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How We Got Our Kids To Ignore The TV
September 03, 2025
Tired of the screen time battle? Discover how one family replaced TV with a culture of reading, writing, and building. Learn to create an environment so engaging, your kids won't even ask for screens.
It’s the modern parent's dilemma: you need just a moment of peace, and the television is the easiest, most effective babysitter on the planet. Reducing screen time is a goal nearly every family shares, but the execution feels impossible when you're juggling a dozen other tasks.
What if I told you we’ve reached a point where our kids don't even ask for TV anymore? It didn’t happen through rigid rules, power struggles, or punishment. Instead, it was a natural outcome of cultivating a culture of reading, writing, and building in our home.
It didn't happen overnight. In the beginning, we established a simple expectation: TV was for evenings and weekends. But the requests kept coming. The classic bargain, "If I finish my dinner, then can I watch a show?" was a daily refrain.
The real change began when we shifted our focus from limiting screen time to intentionally cultivating alternatives. We made sure that fascinating books, art supplies, and building toys were always more accessible than the remote control. Slowly, new habits took root, and free time, which once automatically meant screen time, began to fill with imagination.
Just today, I saw this transformation in action. Our dinosaur-obsessed son, completely unprompted, embarked on a project. The family room floor became a prehistoric battlefield, with his toy dinosaurs posed in epic clashes. Next, he grabbed a notebook and meticulously sketched each scene he had created. Beneath every drawing, he wrote a detailed caption, identifying the species, the era, and the dramatic action unfolding.
He proudly read his new "book" to anyone who would listen. He wasn't just "keeping busy"; he was building a world, telling a story, and practicing reading and writing without a second thought. It was a project born entirely from his own curiosity, and he was completely absorbed and joyful in his work.
This isn't about banning television or feeling guilty. It's about creating an environment so rich with other possibilities that the TV simply becomes less interesting. We challenge you to try it. Don't just limit the screen; enrich the space around it.
What worlds are waiting to be built in your home? What stories are ready to be written? You might be surprised by what your creative kids do next.
What if I told you we’ve reached a point where our kids don't even ask for TV anymore? It didn’t happen through rigid rules, power struggles, or punishment. Instead, it was a natural outcome of cultivating a culture of reading, writing, and building in our home.
It didn't happen overnight. In the beginning, we established a simple expectation: TV was for evenings and weekends. But the requests kept coming. The classic bargain, "If I finish my dinner, then can I watch a show?" was a daily refrain.
The real change began when we shifted our focus from limiting screen time to intentionally cultivating alternatives. We made sure that fascinating books, art supplies, and building toys were always more accessible than the remote control. Slowly, new habits took root, and free time, which once automatically meant screen time, began to fill with imagination.
Just today, I saw this transformation in action. Our dinosaur-obsessed son, completely unprompted, embarked on a project. The family room floor became a prehistoric battlefield, with his toy dinosaurs posed in epic clashes. Next, he grabbed a notebook and meticulously sketched each scene he had created. Beneath every drawing, he wrote a detailed caption, identifying the species, the era, and the dramatic action unfolding.
He proudly read his new "book" to anyone who would listen. He wasn't just "keeping busy"; he was building a world, telling a story, and practicing reading and writing without a second thought. It was a project born entirely from his own curiosity, and he was completely absorbed and joyful in his work.
This isn't about banning television or feeling guilty. It's about creating an environment so rich with other possibilities that the TV simply becomes less interesting. We challenge you to try it. Don't just limit the screen; enrich the space around it.
What worlds are waiting to be built in your home? What stories are ready to be written? You might be surprised by what your creative kids do next.