Last summer I realized my kid spent way too much time in front of the TV. I am one of those people who loves background noise- so even if I wasn’t watching TV- I still liked to have it on. Every time I needed to distract my son, I turned it on. When I wanted to clean, I turned it on. When I wanted to actually watch it, obviously, – I turned the stupid thing on. My son watched a heck of a lot of TV last summer, y’all. So much that if I tried to put a number of hours on it- it would probably be way more than I could count
. Deduct like a million mom points from me.
Since I was trying to have him watch less TV and do more hands on activities that actually stimulated his brain- I started making up activities that I thought he would like. He was barely two at the time- but I think some of the kids who are still at home because they aren’t old enough to go to school will like these too. And best of all- these are no prep, no mess, do it right now activities!
- Make up a song/dance to perform after dinner (this is always fun, and its done in your own home. Judgement free zone!)
- Set up a restaurant/sleepover/school for all your stuffed animals
- Write a letter or a card to someone special (If your kid can’t write yet, like mine couldn’t, we always made a cute craft out of his hand print and sent that instead)
- Pull out your play dough
- Use face paint to paint something small (and therefore less risk of messiness) on your child’s face!
- Put sticky notes on everything that is the color of your choosing
- Take your pet for a walk (or yourself for a walk, if you don’t have a pet!)
- Play with Legos! (or Megablocks if your child is younger)
Despite what you may think when your child is following you around or you’re dragging them holding onto your leg- there are other things your child can do by themselves besides watch TV. Your child needs the motor, listening, and tasking skills that TV won’t give them. So take even 20 minutes today and shut down the TV and pick one of these activities to do instead!
About Brittany:
Brittany was born and raised in Alabama. She is a Wife and Mama of two sweet babies- her son John is two years old and her daughter Annie is ten months old. She has her degree in Home and Family Studies with an emphasis on Child Development from BYU.
