TV power is under lock and key!

Mr. Bob TV Timer

Anyone having trouble with the TV?  We all know how much our kids with Down syndrome love the TV!

At the NDSC conference, I went to a parent session for those of us with “independent” adults with DS.  There were some success stories, but there was one repeated story that concerned me… issues with the TV.  It seems that many “independent” adults still have no concept of going to bed on time and watching TV at night only makes the problem worse.  There were many adults with regular jobs who were falling asleep at their jobs because they stayed up too late watching TV!

My kids did not grow up watching alot of TV, but now that Becky is an adult, with some independence and her own apt (in my house)… she does like to watch TV and she does not respect the 10:00 PM time to turn it off and go to bed.  Imagine that!  There are days I want to go to bed at 9, but I have to make sure she shuts it off or else…

After the session at NDSC, I realized that this may be a losing battle!  I had heard of a product called Mr. Bob TV Timer, so I bought one.  The battle is won!!  Mr. Bob shuts the power off to the TV set from 10 pm – 10 am (or whenever you program it) and it will only allow 4 hours during the day of TV, which has to include Wii or an exercise video.  I really like Mr. Bob!!  Becky learned very quickly to budget her TV watching time.   She is not so inclined to turn it on when she is bored, but finds other productive activities!  A great investment at $69.95!

Here is the link for Family Safe Media:  www.familysafemedia.com They have lots of other great items for safe TV watching as well!  The link is also on the side if you need it!