“Mom! I wanna play Wii.”
“No, Graham, Wii is for Saturdays and Sundays after nap time.”
“But Mooommm, I don’t like that. I have an idea. Since I can’t play Wii, I want to get on the Internet,” Graham contests in an exceptionally whiny tone.
“Graham. No screen time. Go play,” I reiterate.
“Fine. I’m gonna go get my Innotab.”
“No Graham, that has a screen.”
“Ugh. Then what can I do?” Graham asks, bewildered.
Holy shit. What can he do??? My whole house has turned into a kiddie play zone and he’s not sure what there is to entertain him?
Play in the sandbox.
Design a train track on your train table.
Race Hot Wheels with your brother. Play Hide-and-Seek with your brother.
Color. Paint. Cut. Glue.
Build block towers, construct with legos.
Dress up as a cowboy or a firefighter.
Practice reading. Practice writing.
Play with playdough.
Do a puzzle.
Have a truck parade.
Seriously, it blows my mind that my child, with whom I’ve tried to limit his time in front of a screen, cannot fathom what he would do when he’s not sitting in front of a TV or a computer. With all of the stuff we have to entertain children in this house, why is that stuff not just as fun?
I need advice!
Signed,
Hypocritical Mom Who Lives in Front of the Computer
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