Wondering How To Stop Your Toddler From Watching Too Much TV?

1. Don’t Let it Become a Morning Habit.

If your toddler watches TV first thing in the morning, you should address it. Morning activities set the tone for the rest of the day. How you start your morning will always impact how your day goes.

But if it’s already become a habit, you must try breaking it. For example, your toddler might watch TV while having breakfast. Without it, they might not want to eat at all. 

This can be a difficult situation to deal with. It might make them angry and frustrated if you try to force them, negatively impacting their mood and emotional growth. 

So how can you deal with this? Here are a few things you can do-

• Let Them Know the Night Before: Don’t start scolding them in the morning. Tell them the night before that their routine needs to be minor changes. 

Communicate your reasons to them. If they understand, that’s half the problem solved. If they don’t, you have some more tricks up your sleeve. But having them prepared for what’s to come is essential!

• Keep Them Occupied With Something Else: You can always replace a bad habit with a good one. For example, you can take your toddler to the park or rooftop every morning. You can buy a tricycle to teach them how to bike. 

These kinds of new physical activities always excite a little child. They might be a bit reluctant at first. So you will have to convince them affectionately. After a few days, they will want to do it!

• Cook Food They Will Gobble Up: You are worried your toddler won’t eat breakfast without watching TV. In that case, make the kind of food they won’t be able to resist. Your toddler must have some favorites already.

If those favorites aren’t healthy, do some experimentation with the ingredients of the foods. Having them try out new foods will get them more excited, and they will become more interested in focusing on the food rather than something else.

2. Give Them Something to Play With

Playing with toys, especially educational toys, is much better than watching TV. If they have a favorite toy that can hold their attention for a long time, tell them to play with it when they usually watch TV. 

Or you can buy a book with many fun little games to keep your toddler occupied. Play with them as much as you can. It’s easy to distract a toddler.

They might be reluctant at first to do anything but watch TV. Raise their curiosity by giving tiny trailers about what activity they will do. Make them interested. Show them how there are way more fun things to do out there!

3. Set a Timer

If nothing can convince your child not to watch TV, the most you can do is limit the time they watch it. They have a favorite show that plays at a specific time. So let them watch it. Give them the condition to turn it on after the episode ends.

Or it could be that your child watches YouTube on the TV. On YouTube, the autoplay option keeps playing videos one after the other. Turn that off. Tell your toddler they can watch only for half an hour or two videos. 

But what if they don’t follow the time limit? Tempt them with another fun activity that they enjoy.

4. Tell Them Someone Else Wants Them to Turn Off the TV

This is a trick that will work only with toddlers! Your toddler must have a role model. A superhero they like, or an uncle who they admire. Maybe even a toy plushie named Tony that they clutch to bed.

If you tell them their favorite person would want them to do this, the effect might be different. If your child dreams of being a superhero, you can say, “Superheroes, don’t waste time watching TV!” They’re more likely to listen and obey this way immediately.

5. Never Disregard Their Feelings

This is the most crucial point of this article. Your child may throw tantrums, and they may cry and be sad that you’re not letting them do what they love so much. What should you do in such a case?

Sympathize with them. Tell them you understand that they are sad. Don’t make them feel like they’re not allowed to feel angry or disheartened. 

That is one of the worst mistakes any parent can ever make. So instead, tell your child why it’s essential for them to do this. Respect your child’s feelings from a young age, and they will also learn to respect yours.