television detox

About once a year I put Will through a week-long television detox program.  Cold turkey.  No tv.  One week.

The first day is hell.  Constant “can I watch a show?  please mommy, PLEASE?!” followed by tears.  But that just strengthens my resolve.  Clearly detox is needed.

Day two is better.  Yesterday he didn’t cry about television until 8:30, which only served to remind us that it was bedtime.

Day three is when things start to turn around.  When he’ll wander off to play by himself without me having to come up with an activity and stick around for the first half of it.  He woke up this morning and didn’t ask “can we go downstairs?” because there was no reason to go downstairs…what with the television ban and all.  He’s playing independently without constantly bugging me…and there’s no television involved.  (except that he does happen to be singing the mickey mouse clubhouse theme to himself at this moment, but that doesn’t count.)  😛

I wish there was some way to do television easily in moderation.  But when he’s watching it, he’s obsessed with it.  He can’t think of anything else he could possibly do that would be as much fun.  It has to be off entirely and out of his system for him to remember that he can entertain himself well for hours without it.