Reply to Let's be honest, how much time does your child spend watching TV per day?

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[quote=Anonymous]short answer: most of the day

my almost 5 yo with special needs has little to no ability to entertain herself.  when not directly engaged with another adult or child, she is disruptive and destructive, both for the purpose of getting attention and because she lacks the skills needed to play well independently.  she will climb on and/or jump off furniture, hang on curtains, throw things, hit the window with a hard object,  clear tables, rip up books and papers, attack her siblings or sometimes just lie down and stim or masturbate.  our home is still babyproofed with gates and latches b/c we also have a toddler, but its really for the 4 year old. One solution to this is to put her in a time out by strapping her in her high chair, where I can continue to help her siblings with homework, cook a meal, change her sibling's diaper, etc.  Occasionally, I can put her in the high chair and she will "play" with us, but it usually only lasts 10-15 mins.   I will never put on TV directly after  misbehavior occurs, as it is too rewarding.  But I will often put it on when I know I can't give her my undivided attention (which, lets face it, is most of the time) and just leave her in front of it for hours at a time and sometimes all day, because with 4 kids, I just can't give her that much focused attention.  Honestly, it is also the only way I can get a break while she is awake (as a result of her diagnosis, she also has a sleep disorder that causes her to wake several times during the night, thus, I am in a constant state of exhaustion).  When my dh comes home or on weekends one of us or a sibling will play with her but it can be very draining and cannot be sustained by anyone for a very long period of time.  Of course, watching tv hardly helps develop the skills needed to play independently and I realize this is probably a vicious cycle but I'm really at my wits end and don't know how to get out of it with the energy and resources I have right now.

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