Whining 7 year old

[Elgama]

surely its simple if he whines during the week he doesn't get to watch it at the weekend? If he does have your husband and yourself's inclination towards addiction it is a bit mean to have it in the room he sleeps in though, why not put it back in the living room and have a family time once a week?

-Charley

[ruthiechan]

Your kids understand the rule, sure, but every time they see that TV in their room they think about watching a movie and then they want to. You've placed temptation right there in their faces. Remove the TV. If you want to have family TV on weekends then put the TV back in the living room and put a nice decorative cover over it. Then no one sees the TV while doing other things. Put all of your DVDs in drawers instead of on shelves so the kids don't see a DVD and say hey I wanna watch this. Out of sight, out of mind.

Fill those shelves with BOOKS instead. My daughter loves the Magic Tree House books, and they are perfect for your seven year old. Go to the book store with your kids and let them pick out a few books, or if you're in a money pinch go to the library and get stacks of books. You can put all the library books on the shelves your DVDs used to be so you won't lose them. Make it a weekly family trip to go to the library. Your kids can sit down and read a book instead.

There are plenty of other activities kids can do on their own without much in the way of supervision as well. Watercolor painting (assuming it's washable), collages, puzzles. Get a keyboard (fake piano), you can get some of them pretty cheaply, and let the kids have a blast playing with that. Reorganize their toys and their room so they can remember all the cool toys they have. This is a generic list of ideas, but the the idea behind them is that they are child directed, so it's easier on you and funner for them.

Sounds like you have a very smart young man who knows what he wants!! What a shame that his behavior is affecting the movie viewing of your other children as well as driving you crazy!

When our daughters were younger, we too felt it important to limit their visual consumption of media so we implemented a "tv ticket" system. They "earned" tickets for various jobs (above and beyond the regular chores required as members of our family) which they selected from the "job jar". We live on a farm so that jar was always full!! We also rewarded them with tickets for good behavior or catching them doing the right thing. Tickets could be redeemed for approved tv or movie viewing. This worked really well because the girls had some control over their tv consumption . . . it wasn't just up to my or my husband's discretion.

Good luck!

[prisonchaplain]

You could try feigning insanity. "Oh no...mommy feels funny." Walk over and pick up the TV, then get a crazy look in your eyes. "Mommy feels like dropping the TV. Especially when I hear cries to watch a movie...I just want to drop it."

Hopefully your child will say, "No no...I get it okay...this weekend. Arrgh!!!" :-)

[Maureen]

My 7 year old just gets it set in his mind what he wants to do and will not do anything else. Another example, he wanted to play with playdoh last week which is an activity that I need to supervise because I have younger children as well. I was bathing my youngest, so I told him we couldn't at that moment, but after I got his sister out of the bath I could pull it out. But he wanted it NOW.

This 2nd example makes it a little easier to analyze your son. Is he the middle child? Not sure if that is important but it might be. His stubborness could be his way of letting you know that he wants you to really notice him. Maybe he's the type that just needs that extra attention. And his way of getting it from you, is by defying your authority. In doing so, you do spend that extra time dealing with him, whether its negative or not; he might just want your attention. So, before he has a chance to have a tantrum, try doing something just with him, even if it's just spending time talking with him. Make that effort just to notice him a little bit more. When he has another tantrum, explain to him very attentively that whining will not get him what he wants. If he can't wait 5 minutes or play with something else, then only he will suffer due to his stubborness. You will not spend any additional attention on him, the more he whines the longer he suffers without your attention. I have no idea if this is his problem, but it probably won't hurt to give it a try.

[FairChild]

I wonder if you have talked to your son's doctor and asked him to do an evaluation for ODD or ADD? It might help you find better ways of working with your child. I am a mom that had a child with both problems. Check out as many possible solutions as possible. If school was in session, I would also suggest talking to his teacher to see if he has the same problems at school.

[FairChild]

One of the things I was trying to say, if he has the same issues of impatience to a high degree, high impulsivity in school, it may be a much larger problem than just wanting to watch TV. Good luck in finding out what works and how to help him.

[FairChild]

How is your 7 year old doing?