Mine does.
We have had a crazy month with our eldest and his completely erratic behaviour. There were endless issues at home with hyperactivity, aggression, just general mayhem. And then it spilled into school, and that’s where I draw the line.
I realised one day recently that his taste in TV had changed lately, and it wasn’t a change for the better.
He started watching what I would consider older kids shows; the 7/8/9 age range. Shows like The Loud House, Pinky Malinky and other cartoons which I just feel are beyond his maturity level.
I tuned into them out of curiosity, and I immediately felt allergic to the general tone of them.
Loud, brash, rude, in your face, full of slapstick violence, all of the things that a 5 year old does not need any encouragement towards!
I’m not a complete buzz kill, I know this is boys humour bla bla bla… but in my opinion, I just am not happy to have it on in my house at this stage.
The younger boy who is almost 4, was watching too but he dipped in and out and most of it seemed to go over his head. Our eldest however was absolutely GLUED to every second of it.
So last weekend it dawned on me that maybe this new next-level mad behaviour wasn’t completely out of the blue after all. I said it to my other half, and he agreed that it would do no harm to get rid of The Loud House so that our house can become a less loud house…
I looked for a way to just hide it on the boys’ netflix profile but couldn’t find a way to do it… FYI Netflix, can you add that feature asap please!
Instead of hiding it, we just sat Big Bro down and said that he can’t watch these shows anymore. They are too silly and they’re making him behave badly and he is getting in too much trouble because of it.
Shockingly he didn’t argue with us… he settled for the middle ground of being let watch it again when he is 7😂 See, still too innocent!
Lo and behold the extra later of crazy has subsided in the week since.
His screen time has been way down in general as we have also pulled his 30mins iPad time in the morning before we get up for school. The good weather has also helped of course. I’m under no illusions that this will last forever, but any bit less is a win to me.
There is no end to the evidence available online to back up the claim that increased screen time has a range of negative effects on children. I am also tuned in enough to appreciate the benefits of devices and technology, and I firmly believe that as long as the parents have proper settings and controls in place on devices, and are conscious of how much time their kids spend on devices, that there is no significant danger.
TV time is classified as being separate to screen time, but nonetheless we need to be in touch with the content that our kids are absorbing and how it may be affecting their behaviours.
Yes screens and TV are amazing for buying parents some well earned peace and quiet, but we do need to stay in touch with what’s going on on those screens, and more importantly, in those small minds.
How do you manage the technology in your house? Have you found anything to be a trigger for your kids? It really struck me to find such a tangible link between this TV show and my boys behaviour, so I’d love to know if any of you have had similar experiences.
Millennial Irish Mammy 