Toddler Brag

My four year old son is great at inventing his own activities. He saw an Arthur video where a bunch of kids managed to make it through a whole week without TV or computers. A few days later he wanted to do it himself.



He got our day care worker to help him make a poster showing all the activities he and his two-year old brother could do instead of watching TV or playing on the computer; it also places to count down the days left until the TV/computer-free week would be over.



My dw and I didn't expect it to last more than a day -- especially considering how stubborn the two-year old is about getting in his turn on the computer. But they both did great, and would actually wake up reminding each other that it was another TV/computer-free day.



They made it to about Day 5 when they found out that the kid's library at our church had a new video they had been waiting for. The four-year old caved first and decided he had to watch it right away. The two-year old went downstairs --- we assumed it was to make a beeline for the computer. No, he played with other toys until he heard the closing credits and then he peeked around the corner to make sure the video was really over. (It's nice to see his stubborn streak has a silver lining.)



I was quite impressed by the way they took the initiative, encouraged each other -- and made it to day 5! Next time we'll suggest they aim for a more realistic target (like 5 days) and we'll pick a time when the church library will be closed.



-- Steve

WOW, Steve.....I'm amazed by this story! It's incredible sometimes how our children can take the lead and give us messages about what is important. We fell into the habit of having the tv on during dinner time (even though we promised ourselves we'd never do that :/ ) and my daughter, who was 5 at the time, commented to us one night that we "always have the tv on at dinner time"....I guess it was her way of saying that she wanted to spend the time talking....we are careful to turn of the tube every evening now.....



So I'm curious about what was on the list of things to do instead of the computer/tv!!!!!!!!???????



I'd love to turn off the tv/computer for a couple of weeks and have some technology-free living...I'm shooting for summer time when the kids can get outside and play...IF summer ever gets here...we are supposed to get snow on Thursday......



You guys should congratulate yourselves on having such a smart little guy....I'm amazed that he came up with the chart and list of things to do!



Kris
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be."
Douglas Adams

That's great! I'd love to throw out our television, personally (but I can't because Jon would kill me).



Jennifer

You may have missed the fact that it was only the kids who had a TV and computer free 5-days. We were careful to wait until after they went to bed.



I can't remember all the things he had on his list of alternatives but the most used ones were puzzles and family games. Although the initiative came form my son, I'm sure our excellent daycare worker helped him round out the list iwth good ideas.



- Steve