Vegetable Shows versus Candy Shows

I don’t know about your kids, but mine are monsters after they get to watch a tv show! They can’t find anything to do, their “listening ears” are nowhere to be found, they’re basically whiny slugs. But the thing is, I use TV very strategically: they watch a show right after breakfast, so I can clean up and pack the car for a summer day trip; they watch a show before dinner, so I can cook in peace with my glass of wine and NPR on the radio; they watch a show when the baby is napping. You get the idea.

By the way – whoever said you shouldn’t use the TV as a babysitter must not have had children! I mean I get it, make sure you’ve watched the shows they’re watching, know that they’re appropriate, etc. But if I’m going to sit and do something with my kids it’s not going to be watch TV! It’s going to be playing or reading a book. I need them to be in front of the TV when I CAN’T entertain them. But I digress…

Over the years I’ve figured out a loop-hole with this entire “post TV monster” thing. If they watch something a bit more educational, and perhaps slightly more boring than your typical Paw Patrol episode, they’re not so terrible when it’s over! And sometimes it can even encourage them to be the opposite of little monsters. For example, a watching of Daniel Tiger’s Be a Vegetable Taster can do wonders for the dinner table experience! (Click Here for my Daniel Tiger Episode Guide)

 And speaking of ‘Vegetables’, this is what I decided to call these shows. ‘Vegetable’ shows are good for you, they are educational, they are typically mommy selected. ‘Candy’ shows are the opposite, they are not good for you, they are purely for entertainment, they create monsters. But they’re candy! So they’re special – and excellent rewards.

Because of the way we use TV, taking it away is not just punishment for them, but punishment for me too! So if we’ve had a particularly poor behavioral day, I can still put them in front of the TV if I really need to – it’s just mommy selected and a ‘Vegetable’ show. If they’ve been especially wonderful (doesn’t happen often… but it does…) they I’ll spontaneously reward them with a ‘Candy’ show, selected by the Kid of the Day.

So perhaps give it a try – see if it catches on with your family. But at the least, think about what you are going to be doing after the show is over. Do you have time for a meltdown? If not, maybe try a ‘Vegetable’ show!