FWIS3

Just yesterday I was going to come here and write a post asking how I can break the cycle of giving my kids too much screen time. I get home around 6 and usually have about an hour until MrPi comes home, so I have dinner and other chores to attend to. Therefore I have to find other things for the kiddos to do, without me. (This happens throughout the day on weekends, too.) Rooster is pretty good right now at entertaining herself. But Buster usually needs someone to be with him. Unless we let him watch a movie/cartoon or play wii. So it's much easier to let him do that. I know there are things I can try to engage him with me or facilitate activities on his own, but I was going to ask if you had any more ideas!

One easy idea is for him to help me make dinner. I tried that last night and it exceeded beyond my wildest dreams. I asked him to help make sub sandwiches, and he said he could do it himself! I was so proud of him.

I'm sure that won't work every night, and we'll still have to find other things for him to do during evenings and weekends when we have to get things done. But this was one moment of happiness to start with!

We try to limit the types of visual garbage that our 4 (almost 5) year watches at home too. We use things like coloring books, a leap pad, and Brite's IPAD which has games and educational "appizodes" from some of his favorite Disney Jr and similar channels.

Hah- my mom was a super strict person about screen time when I was little- we weren't allowed to play video games (even when our uncle bought us a SuperNintendo, we could only play when she was out of the house!), but TV or computer time was relegated from 530-7pm. So I'm guessing this is a never-ending parental dilemma.

If he wants to help I think that's awesome, and also a good habit because it helps a kid feel like he's a member of the household and helps to make it run. Probably easier to pawn off chores on him when he's older.

Yeah, my mom wouldn't let us play video games either. She had some stupid excuse like "They haven't been invented yet, dear."

Good for Buster. And you, for raising him so well.

geonuc wrote:Yeah, my mom wouldn't let us play video games either. She had some stupid excuse like "They haven't been invented yet, dear."

But MOM! All the other kids get to play with time-traveling toys!

thank you, geonuc and swift, for a much-needed laugh.

pumpkinpi, is there a craft that buster enjoys? are there no reading/teaching applications that you're happy with?