“Kubla, please turn off the TV and come to bed.”
TV induced zombie silence.
“Kubla, I’m going to turn off the TV in 5 seconds.”
Five seconds pass. I turn off the TV. The neighbors are woken by the shrieks of a wounded monster. It takes an hour to calm him down.
My son is addicted to TV.
The next morning. “I want to watch TV!”
“I’m sure you do. That’s exactly what someone addicted to TV would say. But we’re not going to watch for a few days.”
“What!? Why-y?!”
“Because you are a slave to TV. And the TV is disconnected until you are free again.”
“How long will that take?”
“Could be a week. Could be a month. That depends on you.”
Another tantrum. And another one that night.
The next morning. “I want to watch TV!”
“No way.”
He only resists a few minutes this time. We make pancakes together. On the way to school I say, “I had a really nice morning. How about you?”
He knows what I’m getting at, but he manages to admit, “Yeah. It was pretty great.”
That night. “Can I watch TV?”
“Not gonna happen.”
“OK. Whatever. Let’s play.”
The next morning. “Dad, you decide if we watch TV or not. I don’t really care.”
“You don’t care? Oh, well then let’s go another couple days with no screens.”
“Sure. Can we make pancakes again?”
That night I surprise him with his favorite show. We watch it together.
“Kubla, please turn off the TV and come to bed.”
He turns off the TV. He is free.
What are your kids addicted to? How do you deal with it?
In two weeks I’ll give a free Kidorable Umbrella to whoever makes my favorite comment and shares this post on the platform of their choice.
