{"id":2843,"date":"2011-02-07T12:23:10","date_gmt":"2011-02-07T10:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/?p=2843"},"modified":"2022-06-21T11:57:46","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T09:57:46","slug":"limit-tv-time-with-a-token-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/parenting\/internet\/limit-tv-time-with-a-token-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Limit TV Time with a Token System"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf your children own the job of managing their TV time, they will quickly learn how to budget and maximize their fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

When we lived in the US, there was an annual campaign \u2013 a movement of sorts \u2013 called \u201cNational TV Turnoff Week.\u201d I remember feeling that while turning TVs off for an entire week is a wonderful idea, there should be a plan for the rest of the year as well. But that\u2019s the hard part. If you\u2019re like me, you hate always saying no to \u201cMom, can I watch TV?\u201d<\/p>\n

We found a way around that by using a TV token system.<\/p>\n

This is how it worked in our family: Every week, each of our children received one \u201cTV token\u201d to watch a 30-minute show. Everyone was allowed to watch TV when a token was used, giving our four kids a total of two hours of TV privileges for the week. Sounds impossible? Believe me, you will be amazed how well it works, especially if you start when your children are young. We used it for many years and now the kids are so well trained we don\u2019t need tokens anymore.<\/p>\n

If your limit is higher than what we used, just issue more tokens, or include other habits you might want to limit, such as video and computer games (when my daughter was little, I even temporarily introduced \u201cmommy, you get me dressed\u201d tokens!). Or put them all into one category called \u201cscreen time.\u201d Whichever way you choose, your kids will relish the freedom of watching TV or playing xBox games at a time of their choosing, and you\u2019ll be happy to have enforced a limit. All without any debate other than \u201cDo you have a token?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The reason tokens work well is that they shift the responsibility of tracking TV time from you to your kids. Just be careful you don\u2019t impose new conditions, such as \u201cafter you\u2019ve cleaned your room\u201d or you will quickly open the door to new debates. If your children own the job of managing their TV time, they will quickly learn how to budget and maximize their fun.<\/p>\n

You might think it\u2019s impossible to impose such limits on your family, but trust me, it works! And consider the payoff. You\u2019ll be astonished how much your kids will read or how many puzzles and board games they will dig up in their newly-found spare time! So get out your scissors, cut some colorful circles, and you\u2019ll find yourself eagerly awaiting the next \u201cMom, can I watch TV?\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a>\u00a0to find a list of related articles on zaparents.<\/p>\n

Note: If you enjoyed this article, and would like to stay updated with more, you can:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n