Everything in moderation

So it was not long ago I was thinking how much my son loves to watch TV. I justified the amount he watched because I did balance it with spending time out and about but when we were home it just seemed that the TV or a DVD were always on. We even had the bad habit of having it on while we ate our meals as it kept him quiet sitting still at the table. I guess that is where we recognized the need to stop watching so much TV, trying to put an end to "needing" the TV on during meals. To be honest it was not so hard to achieve and only took a few days for him to get used to it. I'll be honest my wee man does not really do sitting still while eating and we now have a pile of books which we have to read while we eat but somehow I prefer this.

What it has made me realise is that it is more me relying on an easy way out than my wee man having any sort of dependency. Once certain boundaries are set he actually finds it quite easy to follow. So with less TV his other interests just seem to have come alive. I have bravely entered into the world of arts and crafts, he loves imaginative play and has rediscovered so many toys, and my lover of books is back again! He loves to be involved in the cooking and the cleaning and instead of finding his involvement frustrating (which it can be with the mess and the determination to do it all himself) I am embracing it all and just taking my time with it. I actually find myself asking him sometimes now don't you want to sit down and watch something so I can get some proper housecleaning done.

He still watches his fair share of tv and I really don't mind. Balance and moderation has always been a motto I go by. I have learnt that it is best not to say I will never when it comes to parenting because more than likely you will. Just because I give him a taste for something, like tv, chocolate or juice, does not mean he is going to want it all the time. He quickly learns when things are appropriate and that sometimes he just can't have it right now. Some things surprisingly like chocolate he only wants a little of now and again and maybe JUST MAYBE that is because he knows it's there and he can get some more again in the future.

So everything in moderation tends to be my parenting motto. This includes bubble painting by the way which can be a huge frustrating mess all by itself!

Television Addiction

So I am sure it must be a normal part of child development even if they don't really mention it in the books...that need to watch lots of TV. The reason why I say it must be normal is because we don't even have a TV in this house and yet my wee man has somehow managed to grow this addiction. You see we have laptops and occasionally we have been known at quiet times to let him watch these Italian children music videos. We figured it was another great way to introduce him to the Italian language...purely educational...honest. It now tends to be though that at most meal times he wants to watch video's while he eats. When he sees the laptops sitting next to the sofa he runs over and plops himself in front of it and just points and grunts...basically meaning now please! If the laptops are on the dining table then he climbs up onto the chairs and just points and grunts...now please! He does sometimes get distracted if he is watching and will go and play and then run back to check that it is still on. At other times I decide that he has had enough and shut the computer over and put it away and after a few tears we are usually okay. At this minute thankfully the wanting to go outside and play is a much stronger addiction so I am not overly worried about it. It's such a great babysitter sometimes though, you can get things done while they sit and watch TV. Then there are the rainy days....and boy have we been having a lot of them this summer. 

We are still debating whether to get an actual TV and as his addiction has grown hubby has become less inclined to that idea. I'm a lot more partial to the idea. So go on tell me...Is TV bad? How much is too much?