Channeling Betty Draper

As a mother, some days you feel like this:

And then other days, you feel like this:

Guess which one I am today.

Seriously though, I’m about over it. My sweet precious boys have pushed me to the edge regarding their use of electronics. I fell lax this summer with television, video games and computer time because… well, it’s summer! When it was too hot to go outside, I made all the necessary excuses to allow two movies in a day or a few hours of Lego Star Wars on the Xbox. And then all of a sudden we had these two spoiled children who didn’t know what to do with their toys.

You remember toys, don’t you? Those wonderful little things that spur imagination and creativity? Yeah. They don’t remember them either.

So Chuck and I pulled in the reins a few weeks ago by cutting their “screen time” to an hour and a half per day. By “screen time,” that means anything with a flat screen that plugs into the wall or bums off the wireless. The only exception has been family movie time or, recently, the Olympics, which we watch together. But all that other crap has been cut.

You would’ve thought we severed an arm. I’m talking tears, whining, “But that’s not fair” and toddler fits I haven’t seen since I had toddlers. I am at the point where I want to restrict computer time for schoolwork only and limit video games to… I don’t even know. Never ever?

If you know me in real life (an not just internet life), then you know I have good boys. They are polite, helpful and obedient most of the time. We consistently raise our expectations to teach them responsibility and life lessons. Gosh, they even know that their time in this house is limited! So you can understand why this reverting back to toddlerhood is mentally and physically taxing. This is proof that TV and video games really do eat the brains of little children.

Today, there will be no computer or video game time. We will catch up on the Olympics only. Currently, the boys are playing together with their Star Wars toys in the living room, but I can sense tension in the air. They are aching to ask me about computer time and I’m going to tell them no. If you hear thrashing and screaming, then you know my six and eight year olds have lost their minds.