We were without cable for a few days last week, which at times was a blessing and at others a curse. On the one hand, the kids played games and found creative ways of amusing themselves (we went through a lot of duct tape), but on the other hand, there seemed to be more arguing and whining about being bored.

The cable is back now, but I have redoubled my efforts to ration out the TV. I’ve put blocks on all the channels so if the kids don’t do their homework, no TV. If they’re not listening, no TV. When they try to sneak a peak to find out the code when I’m punching it in on the remote, I threaten to call Comcast and turn it off altogether.

Now that they seem too old for timeouts and too young to take away the car, withholding TV privileges is the one method of discipline I can enforce on my tweens. It’s not a perfect solution. I can’t control what they watch when they visit friends. And they still can spend too much time on the computer or playing video games if I’m not keeping an eye out. But they like TV well enough that they aren’t willing to risk going without entirely.

So far, it’s working, but I’ve been a mom long enough to know it’s probably a temporary victory. But for now I’m grateful for the technology that makes it easier for me to enforce the rules of the household.

Are you using the TV blocks? Any other tactics for disciplining your tween?