TV Junkie

Anyone else have a kid that goes through phases of TV obsession? I usually let Natalie watch some Noggin (Little Bear, Blue's Clues, etc.) after her naps in the afternoon b/c she is so darn difficult to deal with that time of the day. I'm seriously afraid of her...girlfriend is scaaaary from 3:30 to around 6:00 pm!

She is really really cranky most of the time after naptime. It's sort of like approaching a sleeping velociraptor. So much so that I started using her sister as a human shield. I discovered that if I let Michaela stand next to the bed and "talk" to Natalie as she wakes up, I get a much better reaction. Usually a smile and an invitation for the baby to snuggle with her for a minute or two. But that's all. Then she turns back into Mr. Hyde.

So anyways, it seems like all she wants to do now is watch TV after her naps, and for some time afterwards. And bless my heart, I've been letting her do it this week. I know it's a phase b/c she's had weeks like this before, but I was just wondering if anyone else's kids do this. I do set a timer and when the timer "dings," she knows we have to turn off the TV and do something else. But I still get a lot of whining. Sometimes she looks like a little zombie sitting there as the Dora theme song plays over and over. I hate that da*& song.

What do you guys do to redirect your kids' attention from the TV? Everybody has days where they let their kiddos watch TV to get out of their hair a bit. Just wondering if your kids border on obsession? Thank God for preschool, MOPS, and Bible study, because I feel like this week she would have logged some serious TV time! Right now, she's playing baby dolls in the other room, and hasn't asked for TV yet...but the day is young, and she'll be spending the morning with Tim, whose idea of quality time is laying on the couch and dozing off while Natalie watches Little Bill and Michaela chews on her sock. Guess we'll see!