While television can be a useful way to distract children for a brief period of time, that usefulness can completely backfire on you when you can’t get them to stop watching TV. It gets especially hairy at night when you need them to go to sleep, but they are screaming bloody murder when you turn off Sesame Street.

Thankfully, a clever parent in Japan has an idea that distressed parents can try; just tell your little one to say, “Night night, Mr. TV.”

Japan has been anthropomorphizing objects for as long as we can remember. It instantly makes things more relatable to humans, plus many of them make great mascots! The handy thing about making an inanimate object human-like is that it instantly imprints the needs and wants of human beings upon that object. That idea is being expertly exploited by bright parents who told their little one that Mr. TV also has to sleep, so you can’t watch now.

[tweet https://twitter.com/melting_bird/status/633437695155408896 align=center]

By giving a plausible reason for why your child can’t watch TV past their bedtime, you will likely be more successful than just telling them that they can’t do something. It keys in on how your children see the world and works with, rather than against their funny “kid logic.” You can even go the extra mile to sell the concept by putting out some bedding and surrounding the TV with stuffed animals.

▼ Or how about a face for when the TV is awake too?



▼ Bedtime for all!

Other parents think that this would work on their children and really find the idea cute saying:

“This is great. It’s even effective for children who want to watch TV in the middle of the night. This might work on children up to four years old.”

“Saying, ‘Night night, Mr. TV’ is so cute! By giving an explanation that can be understood, instead of saying ‘No, you can’t watch TV,’ the child will listen to what you are saying.”

If you have young children in the house that are being selfish and aren’t going to bed, please give this method a try! Just be careful that the scheme doesn’t backfire on you, since once Stevie the TV goes to bed, you don’t get to watch anything on it either.

Source: Togech

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