How to Keep Big Kids Quiet While Watching TV
Looking after kids, even big overgrown kids like your other half, is a full-time job and sometimes you need a little downtime chilling out in front of the TV. You can use your best negotiation and diplomacy skills to keep domestic noise to a minimum the next time you want to watch "Desperate Housewives," or bribe the adult kids with an offer they can't refuse.
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Instructions
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Strike a bargain. This is particularly effective if the big kid in question is your spouse. Promise to treat him to a lavish supper if he agrees to keep quiet when you're watching your favorite program. Alternatively, tell him that you'll take the smaller kids out to the park or to the shops when he's watching his favorite sports show on the weekend. Successful negotiation, rather than sulking or arguing, is the key to resolving domestic tiffs about television.
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Provide alternative entertainment. Children of all ages enjoy watching movies. Rent or buy a film they'll love, and which is suitable for their age group, but don't allow them to watch it until you are positioned in front of the television, favorite snack in hand. This helps to establish a communal family timetable for entertainment and teaches big kids the art of deferred gratification. Supply a pair of good quality headphones if she is watching the movie on a laptop or, if an older child has a television in her room, let her invite some friends over and supply popcorn. Alternatively, give an older child a book or magazine he has been looking forward to reading.
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Introduce them to the game of Silence. Older children will enjoy this game, which requires that participants arrange themselves in an orderly sequence without uttering a word. Teachers sometimes use this game for educational purpose, but it can easily be adapted for a domestic setting. For example, have your kids arrange themselves in sequences according to their birthdays. Try arranging sequences pertinent to the television program you are watching. You could, for example, give each child a name tag belonging to a character in your favorite soap opera. Introduce a more educational motif by asking the kids to arrange themselves in an alphabetical sequence depicting the names of past presidents or geographical locations. This game may be more tempting to children if you give them a treat for adhering to the golden rule -- silence!
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