Reconditioning

I did it! Today I made it through an entire day without watching a single episode of Blue's Clues or Sesame Street!

I used to be so good about limiting Wesley's "screen time." We didn't even have a TV until Christmas so it wasn't that hard to not let him watch TV... He does of course love a good YouTube video. Anyway, even after we got a TV we still rarely turned it on. Then the farther I got into pregnancy, the less energy I had to play with Wesley and keep him engaged in better activities. I started letting him watch more shows out of necessity more than anything.

Once baby Reese showed up, I knew Wesley would need something distracting and engaging that didn't involve me so that I could nurse her. Here's a pretty standard conversation between Wesley and me:

Me: Wesley, Reese needs to drink her Mommy Milk now. Would you like to watch Blue's Clues?
Wesley: Treat.
One time I gave him fruit snacks during his BluesClues and now he asks for it every time. This one time I was also trying to get him to leave Eric's office door and he was in the heat of a tantrum. What can you do?
Me: No, not a treat just Blues Clues.
Wesley: Yeah Baloo-kloos

Then it got to where if I sat down with Reese and a burp cloth, Wesley would say, "Reesey Mommy Milk. Watch Blue Clues."
sigh. What have I done? (Some days I wish I could just go back to not having a TV. It really was easier in a lot of ways).

This is one of the many things I inadvertently conditioned him to do. (As a result of all the road trippin we did last summer he's still conditioned to want a cracker anytime we drive anywhere). So now I need to figure out how to un-condition him. Did Pavlov ever get those dogs to STOP drooling at the sound of the bell? That's what I need to know.

I've mostly been trying redirection whenever he asks for Blues Clues or Elmo Show (Sesame Street). So when I sit down to nurse Reese I'll say something like, "Where did your monster truck go?" Sometimes he'll respond with, "No! BlueClues!" but sometimes he'll smile, put his hands out, and say, "Monna truck go?" And then run off to find it.

He used to play with his vast collection of toy cars every morning. As soon as he was done with his cereal he would get the box of cars and line them all up on the arms of the sofa, slowly drive them around inspecting the movement of the wheels, and rearranging them. I honestly don't know how/why he's so fascinated with that. I sorta get bored when I try to play cars with him. Anyway, the past few weeks he's barely played with the cars at all and instead spent all his time either watching Blues Clues or begging to watch. Or begging for treats. That kid has a sweet tooth like none other. But that's another topic...

So today was a tiny triumph. I made it an entire day without turning on the TV or computer for a single show. I have to thank Music Makers and Costco for filling our day so I didn't have so much time at home to redirect. Here's hoping I can stick to my goal of putting an end to my lazy parenting and getting Wesley back into cars, books, and bugs like a good boy should be.