08 August 2008

Unplugging my Kid

Last year at this exact time I was supersick and overwhelmed with the physical challenges of my pregnancy. I confessed to a good friend that I was worried that J would be addicted to TV for life. She had experienced even harder pregnancies, her kids had experienced similar bouts of addiction, and she expressed confidence in me that the time would come when I'd be able to wean J off TV and movies. In recent days he's only been watching a few shows on PBS in the mornings while I take care of the babies, but his appetite seems insatiable and turning off teh TV is always a drama! Well, the time has come.

Instead of just turning the TV off, I'm realizing that I need to "turn on" other parts of my parenting. I think I'll focus on a couple weekly projects or ideas. Surfing the webs or flipping through past issues of Family Fun is a little overwhelming to me, so I'm grateful for on-line forums that invite participation of moms like me who could use interaction with colleagues. That's what we are, right? Here are a few sites that I've found that feature weekly challenges:

Unplug Your Kids
Laugh, Learn, Love

And for those of you who really just check this site for pics of the kids, here is J this morning and are two things he has done instead of watching TV (which he's already asked me to do twice.)

6 comments:

CYD said...

Good for you! I just checked out the unplugged site and it looks cool! We checked out a really cool book from teh library called Kitchen Science by Chris Maynard and we're having tons of fun w/ it. It's easy and not messy and has blown Ty's mind! I'm sure Joshua would love it.

Anonymous said...

Ohhh, I will have to check out those sites! We actually turned our TV completely off last month and it's been very refreshing. I have found that my kids don't "need" it as much as I think they do.
Your family is so cute!!

Heather

Melinda said...

You know, I think this is every mom's battle. We all start with the best of intentions, but if you own a TV, it seems it will MAKE itself a battle. I wish I had the guts to unplug it completely.

I'm excited to look at those sites you posted. Good luck!

Anjanette said...

why wouldn't J read a New Jersey Birds book with post it notes flagging...his favorite birds, birds he has seen in the last week, the only birds in the entire book that he has not seen since moving there a year or so ago...(?)

You're a brilliant mama.
I seriously want to be just like you when I grow up & have kids (or maybe better yet, you should just come to California & parent my kids)

Anjanette said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sherwoods said...

That sounds like our house! Zach is constantly asking to watch a show. We limit it to one a day (we don't have PBS here and have to do DVD's), unless he poops on the potty, then he gets two a day. I will definitely have to check out those websites. It has been hard here to keep him busy without a car to go anywhere, no parks close, and libraries don't exist! We walk up and down the street alot...and play the Wii, probably also not the greatest!