I know after my divorce, the television quickly became my best friend. I found that I was letting the kids watch more and more television so I could get things done without being distracted. After all, when I came home, I had to fix dinner, get clothes ready for the next day, finish work on occasions, pick up the house, pay bills, and so on. Soon, I was plopping my kids down in front of the television set so I could get everything done.
However, I began to find that my kids were asking to watch television instead of playing their games. In fact, they were choosing TV over helping me. Therefore, I was not giving my kids the opportunity to learn things like cleaning their room, picking up toys, or even giving me a hand in the kitchen with dinner. The truth is that being a single parent means losing precious time. The problem is that by allowing the kids to use television, as a babysitter does not provide the right type of emotional, social, or intellect stimulation.
Now, I am not saying that television is always bad. In fact, I believe the right type of viewing is healthy. However, the problem becomes serious when television is used instead of one-on-one interaction with the children. I could actually prepare and cook dinner much faster and easier without the help. However, I was surprised at how much fun the kids had in the kitchen, being so proud that “they” made dinner.
Instead of using the television as a babysitter, try to limit the time your child sits in front of the set. While you do some of your chores, you could have your children drawing, coloring, building, or even cleaning something. Yes, you may hear a few grumbles on that last one but remember, you are teaching your children a life lesson that can be carried on into adulthood.
To cut back on the amount of time your children watches television, keep one set in a room where they would need supervision. For instance, if the television set were downstairs in the family room, let the children know they are now allowed down there without you also being there. While they stay upstairs, they have the opportunity to try other things. Then, you might also consider using television time as a reward. In other words, if the kids get their rooms cleaned and homework done, then they could be rewarded with one hour of television.
I know one of my worst habits was keeping the television on simply for the noise. In fact, I found myself having the TV on during dinner. However, once I turned the television off, we had so much fun just talking. The kids had the chance to tell me about their day, we could plan our weekend activities, talk about school projects, and more. In fact, our dinnertime became the foundation of our home, which is much better than television.
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