http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/09/sponge_bob_isnt_good_for_young.htmlIn spite of all that I still haven't limited the screen time. �And we don't really just watch the good shows either. �Wyatt's first sight word that I noticed was when he read Spongebob Squarepants off the tv guide channel. �Meanwhile when he did get demanding and crying over his turn on the tv, think it was also 2.5 yrs old as well, I locked all the cartoon channels on the tv for probably close to a month and told him what I was doing. �I'll quote the sticky on the gentle discipline forum here and say "simply insist."�
I'm probably wrong. �I'm unsure of a lot of my parenting choices and it goes against both modern parenting stuff I'm reading and agreeing with, and the old-fashioned parenting stuff I understand and most people I know agree with. �My dad said that's ok. �Make it up as you go along. �Correct him whenever he he does anything that bothers you. �Just make sure that he knows you mean what you say. �You have the right to change your mind. �You can also let him convince you, that's fine. �
Tell him, "if you're going to act like that I'm not going to let you watch it. �I don't want to see you act like that." Then don't let him see it until you see a change of attitude. �My dad physically showed me what a change of attitude looks like from a time out. �He said, look at his eyes (soften.) �That's what you're looking for. �After you see that you can finish the time-out and then talk about it. �Don't talk about it first. �
When I saw that in action I just thought that's what I think I was hearing in the nurtured heart approach cd, but wasn't getting by using a one-minute timer. �Use a short-time frames time-out to stop a spiral. �Use the same general idea also with long time frames, like the cartoons, or a trip to the mall or movie theater. �That's kind of like the reward system without the stickers and coupons. �You can expect good things, but not if you're going to act like that. �All the good things stop until you figure it out. �
I believe in asynchronousity, don't get me wrong. I wanted to answer in the Santa and Dolls thread when she asked if a late maturity wasn't "anti-gifted" that I don't think gifted means more advanced at a given age, I think it means a broader age range at a given age, you know, asynchronousity. �I used to call it agelessness because I didn't have a gifted forum to tell me the real words. �But I wasn't using my parental power. �My dad said, "you can't tell me he's learning 6yr old academics and only a 3yr old level of discipline expectations." �And he proved it and showed me how. �It looks a lot like 6 yr old discipline but the best of 3 yr life old remains. �It's noisy, all this cries of frustration and squeals of delight. �
