We were having dinner when suddenly I hear A singing “baby ko base pasand hai” and doing some bum dance…., and I don’t even listen to that song! After a little probing P confessed teaching it to her. I dint know how to react. At the age of 2.5 years, I had not let P watch even cartoons on TV. amd here my little one was doing some bum shaking dance on a hit Bollywood song. The perils of having such a big age gap (5years) between siblings. The younger one grows up too fast. 

I try my best to avoid these things for A. She is not very exposed to TV but now when P watches she simply accompanies her. Screen time for P is also restricted to half an hour on school days and maybe an hour on holidays. Well…. in vacations I let it go. But there is always a tiff. Mom let me eat while watching TV. I want to watch for 5 more minutes. This episode is just getting over and what not. 

I have laid down certain rules regarding the idiot box (although it’s not a box anymore but it sure is idiot). No eating while watching ( milk is ok…. I had to give in on this). Time is restricted. Not only me but all doctors and experts will tell you that eating in front of the TV is the worse thing you could do for your child. A few reasons being

1. The child does not concentrate on the food. So sometimes doesn’t even know what he or she is eating. They eat without tasting. 

2. Since the concentration is on the TV, they can overeat. They loose sense of fullness because they are not thinking and eating. 

3. They say if you don’t concentrate on the food you eat you won’t get the complete nutrition from the food. It’s a waste. ( I don’t know how far this is true) 

4. They don’t understand the texture of the food. Very young kids and toddlers will not know what’s going in their mouths. It’s simply is put in and they swallow. No chewing.  I guess this might be a reason for not getting the nutrition out of the food. 

Usually P adheres to them. But there are times when she creates a fuss and I give in. But it slows down her eating process. (yes…. more than it already is… 45 minutes without TV ). And that’s very annoying. She overshoots her eating time and then spills over to bedtime and the chain continues 🙄. 

I try as far as I can. Rest is up to her and circumstances. But I can say I have been pretty successful at it. A 90% success rate. Although if I’m not home she takes advantage of the situation and those are usually the days she kicks off the rules. Meal time and screen time.