My Very Own Little Guinea Pigs

I've been trying an experiment with my kids the past month...it's called the "No Screen Time Till the Weekend" experiment. Scary, right? I wanted to see if it would up their attention spans and creativity, and lessen their aggression and whining...tall order!

I got the idea from a book I read recently by John Rosemond called The New Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children. I give this book 8.5 stars out of 10. I've never read this author before, but he was quoted in Merilee Boyack's book, The Parenting Breakthrough...which is one of my faves. I've never liked that my kids watch TV. (And when I say TV, I just mean DVDs, because we never bought a new TV for the digital switch in 2009...we are behind the times, but I like it.) Anyways, on to the EXPERIMENT:

CASE STUDY #1: The Chan-an-du-lator (commonly referred to as Chandler, the 7 yr old.)

Early riser, easily distracted, loves to quote facts, short fuse, strong reader, short attention span, high ambition, needs people all the time. Wonderful and cute boy, but you can imagine how that combination could complicate life! I allowed TV usually at these times: during his early wake-up time, while I showered, when I made dinner, and any other time he was bored and couldn't stop making trouble! It added up to way more than I wanted, and the other two kids were usually watching right along with him. I really saw no way around it--it was either TV or tears.

Well...the book said that a lack of TV would solve what I was using the TV for in the first place. So what could I lose?

GAME PLAN:

First on the list was to get the boys library cards, and stock them up. Check.

Next I sorted toys: creative ones they can use in more than one way (Legos, Tinkertoys, matchbox cars, etc) were put in the TV room, and everything else went upstairs. Check.

Then I broke the news...which went over a lot better than I expected! I told them I decided TV wasn't good for them, so we would only watch it on the weekends from now on. "If you wake up before me, you can do any of these things (pointing to books/toys), but no TV." Check.

THE MIRACLE:

It's been almost a month now, and it's working! Not only that, but Chandler is a noticeably stronger reader now. He gets frustrated less often, and can handle entertaining himself for much longer. Bennett rarely tells me he's bored anymore (he used to all the time), and even Eden is playing more imaginatively.

Here's what I've learned that helps (especially in the beginning): Show them how to play, then leave. My kids didn't really know what to do with a pile of wooden blocks. I started them building castles, puppy houses, etc, and then let them go. It really helped. Also, I've learned to put Chandler in his room for reading time (especially while I shower or cook dinner). Provoking his siblings is too easy otherwise. I seriously can't believe this works.

Is anyone else fascinated by this experiment?! I love to conduct studies on my helpless subjects!!! And I have so many more to try out on them, the fun is endless! (And of course it helps when it really is good for them.)

UPCOMING EXPERIMENTS:

Study #1: Goal Charts, Will They Ever Become Truly Pleasant?

Study #2: Can Children Really Consume a Healthy Dinner with a Smile and a Thank You?

Study #3: Can I Really Survive a Summer of No TV and a Newborn???

to be continued...