f/u to No TV in the morning routine

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We're going on over a week of no morning TV!!! I just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions and also to let others know how it went for us if you're looking to cut out / cut back on TV.

We started about ~3 weeks ago and the first week we probably went from 7 mornings of at least 30 min of TV to only 3 (maybe 4, I can't remember) of just 30 min.  The second week we were at 2 mornings of TV and for the last 7 days its been NO TV!  Well we let the kids watch about 20 minutes of DWTS last night but we dance around the living room with them so I see this TV time differently since we're all interacting together for it.

At first Megan was taking a shower in the morning instead of TV and she's still doing that about 50% of the time, the rest of the time she's just playing, reading or eating breakfast.  I was surprised that she wasn't more resistant to the change.  Even the first day there was just a little complaining and crying but once she was in the shower she was good!  And now she still asks every morning but we just say "we're not watching TV today" and now she's rarely even saying "why" which is crazy for Megan, she's well into the "why?" stage!

Thanks again for all the suggestions and encouragement!

joyco

To piggy back off your post, I've found that when I don't even turn the tv on, the boys find something to do and can occupy themselves quite nicely!  I usually would turn the tv on so I can clean up after meals or prepare meals, but sometimes I forget and I'll notice how well the boys are playing together. 

 

Yay you!  That's quite a feat...the first thing the boys say when they walk out of their room in the morning is "T.B.?  Cartoons?"  hahaha!  We usually watch Handy Manny and maybe Dinosaur Train, but that's it.

fjaril

yay!

Duckie07

Wow, that's impressive.  Way to go!

HSartteach

That is very cool!  Way to go!!! 

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joyco:

To piggy back off your post, I've found that when I don't even turn the tv on, the boys find something to do and can occupy themselves quite nicely!  I usually would turn the tv on so I can clean up after meals or prepare meals, but sometimes I forget and I'll notice how well the boys are playing together. 

I know what you mean, it's like so much of my reluctance to try going without TV was built up in my head about how hard it would be! 

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I just wanted to add I don't think I would have been able to cut out daily TV before Ryan dropped his morning nap because I'm not sure how else I would have kept Megan away (and keep her safe) so I could get Ryan down for a nap without TV.  And we still are using TV the 2-3 times a month when DH or I aren't home at the kids bedtime.  I just don't know how I would get Ryan down for bed without Megan interrupting (and thus keeping Ryan up) without the distraction and sucking-her-in-ness of TV. But I'm ok with that for now... one thing at a time :-) 

carlinlp

That's awesome, yay you!!! We cut off cable awhile back and my kids only watch about 30-60 minutes a week now. I love it and they didn't even really miss it or balk at the change. I was surprised. Ok, well ty did but not the little ones. They do gravitate to the tv at the gym though and it drives me nuts. It's a gym, get the kids moving people!