My three year old watches television too much.
@dipasrisamanta (121)
United States
April 3, 2007 4:05pm CST
How can I make my three year old understand that too much television is not good for him and he needs to go out and play or read some books or play on his own inside the home? He has lots of toys and some of them are very good and educational. He plays with his toys when they are new and after three or four days he gets bored and would want to watch television. I get so much frustrated by his naggings that I give up and allow him to watch whatever he wants to.
Please help.
Thanks in advance.
1 person likes this
5 responses
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
3 Apr 07
he has learned that by nagging and whining you will give in...you need to set a time limit we allow one hour a night for tv...when the time limit you set is up you turn it off and leave it off...when he realizes that your sticking to your word then he'll find other things to do
1 person likes this
@sapphiresage (431)
• United States
3 Apr 07
My three year old is allowed to watch as much as he wants (of channels for kids and educational channels). He knows how to operate the DVD player so he can watch his movies, etc.
Interesting thing is that he can take it or leave it. The TV might be on, but he's not always watching it. He'll put in a movie and go in the other room to play. Apparently he's listening to it, though, because if I shut it off, he comes running out to turn it back on. I guess it's like radio to him. lol
It matters less to me how much my son watches and more WHAT he watches. You say you let your son watch whatever - perhaps you should make sure that what he watches is designed for his age group and at least a little educational.
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
3 Apr 07
He is 3 and you're the adult- Do not let him watch it. Too much tv is very bad for kids- They become inactive- do not get great social skills.
How about finding him some friends in the neighborhood his age- Set up play dates. When he wants to watch tv- get out a game and play with him- read to him and with him. Don't just tell him no- not tv not now-- Get something else out and be sure to include yourself in the activity. How fun that will be for your son- Hopefully fun enough that he will forget about the tv.
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
3 Apr 07
haha I think our children are very much alike! I have to make sure that I am involved in his playtime, reading time and so forth. If I tell him to go off and do it on his own, it will only last 20 minuts at the most, and then he is bored wanting to watch tele again. I also try to get him out of the house at least 4x a week and that would involve a trip to the library or downtown Vienna, walk to the playground, play a ball game outside, painting on the verandah and things like that. It takes his mind off the tele and his playstation game. I also take him along to the gym as they have a play area for kids so that keeps him entertained for 2 hours. There is also a kids area at one of the malls we visit, so I also take him there once a week and let him run around for hours, while I sit there and read a book or listen to my ipod. I do allow him to watch tv but I make sure they are childrens programs and some of them are very educational to watch.
