Help! Son watching to much TV!

I need help!

I know I shouldn't have done this but I put a tv in my son's room when he was 1 years of age now he is 2 years old and he watches to much tv and I have trouble getting him to sleep at night. He has a thing about harry potter movies and my DH keeps putting it on for him. The last couple of nights he has been waking around 1.00am asking for milk and wanting me to put harry potter on in the lougne room. For some reason he would not watch it in his room. I had been putting it on only because DH works 12 hour days and I did not want our son to wake him with his crying BUT it took him till 5.30am to fall asleep on the lougne. In the meantime I am exhausted plus pregnant I need to fix this before the other baby arrives. Does anyone think I should ring Tresillian and ask for their help or opinions?

So today I took the TV out of his room and when I put him down at lunch time for a sleep he kicked up a stink because there was no tv in there I shut the door and let him cry and within about 15 minutes he was asleep.

I do not know how he is going to go tonight with going to sleep I am going to perceive with him. I have hidden all the harry potter dvd's and just kept a couple of his dvd's out and I have limited his tv time out in the lougne room.

I also have the problem of him not eating properly and I think he is waking all hours of the morning because he is hungry.

I need some advice?

Gosh, I really feel for you! I think you'll have to go cold turkey and I hope it doesn't last too long. I hope that he's soon sleeping and eating normally and you won't have to worry about when your baby comes along. Can you maybe give him a substitute toy, like a teddy or something (maybe a wizard teddy)? OK, not a great substitute at first but at least it's something new to keep his mind off things.

Good luck!

I don't really know what advice to offer but good luck!!

I think taking the tv out was the best thing really and it shouldn't take to long for him to adjust. Maybe just make sure he has other activities to occupy himself.

What is he eating in a day?

Thanks everyone, your advice is helping.

Well my son doesn't eat much he won't eat weetbix anymore he might it a 1/4 of a bit of toast in the morning and he loves those soft filled museli bars, sometimes he will eat 3 in a day. Lunch time I try to give him a sandwhich but he won't really eat it. He ate a little bit of apple today. I try to give him what we eat at dinner but he just refuses to eat all he wants is milk. He actually ate some macorni cheese tonight so hopefully he will sleep through. Getting to sleep is going to be the hard part. Oh....and he loves banana's but they are so expensive at the moment and the ones I have bought taste like wood.

Good on you for taking the T.V out...children are very adaptable, and he should get used to it rather quickly. As far as eating is concerned, I think they naturally eat what they need, provided it's there...if he is grazing during the day (such as eating three muslie bars) he is probably full at meal times. I know it doesn't seem like he is eating much, but as long as he is eating nutritious food, is happy, full of energy, and growing, it's all good, I think. :) My daughter has been fussy with milk and food since birth, and for the first six months, seemed to throw up more than she consumed...but she is 10.5 kg now and not yet 9 months old! I don't know how it's possible, but there you go. :)

Wow that sounds like hard work. I think taking the TV out is a great plan. Matilda has only just started getting interested in TV and so now we are making special TV times for her. So I have a few DVD's and put them on a few times a day. For 20 minutes or so. We are planning for when the baby comes to make her TV time the same as breastfeeding, so saving the TV for those special times only. We also are putting a timer on, so she gets used to TV being regulated because until now she hasn't been interested & I've just left ABC kids on and then turned the TV off and then on again for ABC kids in the arvo for noise... now we watch programs like Wiggles or Hi-5 during the time slots so she gets more used to TV time. I guess turning TV into a reward or a special thing, rather than having access to it at all times can really work in your favour when the second one comes & you have to deal with two.

Matilda is very determine to get her way in most areas of life & this includes eating as well. I don't have many suggestions other than offer him healthy choices at meal times & let that be it. Matilda will not eat if she doesn't feel like something, but will eat that same thing the next night. We now have the one dinner option. We used to offer her alternatives, but lately I haven't had the energy to prepare whatever she wants. I know what she likes & we have those meals 2-3 times a week for dinner, but I also offer her different options. I just make sure on nights I introduce something I'm not sure if she will eat I give her a big arvo tea to make sure she has something in her belly. Or I will have a "supper snack" right before bed like popcorn.

Matilda wakes every morning between 4.30am-5.30am, sometimes she falls back asleep before we can drag our bottoms out of bed, other times we go into her & she's wet, cold & hungry. Those times we get her a drink of warm milk (sometimes even a bottle) change her & cover her up and she always goes back to sleep within 20 minutes. We don't even stay with her. She's always done it & only now is sometimes falling asleep before we get into her. I think its when she stirs because its colder and does a wee & it wakes her up... the bottle is an excuse for us to get more sleep and at the moment thats the most important thing for our family :) Goodluck!

Well done for taking the TV out of his room, the easy option would have been to leave it there. There will be a fuss and a tantrum tonight I'm sure but just be strong, don't give in. This is a great time to start a new routine for bedtime. With Mackenzie we change her nappy, brush her teeth and then she jumps into bed and we read her a story. Then we say goodnight and leave her with a book (only the hall light is on so she can still see but it's not keeping her awake). Sometimes she just rolls over and goes to sleep with the book in her hand other nights we get the mummy and daddy calling out treatment. The only time we go back in to her is if she gets out of bed. She still wakes during the night most nights, ususally around 2.30am and I tend to try and settle her but if she is aware of what is going on around her she asks me to hop into bed with her. As my DH also works long hours - about 12 hrs a day too - I jump in as she settles pretty much straight away and then if I don't fall asleep I climb back into our bed and everyone is happy.

In regards to his eating - I think it might be an age thing - show me a 2 year old who loves vegies! Mackenzie eats well during the day but if lunch is a bit slow in going down (ie will only eat 1/2 a sandwich) then I make up a banana milkshake with yoghurt which she loves. It fills up her tummy and gives her fruit and dairy all in one hit. At night I disguise her vegies with baked beans in ham sauce and then offer yoghurt or fruit for dessert. Like Liana suggested if he is 'grazing' on the bars he may not be hungry for lunch etc. Also maybe look at reducing the intake of bars and subsitute it with a shake (strawberries are great with banana - I buy 3 bananas a week because they are so expensive and just use 1/2 a banana a day with strawberries for M's shake). It will have less sugar in it too. No answers here just some ideas from what works with Mackenzie. Goodluck with the bed thing - be strong :)

Another great way to get vegies into little ones, I discovered one night when pureeing my daughters baby food. There was pureed vegetables left over, and my son loves eggs with cheese, so I put the pureed vegetables in with the egg, some milk, and you can always add a little chilli sauce or something, whisked it up, fried it in spray oil, like an omlet, with cheese on top. He eats it all up, not noticing that it's full of vegie goodness! :)

Well thanks everyone for your advice. Last night we managed to get our son into bed about 10.00pm, it took alot of struggling and when we went to bed he was crying and calling out for mummy and daddy. My husband kept saying its mean we can't leave him, its not nice to let him cry for so long but within 20 minutes he was asleep. See I told my DH after a little while he will get use to it. Mind you he didn't wake last night for tv and slept till 7.30am.

Today lunch time came he had some apple and half a sandwhich and some milk and I then told my son that it was time for bed he kept saying "No" but I picked him up and put him in his bed and today he didn't even kick up a stink. I heard him playing with his teddy for a while and within 15 - 20 minutes he was asleep.

Hopefully tonight will be a little better with getting him to sleep.

Thanks again everyone.

Thats great news! Keep us informed with how he goes!

Congratulations on sticking to your guns and getting him to bed without any Harry Potter. Remember that every time you change something that a child liked, they will try really hard to make you change your mind. So his resistance might possibly get worse for a few nights, but once he realises that the new routine is OK he'll get used to it quickly.

With the eating thing, the only thing that has ever worked for us is just not making an issue about it. I try to remember two points:
(1) The parent's job is to choose when and what food to offer, but the child gets to choose whether to eat it, and how much to eat.
(2) No healthy child ever starved from refusing food. (Of course, if you're concerned about his health at all, please see your medical advisor)
So you make meals as pleasant and relaxed as possible, offer a variety of suitable foods, and let him take it or leave it. It might be worth keeping a diary of what he eats for a week. Firstly, because you'll be able to see how much he takes in over a longer period, and it may be more than you thought. Secondly, you can pick up any patterns that are happening. eg, if he's too tired to eat properly before bedtime, you might decide to offer more snacks, or give him a smoothy to drink instead, or serve the main meal at lunchtime. I know it can be worrying (we had a stage when George would only eat about 4 things) but if you persevere and try not to let him see that it's an issue for you, he'll get through this stage eventually.

Well done Allyfield, how did you go last night? Keep up the good work, it can be really hard but just keep focused. You know when he is crying that he isn't hurt etc he just wants his TV. No harm in going in to comfort him if you or DH feel the need, maybe read him a story then give him the book to look at? This works wonders from Miss M and she usually dozes off to sleep with book in hand. Other nights it's harder and what works one night might not work for the next so just adapt to what works for your both. Well done and keep us up to date with your progress!

Well everyone it lasted for 2 nights and now he thinks he can watch dvd's in our bed I really do not know what to do with him. I keep telling him that the tv is broken but he gets so upset and cranky. I am going to try again tonight to get him to sleep in his bed.

How is it all going? Have you had success in this area?