What Should We Do To Keep Kids Away From Habitual TV Watching

Watching television is not bad, provided it is moderated. But these days, it has become more like a way of life than just a source of entertainment. This is one of the major concerns of parents these days. The consequences can be damaging if it becomes the over-riding pastime to the exclusion of constructive activities. If you spend 3 to 4 hours a day watching sitcoms and soaps, you can’t expect your child to watch television in moderation. So practice what you preach and become a role model to your child. You can get your child enrolled in dancing, music, swimming, painting, football or any other sport. You can coax your child to learn guitar or any other musical instrument, read a book or listen to some music. Encourage your child to play outside or take her to the park or the beach. Pursuing these activities is far better than sitting in front of the idiot box all day long and doing nothing. The point is to keep your child occupied so that he doesn’t feel the need to watch television. Physical or mental activities not only discourage children from watching television but also prevent obesity. Don’t turn off the television abruptly while children are watching. This would only aggravate the behavior problems in children and make them rebellious. Instead discus with them calmly and plan a schedule to watch television such as watching television for an hour after homework is complete. Create a policy of ‘No television’ during dinner time. Spend that time sharing with your child about your work and listen to what they have to say about school, friends and so on. When there is no television to distract the child, she will get closer to you and even interacts with siblings more. If you are finding it difficult to convey your message to your child, watch a beautifully made motivational video with your child which will help create a wonderful launching pad for a conversation where you can convey vital life-wisdom messages to your child. These wonderful inspirational quote messages offer tips on parenting children as well as assist in child development. Watch an inspirational video daily with your child which can convey the bad effects of watching too much television much more easily than you can imagine. To conclude with, I would again like to say that "Watching television is not bad, provided it is moderated". And the moderation comes from YOU.

The children do not learn to use a television all by themselves. Some adult at some time had to show them about it. Two year old kids have no business sitting in front of a television so the adult needs to just turn it off. Make it unavailable even if you have to remove it from the room. Adults can teach the children how to fill their time with things other than television. Get down on the floor with them and show them how to build with blocks, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and other types of toys like this. Introduce them to books appropriate to their age. Read to them while drawing illustrations to explain what you are reading. Find some table games and sit down with them and teach them how to play those. Again, age appropriate. Television is a sop and a habit. For years, I didn't even have one in the house. Now I have one mainly for news and documentaries but I can go for days with it turned off. I use the internet for news and political reports. You can too. Television is not a necessity. It is still a luxury as I see it. And sometimes quite an inconvenience.

Well dear you as a parent is the only one who can solve that problem. You should train them to limit their time on TV and make sure you will impose your authority on them without compromise. Allow them to watch maximum of one program during day time and another one at night and make sure those are appropriate for their age and educational too. Keep the remote control out of their reach and tell them you are the only one who'd turn on the TV at the specified time and make sure they'd obey or else you should be ready to punish anyone who violates. Encourage them to engage in other activities that will enhance their physical and mental skill like playing educational toys and outdoor games. As soon as they've seen how enjoyable it is to engage in outdoor games together with other children, they'd forget TV addiction for sure. Just make sure they are in your own yard or any safe place and you should watch over them especially the two years old when they go out to play.. Make sure even outdoor playing is also regulated lest they'd shift their addiction from TV to outdoor games. Also when you eat, don't allow them to eat in front of the TV. Eating should be done on the dining table and that should be a rule to be observed by everyone in the house.

If you want your kids to stay away from watching television, unsubscribe your cable. Or better yet, sell your TV. That is a sure fire way.

If possible, don't try to use your TV to do the baby sitting to your kids. It is really not advisable for them to be exposed that much to TV as they may tend to exhibit aggressive behavior and even lead to obesity due to inactivity. The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development. Most of children's free time, especially during the early formative years, should be spent in activities such as playing, reading, exploring nature, learning about music or participating in sports. If your 2 year-old is bored with playing, maybe you can read him a very colorful book. If he is bored with it again, you can take him on his stroller and walk him through the park. You can alternate the activities so his attention would not just be on the TV itself.

Welcome! My suggestion would be to let the child watch tv for 1-2 hours daily then shut it off. I realize you may want to watch tv yourself and there we run into a problem. You would have to decrease your tv time as well. I personally have the tv on and never pay a whole lot of attention to it. Hopefully, you do the same. If it's nice, take your child outside to detour them from the tv. I believe after a while the tv wouldn't be so important. Best Wishes!

hmm i think what you can do is to make them busy doing stuffs they would prefer than to watch tv. like going out for a walk, going to the park at the same time you know they would be glued to the television... ;)

my sister also has habitual tv watching, no matter what my family does, she would always stick to the tv like glue, i think the only way to cure this is to seek professional help, if not, you would only be bringing your kids to another thing that they will become habitually adapted to.

My younger siblings were glued to television when they got nothing to do. So I usually buy games like checkers, puzzles or something that they can assemble. This way they will have something to fill up their time and learn something from it as well. If they weather is nice, I encourage them to play outside. Not just it help to subside the mess, they will have more fun that way.

You can take them out to parks and malls, they're quite far away from the tv...and they would have fun there. You can bond with them too- or you can send them to school- how old are they? They can make new friends and playmates..

Find them a hobby or u could just buy them each a laptop for their entertainment purposes.