Brittany Mahomes Fields Advice for Breaking Her Toddler’s Tech Habit

There are plenty of promises that you make yourself as a parent-to-be that might not make it through year three. From ‘I’ll only feed my kid organic food’ to ‘I’ll never use screens for distraction,’ more than a few parenting ideals will be compromised over the years for the sake of your sanity, your pocketbook and your peace.

So was the case for Kansas City Current owner and soon-to-be mom of three, Brittany Mahomes. In a recent post to her Instagram story, the wife to NFL star Patrick Mahomes explained that she had temporarily walked back her ‘no screens at dinner’ rule for her 1-year-old in hopes of getting a little peace from mealtime tantrums on a recent vacation.

Image: Brittany Mahomes | Instagram

“We started a bad habit with Bronze while on vacation. We started letting him watch TV when eating literally just to keep him chill and not throw fits in public [because] he is still not the best eater and will fight it and throw huge huge huge fits when trying to make him eat. [So,] we let him watch TV and he would literally eat anything we gave him in silence and it was great!" she wrote.

The only downside? Once the Mahomes family returned home and to normal life, Bronze wasn’t ready to give up his screen time again. “He legit will not eat a single thing unless he gets a show, and then if he does, he will eat anything,” she said. So, I need secrets on how to break this and get him to eat!" Following her request, Mahomes left an open answer box for parents and experts to share their advice—and quickly, responses came rolling in.

Like other habits that kiddos pick up, several parents and experts suggested slowly weaning him off TV time. “Give breakfast with TV so you know he eats. Give lunch and dinner without. This will take time, you got this!” wrote one parent. “Slowly decrease the amount of time he watches the show until you’re down to like 1-2 minutes,” added another.

Several others suggested using another distraction to redirect Bronze’s need for stimulation. “Make at least one meal a day screen-free, sing songs or read a book instead,” suggested an early intervention speech-language pathologist. “Start using his favorite toys or games instead and then slowly ween him off that,” wrote one parent. “Maybe involve his older sister Sterling to lead by example and help show him the ropes,” another user added.

In addition to some great advice, plenty of parents sent messages acknowledging they were going through similar struggles and reminded Mahomes to extend herself some grace. “Do what you need to keep you sane,” wrote one user. “I have three boys, he’ll grow out of it. Some new routine or event will pop up soon,” wrote one parent. “I say you’re doing great and whatever it takes to get him to eat is most important. Pick your battles. If it brings you peace, don’t fight it. You’re doing great, mama,” added another.

Sometimes there’s just no substitute for a good distraction. If you are looking for some alternatives to screens, check out these 10 best toddler busy books for learning and playing.