Occupying your kids: Beyond TV and Wii

Lately I have been personally convicted about how much Sam (That's him up there ^) uses his toys. He has a whole playroom full of cars, train sets, coloring books, various space guns and action figures... PLUS his bedroom full of playdoh, coloring stuff, smaller toys, and board games.

Which almost never get touched. 

Every time we go through his toys, we find toys he's forgotten he even had because he so rarely plays with them. 

Now, I understand that this is just as much, if not more my fault than his. Lately I have been very willing to let him sit down in front of the TV and watch power rangers, or play the Wii, simply because I know he likes it. In the meantime, his little brain is being sucked into TV world and his many toys meant to build creativity and independence are left forgotten. 

I have made it my personal goal to get him away from the TV more.

Right at this moment, Sam is upstairs playing with Play Doh. I can hear him all the way down here. He's singing to himself when he's not having an all out war with his play doh over the shape it will be in. This makes me smile, because he's singing his Johnny phonics songs from school, which is fantastic, because he's been struggling with letter sounds and reading. 

This would not be happening if an hour ago, when Sam woke up, I had not said, "No, you may not play Wii or watch TV this morning." And had not every fifteen minutes from then said "No, you have a thousand things to play with in the house, and it's a nice day out if you want to play outside or at the park. You don't need TV or Wii." 

He's since given up asking, and I feel a sense of accomplishment that I didn't budge. Now, granted, it's only one day. But this proves to me, this one day, that it's possible to keep him occupied not using the TV or Wii and not drive me crazy. Which means it will be possible in days to come to do the same.

Horray for small victories, 

Natasha