Charlotte’s obsession with television reached a level that demanded action. I ripped the TV from the outlet, hauled it to the curb and left it for the trash pickup!
I also took a sledge hammer to it, lit it on fire and ran over it with my car for good measure.
… In my mind.
I wouldn’t really do any of those things. I don’t know that I’m strong enough to carry it to the curb, and HOS would be livid if I destroyed his TV!
I did take action, though! Of course, it was a little more rational than the imagined mental breakdown.
Rather than trying to combat the TV with toys – and failing – I decided it was time for a different strategy.
Last weekend, we went to the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library where Charli and HOS player while I picked out a number of books. Each book was about a different topic, one for each day of the week.
I teach on Monday night so I wasn’t home for activities, but we kicked TV’s butt the rest of the week!
Tuesday – We went shopping for a little while. HOS and Charlotte read Bronterina and danced around the living room before bed.
Wednesday – We read Mr. King’s Castle (no less than five times!) and we built “castles” using Charli’s imagination magnets.
Thursday – We read The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse and Thump, Thump, Rat-A-Tat-Tat. We painted a blue horse, green dog, a pink sheep and a brown monkey before bath time.
Friday – HOS and I went out with friends. My niece watched Charli. They played outside, read all kinds of books and played on the LeapFrog tablet. I was very impressed when I checked in via our security camera and saw a blank TV!
Charlotte isn’t feeling well today. She has a lot of congestion and a rough cough. Despite attempts to get her away from the TV, we spent most of the day cuddling and watching shows. I know a battle worth fighting. We already had enough meltdowns without forcing her to turn off the TV.
All together, I’m extremely happy with how well the books paired with activities worked. Charli’s behavior was improved, and by Friday, she was hardly asking to watch a show.
That’s mommy 1 and TV … Well, the important thing is we are on the right track!
How do you keep your children entertained without TV?
This Side of the Rainbow 
Wow, Angie, I am really impressed at your effort to curb the tv watching. Obviously it takes some thinking, planning, and a group effort. Kudos to you, Shane, and Sam! I agree that it is important enough to warrant all your efforts, and I’m sure it only gets harder as kids get older. Right now, I hear David and Kindra’s efforts to keep their two off whatever electronic devices they have, a never-ending battle. Rules are hard to enforce, and it seems like your approach makes better sense.
But you had me going there for a second when you said you threw out the tv! Ironically, that sort of happened to us when David was little, probably around 4 or 5. The tv went on the blink, so we just unplugged it for almost a year. Surprising how little we missed it, and I felt very good (and smug) about the situation. I can’t remember why we got the dumb thing fixed–probably because the adults wanted to watch it.
I do remember the standing rule during the summers: when we heard Bob Barker shout “Come on down!” each morning, the tv went off until late afternoon. No doubt we could have done more, but I’m glad we made the effort that we did. Hang in there–sounds like what you did was very successful! That little granddaughter is one lucky girl!