Holy Cow! We've made 4 full days of no TV. Never thought we (I) could do it. I promised an update, but I only have about 30 minutes before picking up Noah...so here goes my speed-blog.
PreDinner Exploration
Typically when I pick up Noah after 'after school', we go home, battle for a minute or two outside the car (Noah wants to play out front, I need to make dinner) and then go in the house. The pattern is for me to turn on the TV to keep Noah entertained while I make dinner. And even with SpongeBob, making dinner is a challenge because Noah is constantly calling out "Mommy!"
This week, the new pattern was for Noah to help me check out the refrigerator and freezer to see what we could make. I tried to have an idea ahead of time, so I could simply give him directions.
What I knew was that he loves to do things himself. What I didn't know was how good he was at following directions and being helpful. With the exception of a few ("I don't want to's"), Noah was enthusiastic about putting frozen chicken nuggets on the tray, adding noodles to the water, and pushing the buttons on the oven. Sometimes he insisted on cutting the vegetables himself....and, you know, with me by his side, he did a great job of using a sharp knife to cut tomatoes and carrots.
In exploring Noah's culinary abilities, I am also exploring how I limit his power by taking care of things for him.
PreBedtime Exploration
Now, what to do between dinner and bedtime???
As with Day One, we worked together to get the table cleaned off so that we could work on Noah's 'at home' school work. The week was full of the Reuse/Recycle project: find objects in the bedroom, kitchen, and draw them. The task was a little more challenging than I had hoped, but I was grateful that there was no whining when it came to drawing the objects. Sometimes Noah gets frustrated because he can't draw something 'good enough'. Yes, I do believe he gets that from me....Ms. drop-a-class-in-college-because-I-couldn't-get-an-"A".
I LOVED watching this little being study the objects he was drawing and carefully put crayon to paper to replicate what he saw. I was only frightened on two occasions when both the toilet paper roll and the water bottle took on the very-likeness of a penis. The next day I felt obligated to warn the teachers about the phallic drawings in Noah's folder.
So far, so good. Four school nights down without a fuss. (And even Mommy didn't fuss about missing Grey's Anatomy last night.)
Weekend Outlook
One Friday night and a weekend to go.
I am praying for sunshine to keep us busy outside. We've never gone a full weekend without TV!
So far, this has definitely been an exploration in my own Mothering. Here's to making it the rest of the way!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Exploring No TV????
This week is "No Screen Week". I can't tell you who declared it to be No Screen Week, but it is. I read it in a Parenting Magazine. That confirms it. I suppose that is all the proof (or motivation) I needed :-). Call me crazy. Call me an overachiever. I decided to Go For It!
As a Single Mom, I confess to using the TV as an after school baby sitter, a post-bath entertainer, and a weekend friend. How else could I prepare dinner or find any personal reading time??? Having SpongeBob SquarePants singing his jellyfish songs to keep my energetic 5-year old entertained has been a refuge.
Last week, when I read about No Screen Week, I got a twinge of excitement. Perhaps it was the challenge of it all. Maybe it was the daredevil-likeness. Could be pure Craziness.
Possibly the excitement was the premonition of A New Beginning. Kind of like when you are about to do a massive body cleanse - you know it will be the challenge of a lifetime, but instinctively you can feel that it will jump-start you into a whole new You.
New Beginning
What kind of new beginning am I looking for? As a single-working-entrepreneurial-iPhone addicted-personal growth junkie-mom, I have rarely found/made time to BE WITH my child...for long periods of time. Simple things such as playing games, doing PreK "after school activities" (a.k.a. Homework), regularly reading bedtime books....all seemed to be just out of my reach. GUILT, written all over my inner self-consciousness. Call it circumstantial or selfishness, I am aware of the many things I have not been able to do with my son.
Survival (clean, safe, well-nourished)...Yes. Thriving (art projects, day trips, organized baseball) ...No. Not to the extent that I would ideally choose with my one and only child. High expectations or realistic expectations, I don't quite know. But I won't know if I don't give it a try!
So, this is an opportunity to turn off the tube, force myself to come up with alternatives to TV/Nintendo DS, and open up to new possibilities for one-on-one time connecting with my son.
Pre-No-Screen-Week
FIRST, I had to "sell" my son on the idea. I was determined not to have this be an anarchy, so I needed to sell him on the benefits...to him. I know that he loves time with his mommy, so the more I could present my case for: no TV = more time with Mommy, the better.
"Guess what next week is??", I enthusiastically asked in the car on the way home from PreK last week.
"What!", Noah wondered.
"It's No Screen week... do you know what that means?", I continued, gaining involvement.
"No!", he declared.
"It's a week where we spend time together playing games, reading, coloring, and doing fun stuff together...instead of watching TV. We get to have a whole week of no TV, no Nintendo, and no iPhone games. Isn't that cool!" I tried my best to be as excited and enthusiastic as possible. Knowing that this would be as hard for Mom as it was for Child, I was actually selling myself in the process!
Ultimate Agreement
Although Noah's initial reaction wasn't as Positive and Enthusiastic as I had hoped ("That's not a good idea, Mommy," is how he replied)....he eventually bought into the idea as I talked about how challenging it would be. "I don't know if we can do it?", I lamented out loud. "Yes we can Mommy!" was the exact response I was hoping for!
Day #1
Today is Tuesday. I am about to pick up Noah from PreK. That means that we have had one evening's opportunity to simply ignore the Television. And, I am proud to say, we were successful!
My strategy: Noah helps with dinner and/or plays on the back patio. Both options lead to more work ultimately (messiness in the kitchen/potential dirt from playing in dirt), but at least no TV is involved. Noah decides to help make dinner. And what a trooper he is. We explore the freezer and fridge. We decide what meal to prepare. We microwave nearly everything!
The Result: We eat dinner at the dining room table; Noah eats more greens than usual (my guess is because he made his own salad); and Noah cleans up the kitchen floor while I do dishes. Success!
Next up: 1.) A favorite project from my childhood: silly food mixtures. Noah had a blast mixing and tasting a concoction of soda, water, milk, ketchup, chocolate syrup, and vanilla creamer. 2.) "After school activity", as it is called. (I have never ever heard of having Homework in PreK, but who am I to judge the evolution of education.) Find 3 things in the living room that can be recycled or reused and draw a picture of them. After 20 minutes, homework complete. Time for bath, books, and bed.
Speaking of bath, books, and bed, if I don't head to pick up Noah at PreK Afterschool, I'll be paying a pretty penny to the Sunshine House for being late.
Here ends Day Number One of No Screen Week. I'll keep you posted :-) on how days Two through Seven go!
Confessions and Craziness
As a Single Mom, I confess to using the TV as an after school baby sitter, a post-bath entertainer, and a weekend friend. How else could I prepare dinner or find any personal reading time??? Having SpongeBob SquarePants singing his jellyfish songs to keep my energetic 5-year old entertained has been a refuge.
Last week, when I read about No Screen Week, I got a twinge of excitement. Perhaps it was the challenge of it all. Maybe it was the daredevil-likeness. Could be pure Craziness.
Possibly the excitement was the premonition of A New Beginning. Kind of like when you are about to do a massive body cleanse - you know it will be the challenge of a lifetime, but instinctively you can feel that it will jump-start you into a whole new You.
New Beginning
What kind of new beginning am I looking for? As a single-working-entrepreneurial-iPhone addicted-personal growth junkie-mom, I have rarely found/made time to BE WITH my child...for long periods of time. Simple things such as playing games, doing PreK "after school activities" (a.k.a. Homework), regularly reading bedtime books....all seemed to be just out of my reach. GUILT, written all over my inner self-consciousness. Call it circumstantial or selfishness, I am aware of the many things I have not been able to do with my son.
Survival (clean, safe, well-nourished)...Yes. Thriving (art projects, day trips, organized baseball) ...No. Not to the extent that I would ideally choose with my one and only child. High expectations or realistic expectations, I don't quite know. But I won't know if I don't give it a try!
So, this is an opportunity to turn off the tube, force myself to come up with alternatives to TV/Nintendo DS, and open up to new possibilities for one-on-one time connecting with my son.
Pre-No-Screen-Week
FIRST, I had to "sell" my son on the idea. I was determined not to have this be an anarchy, so I needed to sell him on the benefits...to him. I know that he loves time with his mommy, so the more I could present my case for: no TV = more time with Mommy, the better.
"Guess what next week is??", I enthusiastically asked in the car on the way home from PreK last week.
"What!", Noah wondered.
"It's No Screen week... do you know what that means?", I continued, gaining involvement.
"No!", he declared.
"It's a week where we spend time together playing games, reading, coloring, and doing fun stuff together...instead of watching TV. We get to have a whole week of no TV, no Nintendo, and no iPhone games. Isn't that cool!" I tried my best to be as excited and enthusiastic as possible. Knowing that this would be as hard for Mom as it was for Child, I was actually selling myself in the process!
Ultimate Agreement
Although Noah's initial reaction wasn't as Positive and Enthusiastic as I had hoped ("That's not a good idea, Mommy," is how he replied)....he eventually bought into the idea as I talked about how challenging it would be. "I don't know if we can do it?", I lamented out loud. "Yes we can Mommy!" was the exact response I was hoping for!
Day #1
Today is Tuesday. I am about to pick up Noah from PreK. That means that we have had one evening's opportunity to simply ignore the Television. And, I am proud to say, we were successful!
My strategy: Noah helps with dinner and/or plays on the back patio. Both options lead to more work ultimately (messiness in the kitchen/potential dirt from playing in dirt), but at least no TV is involved. Noah decides to help make dinner. And what a trooper he is. We explore the freezer and fridge. We decide what meal to prepare. We microwave nearly everything!
The Result: We eat dinner at the dining room table; Noah eats more greens than usual (my guess is because he made his own salad); and Noah cleans up the kitchen floor while I do dishes. Success!
Next up: 1.) A favorite project from my childhood: silly food mixtures. Noah had a blast mixing and tasting a concoction of soda, water, milk, ketchup, chocolate syrup, and vanilla creamer. 2.) "After school activity", as it is called. (I have never ever heard of having Homework in PreK, but who am I to judge the evolution of education.) Find 3 things in the living room that can be recycled or reused and draw a picture of them. After 20 minutes, homework complete. Time for bath, books, and bed.
Speaking of bath, books, and bed, if I don't head to pick up Noah at PreK Afterschool, I'll be paying a pretty penny to the Sunshine House for being late.
Here ends Day Number One of No Screen Week. I'll keep you posted :-) on how days Two through Seven go!
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