Addicted to TV...

So lately my 3 year old has become addicted to watching TV. It's gone from watching a movie every now and again to a full blown obsession. If it's not the television it's YouTube videos on the tablet and then the moment the battery dies he's reaching for my phone. If I say no more or try to turn it off, he has a total meltdown. I'm not very good at dealing with tears so end up caving every time but I know this is getting out of hand.

It's gotten to the point now where he doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to play and even refuses to leave the house. Yesterday we went to visit my mother in law like we do every Wednesday. He usually sleeps over and she brings him home the next day. The moment  he walked through the door he demanded to watch TV and every time his grandad tried to change the channel he burst into tears. When his grandmother dropped him  off  today she told me he had watched TV the whole time he was there and refused to do anything else.

I've tried going out more, taking him to the park and even bought some new toys and some puzzles. He isn't interested in any of it. To be honest I don't know how I let it get this bad... I definitely feel like I've failed!

So today I've been doing some research and found out this is pretty common and a struggle many parents face. I tried looking for some useful advice but there wasn't any. I did find some people saying to just go with it and join in and watch TV together and that eventually the problem will go away. I hope it does and I guess I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

For now I'll leave you with this adorable meme (I'm obsessed with memes) ;)

Current situation

I've been on maternity leave for 8 months and have been spending this time in Portugal with my family. My husband is back in the UK and the kids and I miss him very much but we decided together that it would be best if I spent this time getting support from my family because as we all know, handling a new baby and a preschooler is no walk in the park. I'm really enjoying this time with my family and trying to make the most of it while I can. I'll be returning in about 3 months and then will be back at work shortly after. 

I miss everyone at work but I'm very anxious about returning. Firstly because the cost of childcare for 2 will be crippling and also because I worry Alice won't be ready to be away from me. She's 7 months old now and the same age her big brother was when I returned to work. He was so different though, and he was so independant so the transition for him was a breeze. Alice on the other hand is very clingy. She is breastfed and won't take milk from a bottle so has been with me all the time. Maybe I'm the one who's not ready to leave her... or both! She's also not sleeping through the night, infact, she's far from it. Some nights we are still getting up every 2 hours so working while sleep deprived would be hard. We still have some time so hopefully it'll be fine by then.