So we had ourselves a little experiment this week, but before you continue reading you have to promise you won’t judge me for what I am about to tell you. Capice?
We didn’t plan it or anything, it just kind of happened and we are, to say the least, completely blown away.
Here’s what happened:
The rule in our house is no TV or computers before 17h00. Until then it is proper play-time and bath-time and we relish using this as a tool to get children into the bath.
Etienne gets home way before I do, so by the time I arrive my absolutely fantastic husband is cooking supper and the kids are firmly ensconced either in front of the TV or playing something on the computer. This means that when I come waltzing in to say hello I get a grunt in my general direction if I’m lucky. Etienne is the only one that will greet me with a proper hello and a smooch.
This irritates me no end. (the lack of greeting, not the smooch. I love smooching, but that’s another post)
It however does not irritate me as much as the wailing whining crying stomping of feet tantrums do Every Single Night when we gather at the dinner table, promptly at 6h30pm, especially Daniel. It got to the point where we threatened to summarily send them on a time-out if we heard a single peep of protest. Along with the usual speech of how Daddy slaved very hard to make a lovely supper (I know, he’s SUCH a keeper!) and the hungry children in Ethiopia story and threats of no snack after supper and so on and so forth.
Painful doesn’t even begin to describe some nights, I can only imagine what it does to our digestive systems.
What really made me think was this link my awesome friend Caz sent me and that there must be some correlation between that completely irrational, completely over-the-top-emotional behavior and the sensory input overload of electronic appliances. That and the fact that I hatehatehate drama. There is also a book available on the topic.
So we decided to try something, and by WE I mean ME, I ambushed Etienne and bullied him until he agreed. Well, mostly anyway.
I suggested we cancel computer and TV for a week.
I know, how cruel am I? After some negotiation we settled on no computer games and 1 hour of TV a day for this week.
Monday night I came home to 3 children running around the house laughing and screaming like maniacs.
Tuesday night I came home to 3 children chasing each other around and around laughing and screaming like maniacs.
Wednesday night I came home to 3 children crawling around on the kitchen floor, chasing each other and screaming and laughing like maniacs.
Last night I came home to 3 children doing laps up and down the passage and around the lounge and, you guessed it, screaming and laughing like maniacs.
The only common denominator was Etienne’s face every night I walked in the door: an odd mix of terror and exasperation. (as a side note, he was waiting for me in the garage last night, he has twigged on to the fact that I tweet in the garage for 5 4 3 2 1 a minute before venturing into the house)
Supper time? A breeze. There was still a little whining, but not on the scale it used to be and they actually sat at the table for the duration of the event and didn’t run off at the first available opportunity to sit in front of a TV that is off anyway. AND they actually ate their damn food.
We need to decide where to from here, but it is almost summer and there is absolutely no reason for them to spend so much time in front of computers and the TV, but we need to be strong. And by WE I mean ETIENNE as he spends more time with them in the evenings than I do. (Love you babes!)
What are your house rules about TV and Computers/Tablets if any?