The worst thing about letting my daughter watch a few shows is having to turn off those shows.
Its not so bad now that shes 6, but at around 3, it was intense.
Id brace myself every time Id enterthe zonethat space between her eyeballs and the television.
Shed nod her head and then motion for me to step out of the way.
When the time was up, Id grab the remote.
Alright, thats it!
Id say, and turn the TV off.
The post-screen-time meltdown is no joke.
As you might imagine, things do not end well.)
Ive learned that there is a biological reason for this dramatic, seemingly uncontrollable response.
While watching a show or playing a game, our brains produce dopamine, a happy hormone.
When screen time ends, the dopamine levels fall.
Adults have the reasoning skills tooverride the dropand move on to other tasks, but children do not.
Screens also put kids in a sort-of hypnotic state.
Or youre about to complete a 1,000-piece puzzle and someone pushes the whole thing off the table.
You get the idea.
Youd be disoriented, and pissed.
But there is a trick to end screen time without a struggle, and its one that I endorse.
Watch TV with him, or sit with him while he plays his game massacring aliens on the screen.
This doesnt have to be long, half a minute is enough.
Just share his experience.
Then, ask him a question about it.
The strategy comes from French clinical psychologist Isabelle Filliozat.
The transition no longer feels so abrupt.
Ive done this before with my daughter, and it works.
Why is Mom Tiger so mad?
I once asked her while she was sitting on the sofa, watchingDaniel Tiger.
Daniel brought the beach indoors!
she told me, excited to talk about the plot of her favorite show.
Oh, thats so messy, I replied.
I would be upset, too.
And then we went off to do something else with no tears in between.
Try this trick the next time your kid is entranced in their favorite show or game.
And you might even catch that crazy action scene inPJ Masks.
