Oh Zachary

Zach is really addicted to the computer and the games on PBS Kids, Nick Jr, Disney.com etc. I have a hard time getting him to stop EVERY DAY! Well the other night it was getting late and he kept playing and playing. I would say, Zach last game, when that one it over you need to stop. Well he would pretend the game wasn't over yet and start a new one.

Finally I just had to shut down the computer, with his disapproval. He cried and cried. I took him to the couch and sat him on my lap. I started to talk to him telling him that he needed to listen to dad and I when we were asking him to do something. He was acting like he wasn't paying much attention to me, so I asked him. Zach, do you understand what I am telling you? He said, I can't hear you. I said well do you know what I am trying to tell you, if you look at the computer all day long and don't do anything else you aren't going to be healthy and your eyes might fall out of your head. He said, I can't hear you. By this time, I understood what he was doing. I said you can't hear me? He said "NO"!! So I said well maybe you need to go and sit in time out until you can hear me again.

Time out for Zach is the ultimate torture. So I carried him over to a chair in the kitchen, and of course he fought me every second. I told him to sit there and not move. He weep'd and wailed for a bit. After he stopped crying I walked over and asked him, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? (like Verizon) He said no. I said OK and walked away. He turned around and in his whinny voice, said mom, OK I can hear you now. So we had a little talk about listening and the computer. For the last 4 days or so, he has been much better when you ask him to stop. So for now it seems to have worked. LOL kids!! crack me up. Dave was in the living room trying not to laugh out loud during all this. That is the hard part, you don't want them to know you think it is funny or you get the wrong result.