Did you ever come across an article like this one, and sigh that it reflects the situation at your home a bit too much? In a time where nuclear families have become the norm, using the television as a babysitter, or just to distract your child while trying to feed her, can have a lot of long-term consequences. It is not an immediate “on and off” process, but with a few strategies and steps, it is definitely possible to reduce TV time:

Find the right program: Instead of letting kids have complete freedom and choosing to watch that long movie right before bedtime, which will make it all the more difficult to drag them away from it, discuss together and decide which programs they are allowed at which times. Once kids see the reasons behind something, and find that they do have a bit of TV time after all, they will be much easier to deal with at that dreaded bedtime.

Set the rules, and keep to them: If you feel like watching a movie on a weekend night is permitted, this should be clear to the kids too. If you capitulate once too many times on a school night, then they would also start taking you for granted. It may mean saying a lot of “No”s, but they will get a much more consistent message this way.

Involve them in your work: Is it when you are in the kitchen, that you feel the need for entertaining them with the television the most? Keep them under your nose, giving them pots and pans to play with, or for older children by giving them some simple chores. They will feel more connected to what you are doing, and they will be learning a lot as well.

Find interesting activities: If keeping them with you is not always an option, introduce a new board game every week or month, or even any other game that they can play in the backyard and work up their appetite. Watching TV once in a while is ok too, but try to interest them in the occasional education program too – kids actually love watching channels like National Geographic!

Hope these simple tips are useful to reduce the TV viewing at your place. One of the interesting options for a useful activity to keep your kid occupied could be our Abacus and English classes at Aloha. Please check our website for more details: http://www.aloha-usa.com