Parenting Young Children: December 2008

Express oneself

Releasing difficult feelings with playdough

Buy or make a big bucket of playdough. This playdough is going to be used to help express the negative feelings one might have. Take a piece of playdough and make it into a shape that fits the feeling he feel, the squeeze, hit, squish, throw, or step on the playdough. Use sound effects if it feels right.

After a while you may find your child laughing. if children do this once, don't be surprised if they ask you for the playdough again. Its so fun to join in with someone by making shapes and squeezing the playdough , encouraging their expression. This activity shows how sometimes difficult feelings can be transformed into more positive feelings when they are expressed freely...

cc photo credit: Aaron Escobar

Make it a rule that there is no TV watching before homework is done. Unwinding after school should be relaxing, not getting hyperactive in front of the TV.

Gradually replace indoor TV with indoor activities, like games and reading. Continue going to museums, skating rinks, and indoor sports places.

A good rule-of-thumb for TV watching is:

No TV for children under the age of 2. The TV can never be a substitute for learning about the world around them.
One to two hours and no more per day for children aged over two. Also suitable for adults.

Place your TV in the closet. Removing the TV from the center of your living space communicates that it is no longer the center of your lives.

Sell your TV. Want to go over the top? Want kids that love to read? Want kids that pay attention in school? Want to foster creative and self-entertainment? Want to spend more time communicating, playing, etc.? Want to be the person giving the values instead of all the strangers with their strange ideas from television land? Want to set your kids up for a much healthier lifestyle? You can always watch a movie on your computer screen, a movie you selected.
Disconnect the cable. Most cable providers have several television stations geared toward children, and many have television stations that show cartoons all day. Without "children's TV stations," your children may actually look forward to getting up on Saturday Morning to watch cartoons.

Buy or rent the television programs that you want to watch and watch them after the kids go to sleep. Many network programs are also available on demand on the internet within a week of airing on television. By doing this, you can watch television on your own schedule without exposing your children to your shows.
Discuss your TV reduction with your kid's friend's parents. If they know what you want for your kids you can help stop TV watching away from home.

Reduced exposure to commercials will have many benefits for your children: reduced desire and impulses to eat junk food or sweets, reduced desire/impulses to buy the latest toys and other fads.
Do not replace the TV with the computer or video games. If you allow this, you may well be setting the kids up for an alternative addiction. Try to allow everything in moderation and with clear limits.

It is a good idea to monitor what your children are watching. If you don't, you won't know what they are seeing and this can manifest itself in very negative ways if they are witnessing violence, sexually explicit content, or even just too many advertisements. Remember, TV viewing must be quality, no matter what. More importantly, monitoring what they watch keeps you involved in your child's life.