Comments (11)

By Mom Unplugged, September 29, 2007 8:26 pm

According to the study I wrote about in my September 26th post: How Much TV Do American Babies Really Watch, one of the main reasons that kids under age two watch TV is for “babysitting” purposes. People often ask me how I manage to get any cooking, laundry or other household chores done with three kids and no TV or video games.

The answer? I simply neglect my children. That is my secret! I more or less leave them to their own devices. I don’t believe that my job includes being their entertainment committee.

They have toys, games, and books, but mostly they just run around in or out of the house and play imaginary games. I am fortunate that I have two children relatively close in age to entertain each other. This does make occupying them easier. The downside is that, with more than one child, there can occasionally (OK, on some days - often) be discord. Then I am unfortunately interrupted in my work to become a referee (not my job either).

But I also have a 20 month-old and she is more demanding of my time and attention. Sometimes she runs around with the older two, but when they are at school, or engaged in a non baby-friendly game for example, she follows me around wanting attention.

Obviously I can’t let her wander too far off. Her silence is always a bad sign. Some of my best “Mom of the Year” moments have been when I have diverted my attention from her for just a minute or two (more on those particular True Confessions on a day when I feel more like making True Confessions).

Age 1 - 2 years is the most challenging one for entertainment I think. You can’t tell them to just “go play” or send them off to clean their rooms. They are developed enough to want to do something other than sit on a blanket and stare at their hands for example, but they are not yet very interested in toys, at least not for long. The attention span is so short. Plus, they can MOVE and that can mean definite trouble!

Here are some things I do to divert the baby’s attention from me in order to do all the necessary tasks (obviously I am right there next to her for these activities to avoid any other “Mom of the Year” moments):

1) Stand her at the little kitchen island sink with a trickle of water and a few plastic cups (not good if I need her clothes to stay dry however).

2) Give her a tray with measuring cups, plastic bowls, measuring spoons and some dried beans. Of course, watch very closely that none go in the mouth. If your child still puts lots of things in his mouth, maybe try this with larger containers and scoops and use those big Legos that are too big to be swallowed.

3) Let her play in the pots and pans cupboard.

4) Bring out our giant box of dull plastic cookie cutters (which have always been used for play more than for cookies).

5) Give her a box filled with an odd collection of objects that are too large to choke on. She likes to take them out and put them in again. If the box has a top, I make sure that it is easy enough for her to take off and put back on by herself. I have learned the hard way that I will be called upon every fifteen seconds or so to “help” if the lid is not easy enough, and frustration for both of us will quickly ensue.

6) A box of canning rings is entertaining. They can make noise, become bracelets, or simply be placed in and out of the box again and again.

Sometimes these tactics only buy me a few moments of peace, but a minute or two combined with fast working, usually lets me muddle by. If I have a really time-consuming project, then I try to plan it around her nap, or after bed.

What do/did you do to keep your 1 to 2 year-old occupied* when necessary?

*occupied - with your observation, but not your direct participation!

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, September 26, 2007 10:26 am

I haven’t written directly about TV and kids in a while, but this morning I happened to stumble upon this interesting recent study published in the May 2007 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, entitled Television and DVD/Video Viewing in Children Younger Than 2 Years.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age 2 years, watch no TV. But how much TV are children under 24 months really watching? This study attempts to answer that question.

The findings:

- By 3 months of age, about 40% of children regularly watched TV, DVDs or videos.

- By 24 months of age, 90% of children regularly watched TV, DVDs, or videos.

- The median age at which regular media exposure was introduced was 9 months.

- Average viewing time per day for children less than 1 year: 1 hour

- Average viewing time per day for children ages 1 to 2: more than 1.5 hours

- Parents watched with their children more than half the time, but only 32% watched with their child every time.

- Most common reasons for media exposure in children less than 2: education, entertainment, babysitting.

Conclusions:

“Parents should be urged to make educated choices about their children’s media exposure. Parental hopes for the educational potential of television can be supported by encouraging those parents who are already allowing screen time to watch with their children.”

(Study was based on a telephone survey of 1,009 parents of children ages 2 months - 24 months, and was conducted by Frederick J. Zimmerman, PhD; Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH; and Andrew N. Meltzoff, PhD.)

You can read the brief summary here, and the full article (which provides much more detail) here.

Comments (10)

By Mom Unplugged, August 25, 2007 9:01 am

Simple pleasures make children the happiest.

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, August 16, 2007 9:24 am

While we were away, we had TV. We were at my father’s house where, like most people, they watch TV. Not all day, but they do watch sometimes.

I am not so obsessed with unplugging my kids that I forbid them TV when we are in a hotel, or at a home where there is TV. However, I check what they watch and I won’t let them sit and channel surf.

Actually, the nice thing is that Unplugged Kids don’t even know what channels are. Since the only thing we ever see at home (and only occasionally) are videos, when encountering a TV, my kids expect to be able to watch programs on demand and see them again whenever they want.

At my Dad’s house my 5 and 6 year-old got seriously into the Animal Planet. In fact, one evening they were watching something about sharks and my 5 year-old boy was so excited that he kept running in to me in the room next door, spewing out all kinds of interesting facts about Tiger Sharks. It was fun to see his excitement.

But the next day, he wanted to watch the “Tiger Shark Program” again. It was hard to make him understand that he couldn’t because it wasn’t on.

I have noticed more frequent requests for videos since we have come home. Before we left, they hadn’t asked for a video in at least 6 months. We got back last week and they have asked 3 or 4 times already.

I have not yet however had the Big Question: “Mama, why don’t we have TV like everyone else does?” I am sure it will come eventually, and I actually thought it might come after this trip. Not yet though. I’ll keep you updated.

Comments (8)

By Mom Unplugged, July 18, 2007 1:21 pm

WE SURVIVED!!! Southwest Airlines will never be the same again. No, seriously, a four hour flight with an 18 month-old (in my opinion-the absolutely worst age for travel!) is never fun, but it could have been much worse.

Yes, she screeched, shrieked, whined and only slept for half an hour out of the four hour flight…but she didn’t actually cry. I felt like I ought to have offered to buy drinks for my neighbors, or perhaps I should have passed out ear plugs. But actually, I was the one who seemed stressed and bothered the most I think.

Pilot trick: when you have a screechy kind of child that you must take on an airplane, sit as close to the engine as possible since that is the noisiest part of the plane. Screechy child=bad, lots of ambient noise to help drown it out=good.

My two oldest kids were fabulous. I would take them around the world without batting an eyelash. Even while travelling, they remain unplugged. Many people nowadays wonder how it is possible to travel with children without hauling along a stash of electronics to rival NASA. Unplugged children don’t have portable DVD players and Gameboys, but there is plenty out there to keep them occupied, and you don’t even have to worry about fresh batteries! Your fellow travellers may actually want to thank you for unplugging your children on public transportation.

Now is the time of year when many family vacations happen. So, how do you travel and keep your kids entertained, yet unplugged?

My two oldest are now 5 and 6. They each pull their own little rolling suitcase packed with their activities, as well as a favorite stuffed animal or two. Note: I supervise the packing of the suitcase, or better yet, pack it for them when they are not there. This avoids us finding a suitcase full of rocks, scraps of paper, bits of string, and other “toys” that simply could not be left behind. I always try to include a few new “surprises.”

Here are some ideas that have worked for us:

Books:
An obvious choice. Try to pack lightweight, paperback books.

Crafts:
- A French knitter (easy for ages 5-6+ to do on their own - makes yarn “snakes” that can be coiled and sewn into various projects)
- Modeling clay (I squish one stick into a plastic Easter Egg which makes a great travel container)
- Wikki Stix (strings coated with wax, like candle wicks, can be bent into many different shapes)

Art Toys:
- Travel-sized erasable drawing board (Magna Doodle for example)
- Pocket Etch-A-Sketch
- Don’t forget the plain old pad of paper and crayons.

Travel Games:
- Are We There Yet
- Haba Story Telling Tin (children make up stories based on the picture cards they choose-very creative!)
- Also look for travel-sized editions of other favorite board games, there are many out there, you just have to search for them. Beware of games with too many small pieces to lose if you have young (or unreliable) children.

Magnetic Playsets:
- Melissa & Doug Magnetic Farm Hide & Seek
- Smethport Magnetic Playboards (some examples are below, but search for “Smethport” at Amazon toys to see all the possibilities).

Toys:
Choose toys that are small, light, and don’t have a lot of pieces to get lost.
- Lacing block
- Zip-lock bag full of hotwheels cars
- Peace Ring
- Piece of string or yarn (for Cat’s Cradle)

Creative Coloring Books:
I like to find coloring books that are not your typical stay within the lines type of activity.
- The Anti-Coloring Book series is wonderful with suggestions for all kinds of imaginative possibilities.
- The Taro Gomi books are also very original but have a lot of pages so may be too big to pack easily.
- Here are also a few other suggestions for coloring books featuring abstract patterns that can be colored in many, many different ways.

Wipe Clean Board Books:
Tip: Stash away an airline cocktail napkin or two for wiping these off.

Find-It Books:
- Our favorite is the Look-Alikes series of books by Joan Steiner. These feature amazing, realistic photos in which the objects are almost always something else (sidewalks made of crackers or wheels made of buttons, etc.). Kids (and grown-ups too) enjoy looking through these books over and over as there is always something new to notice. It is also a fun activity to say to kids “I see a penny” and have them find it. You will tire of that game before they do!
- Of course there are also the well-known Where’s Waldo and I Spy books, but here are also some additional ones we like that are not so common:

Scholarly Pursuits:
Not fun for all kids, but my oldest loves this stuff!
- Workbooks
- Flash cards
- Brain Quest

Learn Some Games Yourself!:
If you are really desperate, buy a book such as Car Games: 100 Games to Avoid “Are We There Yet?”. This book offers suggestions for over 100 fun games to play in the car, airplane, or even while camping or waiting in line for example (not all games rely on spotting license plates or signs). A fun book. Parents could learn a few of these games in order to provide timely distractions at critical moments!

As for travelling by air with 18 month-olds: my best piece of advice is grit your teeth and remember that you will never see any of those people again!

I wish you all happy unplugged travels!

PS. What works for you when your kids travel? Please let me know in your comments. I am always on the lookout for new ideas!