A couple of years ago, I made a chart that my oldest son, then three years old, would use to keep track of his television time. He was allowed to watch two, half-hour shows each day and one movie each week. Whenever he watched a show or movie, he would color in a square on his chart that coincided with the current day and type of screen time.
This system worked wonderfully until his younger brother became old enough to also want to choose his own shows. At that point, we tweaked the system so that each child was allowed to choose one show each day that both children watched, and together we would choose one movie each week.
Again, our idea worked for awhile. However, I began to grow concerned about the amount of screen time they were getting since they were following the “TV Time” rules but were now playing video games for short periods each day in addition to the original screen time. I have since developed a new, easy to follow system to keep track of all types of screen time.
I have one, small coffee can for each child. On each coffee can, I had my children attach twenty-one clothes pins. Each clothes pin represents thirty minutes of screen time, and they begin each week with all twenty-one. Each time a child watches a show or chooses to play a video game (with a timer set for thirty minutes), a clothes pin is removed. If he watches a movie, three clothes pins are removed, one for each thirty minute increment. Each child may use up to five clothes pins each day. However, once the pins are gone, they do not receive any more until the next week begins.
The first week we implemented this system, the pins were gone before the last day of the week had arrived. They were forced to endure an entire day with no screen time (which was actually a wonderful day!). This is our second week. We have two days left, and there are still twelve pins on each can!!
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Written by Laura on January 27, 2012
Children also like to watch videos of themselves. They can be home videos of years gone past or videos made of them playing just a few minutes beforehand. There is simply something about seeing themselves recorded on video that captures their attention. Use this interest to help your child evaluate their own expression and fluency.
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Written by Laura on December 15, 2010
Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence to teach your preschooler the joy of reading and writing.
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