Dennis Prager, and the Bible, and you are speaking up. For starters, let us loudly tell ourselves to pay attention. On page 120 of Prager's The Rational Bible: Deuteronomy, we will find these words: "Parents as Teachers of Moral Character" and "...In order to properly fulfill their role... parents must speak about moral values--specifically Torah-based morality--as often as possible: at home, away from home, when lying down at night, and when getting up in the morning... The parent as a moral model is indispensable but rarely sufficient..." What a huge and high job!
When our oldest (now 4) was about 1.5 years, we noticed that he would have inconsolable tantrums for about an hour and a half after just *25* minutes of tv. My husband ended up simply taking it off the wall. Out of sight out of mind, and it WORKED. Not only did our son stop watching tv, but we watched it way less frequently (the tv moved to our half-finished basement, so it was not a convenient option anymore).
We have noticed that when tv is around, our kids will ask for it. When it's not, they don't feel like they're missing out on anything. And my 4 year old has an attention span that many high schoolers and young adults don't. As I type this he is sitting next to me reading his children's Bible (and this is my second dose of screentime for the day, the first was for a recipe--a big improvement for myself haha).
We have definitely overdosed on our screentime, and we still make mistakes. But it is SO worth putting in the hard work of avoiding screens for easy/mindless entertainment. Our nervous systems are much better regulated, and we remember things way better (among many other benefits).
For parents of littles, I highly recommend reading Balanced and Barefoot by Angela J. Hanscom.
I weep for that generation of children. They will have no social skills, behavior issues, inability to focus and will then be diagnosed with ADHD and medicated because they have trained their brains to the constant dopamine hits of the screen.
Dear Vance,
Dennis Prager, and the Bible, and you are speaking up. For starters, let us loudly tell ourselves to pay attention. On page 120 of Prager's The Rational Bible: Deuteronomy, we will find these words: "Parents as Teachers of Moral Character" and "...In order to properly fulfill their role... parents must speak about moral values--specifically Torah-based morality--as often as possible: at home, away from home, when lying down at night, and when getting up in the morning... The parent as a moral model is indispensable but rarely sufficient..." What a huge and high job!
Great insight, Lindy. Could not agree more - a very important job for parents!
Let's just call it what it is, BAD PARENTING
When our oldest (now 4) was about 1.5 years, we noticed that he would have inconsolable tantrums for about an hour and a half after just *25* minutes of tv. My husband ended up simply taking it off the wall. Out of sight out of mind, and it WORKED. Not only did our son stop watching tv, but we watched it way less frequently (the tv moved to our half-finished basement, so it was not a convenient option anymore).
We have noticed that when tv is around, our kids will ask for it. When it's not, they don't feel like they're missing out on anything. And my 4 year old has an attention span that many high schoolers and young adults don't. As I type this he is sitting next to me reading his children's Bible (and this is my second dose of screentime for the day, the first was for a recipe--a big improvement for myself haha).
We have definitely overdosed on our screentime, and we still make mistakes. But it is SO worth putting in the hard work of avoiding screens for easy/mindless entertainment. Our nervous systems are much better regulated, and we remember things way better (among many other benefits).
For parents of littles, I highly recommend reading Balanced and Barefoot by Angela J. Hanscom.
I weep for that generation of children. They will have no social skills, behavior issues, inability to focus and will then be diagnosed with ADHD and medicated because they have trained their brains to the constant dopamine hits of the screen.