then introduced but as she was older she just accepted that what I said was law....sorry Im prob not much help with my reply but like I first said...give the sticker method a go if its working for other things its worth a go xxx

 

[purpleisa]

Thanks - I never intended to let her watch so much it just sort of sneaked up on me and of course its much harder in winter when their is less good weather/daylight. I was thinking of doing some sort of token system for her to "buy" TV time but I haven't sussed it yet, I have just said no and put off the telly with no system for the last couple of days and she has accepted it (after a bit of huffing and door banging!!). So far so good - it's been under an hour in total both today and yesterday. Luckily she has lost interest in her DSi and computer recently so that's not a problem.

I think maybe it was just me needing to monitor it more - when I actually worked out how much time she had spent watching TV on what I thought was a "light" day came as a bit of a shock (it was only her recent moodyness/decreasing concentration that made me check it out!). It just goes to show how easy it can be to let them fall into bad habits but hopefully I've caught it on time and things will improve. She is still being quite moody bt that could be the baby coming / stopping going to childminder now I'm on Mat Leave and perhaps her nature a bit too (can't think where she got from - but my Mum can haha!!)

 

[WILMAFLINSTONE]

Ahhhh its so easy to get carried away weve all dont it at some point.....but if shes accepting no tv then great your doing fine...and she will get used to it without the huffing lol!!

But I love the idea of the tokens and her buying TV time too...thats a great way of teaching her how to earn and also to manage what she earns....xxxx

 

[serenitylove]

id have a small tub inlounge in which they can put 6 or 7 toys the rest are put away i then change toys each week so they dont get bored and just turn tv off and say no have a chart with tv times on when u want them to watch job done!