Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Obsessed with TV

My 3 year old has 2 obsessions... TV shows, specifically. These shows have become our bribe... er, reward... er, goal for a good bedtime routine/going to sleep and for having a good day at Lisa's house (daycare). Sid the Science Kid Let's start with Sid. This is a really cool show!! PBS has swung us away from the cable shows and back to public television. It's a Henson production and the quality is excellent. It was even touted as being the Seinfeld of kids' TV. The music is fun, the kids are cute, the ideas are solid, the family isn't all white-bread. I must confess that my baby boy, my little not-quite-one-year-old, also adores Sid. He doesn't sit and watch it. But he definitely pauses his playtime when Gerald, one of Sid's friends, pops on the screen. Zach dances to the theme music and to the playground music. I'll have to see if I can get video of it. Lots of cool ideas for activities on this show, too. I am making plans to freeze fruit in a block of ice for snack one day (that's reversible change, just so you know). Imagination Movers And Teagan also frequently asks to watch "Movers." It's a fun show that has more of a message than I had thought. I like the focus on teamwork and coming up with ideas and brainstorming. And the music isn't sappy and silly- it's fun and singable. The Imagination Movers are a band from New Orleans and have been around for several years prior to getting linked up with Disney (you may have heard them on XM Kids Radio or Sirius Kids Stuff). And they're kinda cute in a nerdy-ish sort of way. Care to join in our obsessions? We could beat anyone in a round of identifying reversible vs irreversible change! Or a Use Your Senses challenge? Or maybe come up with an idea on how to get the Robo-Bee back down? Anyone? And because you are here, reading my thoughts, I'm gonna tell you what I think about TV and kids (well, not all kids- my kids). We can tell when Teagan has been watching too much and it is out of control. The beauty of our TV as the goal system is that it also limits how much she watches while she feels like she's achieved her goal. We succeeded on our final potty training goal because of her desire to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Stay dry all day at Lisa's house, come home and watch Mickey Mouse!" And it worked and had minimal meltdowns. It isn't working quite as famously for daytime behavior. But there may be a specific reason behind that and there could be changes coming next week that will fix that other issue. We'll see. So we have a short list of shows we like and we have 2 shows that are obsessions that she will do anything for. We found her currency and intend to use it for all its worth!

2 comments:

Kristi said...

My younger one, 5, could care less (most of the time) if TV is taken away. She will watch it if her sister is, but she mostly chooses to play over tv if given the choice. The exception is when she is really tired or doesn't feel well, and in the car on trips (when she can't play so easily). My older one LOVES tv and it has been an effective discipline tool since she was in the potty training years (she's 7 now). The also both love Sid and Imagination Movers and I've noticed them wanting to do more "experiments" since they started watching Sid. Now if PBS would only get Betsey's Kindergarten Adventures. . .

Lynn Freeman said...

Liz,

You will find that these limitations and how you use the TV as a "reward" system will be something you use all your life with the kids. To this day, we do the same thing with Hayden where it involves TV, video games an computer usage. Sometimes it involves punishment (or accountabilities for his actions as we call it) in the form of banishing one or all activities from his daily life, but most times we're allowing it more and more but still with structure. As long as the good grades are coming in, the chores are done and the dogs are fed and watered, he's allowed TV and computer during the week. We set maximum times for each to dissuade the fixation and "zoning out" that most teenagers are prone too. Too much of something is not a good thing. Video games are weekend activities only because they've become a problem. Don't ever doubt those limitations you set and how and what you choose for a reward system. You will need to live with what you decide for many years to come.