I am M41 and have a son who is M6. I have posted before about how he is quite sensitive and cries a lot.
Whenever he cries, he will ask for TV to calm him down. I am wondering whether it is wise to give him TV. I worry lest he learn that the way to handle unpleasant emotions is to distract yourself from them with (relatively mindless) entertainment. That doesn't sound like a great emotion management habit... but on the other hand, it might be good enough at his age.
For example, today there was a miscommunication with a friend's family. He thought his friend was giving him some toys, which was apparently not what the other kid meant. When my little guy was told that he could not take the toys home, he cried for a while, and it took TV to calm him down.
I would like advice. Is it fine to give him TV when he cries? And what alternatives can you suggest?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks, but... what do you suggest we DO, then? How do we help him self-soothe?
It's self-soothing. You just give him the time and space he needs to get himself back to equilibrium. Let him cry it out until he's done.
And I don't mean you isolate him, or leave him alone. You can sit in the room with him, so he knows you're there and ready to help deal with whatever's wrong as soon he's able to talk about it. If it takes a very long time, you can go do things. But keep an eye on him every few min, make sure he's safe.