spark

happy thoughts

favorite things from the last week or so

:: cleaning out the garage with the kids while we all wear mardis gras beads :: my two year old telling me he loves me :: lamb vindaloo :: brewing and straining my tea :: the resonance of 20 women chanting aum at the beginning of yoga class :: supported hero pose :: baby elbows :: a fantastic and empowering midwife appointment :: schefflera  :: "bobbling" baby's head in utero :: really great falafel with fresh tomato and lettuce and homemade tzatziki :: werther's originals :: overnight visit from my college roommate :: baking chocolate chip cookies ::  :: new mascara :: a do-nothing dinner date at the mall with my husband :: seeing my kids treat each other with compassion :: weekly playgroup park date :: red currant candle :: planning baby books :: looking forward to reading more Neil Gaiman :: watching Bones ::

:: fresh local peaches :: my old sunflower table that I bought 14 years ago from a church thrift sale :: my older son filling his rainboots with water :: time alone in a craft store :: peaceful Panera lunch with the whole family :: chatting with my dad on his birthday :: daydreaming about winning the lottery :: the excitement of seeing a drained pond being de-mucked by tractors :: chopping veggies with my four year old :: fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden :: 10 more cucumbers :: new really really really comfy velour maternity lounge pants :: my son asking to see a birth video :: homemade sweet potato french fries :: skittery cat, skittery cat, stomp! stomp! rabbity rabbity rabbity rabbity, skittery cat, stomp! :: tea tree and cranberry scrub on my feet :: kids picking juniper berries to roll under the car :: looking forward to my birthday :: discussing baby names :: my two year old "getting it" that there's a baby in there :: new preschool classroom list and schedule :: making all the rest of my prenatal appointments in one swoop ::

tokens

I have a love-hate relationship with children's television.  Without going into all the pros and cons that I perceive, let's just say that I fall into the camp that thinks that carefully-selected TV for kids is ok in moderation.  In our house, that means a handful of PBS shows and some videos.  TV is seductive and at some point, my elder son started constantly asking for more, more, more.  We got into some bad viewing habits at some point.  My solution: TV tokens.

I used images representing a few kid-tested, mom-approved shows and combined them with the printed name of the show and clock faces showing the time at which the show airs.  I also made a token for one computer game (represented by characters from one beloved website), and one token for a movie.  I covered the finished product with clear contact paper.  Voila, sturdy tokens!

My son chooses a set number of tokens in the morning.  If he wants to trade a token for another, he may do so, but once they're gone, they're gone, no more TV for the day.  The results?  MUCH less struggle over TV viewing.  He can plan how he wants to spend his time and he knows what to expect from the day.  He knows that our deal is that he watches only the show on the token, and he voluntarily turns off the TV when the show ends.  He has also learned some basic budgeting skills from our token trades. Additionally, the clocks and text support his budding time-telling and literacy skills. 

What's more, having the tokens and sticking to a set amount of TV per day forces ME not to cave in and allow "just one more" show.  Knowing what the plan is helps me to plan some down time during the day.  In general, these have helped us to put TV into perspective: it's fun, we can enjoy it, but too much isn't good, so let's choose wisely!