Too much TV?

My son was like this, but I’ve started putting music on on the tv now instead of a film or one of the shows he likes. He also loves his Tonie to listen to music or books on

If he loves books could you do library so he can choose new books? We go every 3 weeks

Unfortunately this is a learnt habit that is no fault of the child’s. Great he loves books - get him a new chair and make a reading corner where he can have a snack and you can read together. Get outside in the garden - perfect now the better weather is coming. Think about removing the tv from your living room or getting a cabinet so it’s hidden

@Rhiannon Yes we've done the same, he loves a boogie! And yes Tonie is always kn in the background somewhere in the house 😂

@Francesca I didn't say it was my 2 year old sons fault, but thank you

We got into bad habits after a bout of illness. When she was ill, we watched a lot more TV than I was comfortable with. She then started asking for it. We went cold turkey and for the last 14 days she has had zero screen time. I’ve found her to be a lot more calmer now. It’s super tricky to keep them entertained all day though 😂

@Emma Yes I think this is it! One period of allowing it has really messed it up! Yeah I've been trying to keep him upstairs in his room away from the living room so he doesn't ask but he just shouts for Bing 😫🙃 Has she stopped asking now? X

If he can no longer play in your living room could you move your TV to a cabinet in your room instead and only watch it when he's asleep? It sounds extreme but in a year or two he'll hopefully be more chilled about it then you can move it again. Sometimes changing their environment is much easier and more effective than anything else. In terms of play, can you get him involved in stuff you do in the kitchen like cooking and washing up, if you're not already doing that? These times are often when the TV is useful so being able to get him involved doing things with you instead could be good!

I know my daughter watches way too much tv and I have daily guilt over it. It’s such a hard habit to break especially when you just need to get a few things done in peace. She’s also going through a stage where independent play is a big no so if I want her to be doing something other than watching tv, I have to be actively involved too which can be difficult. Luckily my daughter really LOVES to clean so I can distract her with this 😅 recently we’ve been cleaning the radiators and skirting boards and listening to music together, it’s useful and passes time 🤣Washing up is a big one too, if I can get the majority done whilst she’s napping then she could happily stand on her chair and clean a cup for 30mins, everything gets a bit wet but 🤷‍♀️🙈 But if all else fails, I take the batteries out and say “oh no the tv is broken, we have to wait for daddy to get home to fix it!” or “ms.Rachel is having her sleep/lunch/whatever, she’ll be back soon!”

Sorry I rambled and ran out of space 🫠 try not to beat yourself up over it, everyone always says every stage passes so hopefully the tv obsession stage passes too? If I do have the tv on I try and make sure it’s something educational or at least nice life lessons in it, peppa got a hard ban recently because the tantrums were wild whenever it went off 😅 good luck x