TV addict
I was on the phone with Gillian and a mournful-sounding Fishball. And the background track to this was: Trinity screaming her head off. Long story. But the gist of it was something along the lines of Trin throwing a tantrum because we ran out of 'bubble soap'. Owain sounded mournful and sorry because he did something which he knew I would not approve of and in the process of the kick-up, woke up a sleeping Trin, who then went ballistic due to lack of sleep. To appease the screaming baby and the depressed-sounding Fishball, I okayed some TV time.
Peace and quiet.
After about 45minutes of this, I called them back to say: okay, now that everyone is happier, turn off the tv. Too much tv is bad blah blah blah... the kids know my drill.
Barely 5 minutes after I hung up, the phone rang. It was Gillian. And in the background? Trin screaming away. She was about to dance to the music on the telly when Gillian pulled the plug.
I listened to the screams for about a minute. They were loud - an understatement. Take her outside for a walk, I suggested. She's already outside, said Gillian. It was true, the screams were fading, but still there, suggesting that she was still screaming her head off despite Lolita carrying her out for a walk. Read a book to her, I say. Mum, she won't even sit still for us to read to her, counters Gillian. She's right. When Trin is in one of her tantrums, all hell really does break loose at home. Her banshee wails rival the decibel levels of a jet taking off.
So I succumbed. Never use tv as a baby-sitter. Children need more exciting, hands-on activities and not more tv to engage them. I totally agree. But in the face of those screams, and me being miles away in my safe, quiet office environment, I give in. Okay, I tell Gillian, turn the tv back on.
Mental note to self: meaningful activities tomorrow when I'm home! And NO tv!
3 comments:
i sooo identify. my little banshee was wailing over his tv too this morning. gist of my story: ds woke up while i was showering n started whining/crying for milk. dh in attempt to calm him turned on the tv (all this at abt 830am!). lo and behold, his favourite croc hunter, steve irwin (ds really likes the fella) is on and when i come out of the shower he is changed into his uniform n raptly watching steve tangling with komodo dragons and munching on his morning cereal. so we got ready to leave round him n left him to his beloved steve and the dragons. time comes to leave the house, and after a couple of "1 more minute", dh switches off the tv and it's wail, wail, wail all the way to the car. he only calms down when dh stuffs him with haw flakes after he's buckled up. after dropping them off i hissed to dh, no more tv in the morning! he shrugs his shoulders and says, but he was crying for you, he wanted milk! i cldn't keep him quiet or get him changed otherwise! sigh!!
Well, as you know, I don't have a TV at home but the boys (yes, only the male offsprings) can get rather caught up in their computer games. What I did was buy a cute kitchen timer (kettle shape) from Cold Storage and set the timer for them (with their agreement) before they start their games. When the timer buzzes they will (reluctantly) quit their games. I hardly get any arguments from them for more times, etc. Amazing what a little $5 timer can do to improve MY life ;-)
I thought they argue with the timer?
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