Controlling Your Children From Being Couch Potatoes

One of the things most parents hate the most is having their children be couch potatoes, sitting in front of the TV all day. Many parents prefer to have their kids play outdoors, but what do you do on a rainy day? Having occasional movie marathons may not seem like a bad idea after all.

Make sure you plan well for such an event. Go to the video store and let the kids pick out the videos that they want, but don't forget to set some ground rules. Each kid can pick out any movie that he or she wants for as long as they agree to watch what others pick as well. On your way home, pick up some snacks for them to munch on while watching. Set the mood in your living room. Let the kids assemble their own movie theater by using furniture around your home that will make them comfortable.

Your role, as a parent, is to man the concession stand. Feel free to serve popcorn but don't forget to serve more filling food such as sandwiches and maybe veggie sticks. They're not only healthy, you can be sure that the kids won't make a mess with such food too.

Note that when children spend time watching TV for hours, their energy gets pent up. Take breaks in between movies and do fun activities to help them release this energy. Think of games that most kids will enjoy. You can play follow the leader around the house or you can do group exercises such as jumping jacks! Just remember to keep things fun.

As soon as the rain stops, you can let them out to play again. The good thing about having activities like this a couple of times a month is that you'll notice that they won't crave watching TV as much - a total win-win situation for both parents and children