This is a great book with a wide
variety of ideas of things your children can do instead of watching T.V.
A note from Carrie: I
have noticed that most children tend to
demonstrate negative behaviors after watching too much TV. Just
think of it, the child is generally sitting still (not getting
vestibular input) and not getting feedback from muscles moving
(proprioceptive input). The brain also perceives the
flickering of the screen, goes into overload and "shuts down" or quiets
most other systems is the body. This leaves people fatigued and with
less energy than when they started.
The real test is when the television is turned off. Is your child
still compliant and cooperative or is he or she lethargic, grouchy and
unwilling to comply with your requests? If the later is the case,
consider decreasing the length of time your child sits in front of the
TV. For children that struggle with regulation, I recommend only
half an hour, up to 45 minutes at the most, during one sitting.
Consider doing an old-fashioned intermission during full length movies.
Use the time to move around, get a drink, or talk about the
film so far. I've had parents who were amazed at the improvement
in their child's behavior once TV watching was cut back to a reasonable
amount.