What epochwolf said: turn the TV off and, if necessary, pick up the child and take him out of the room. A child with the TV in front of him, being asked to do

What epochwolf said: turn the TV off and, if necessary, pick up the child and take him out of the room. A child with the TV in front of him, being asked to do his homework, is not interested in a reasonable discussion of the house rules; he’s interested in stalling. (Also, if he sees this as a power struggle with Mom, he will not want to surrender.) If his stalling tactic is effective, then you not only extend the period of pointless and frustrating argument in this one instance, but you reinforce, in the kid’s mind, the idea that “turn off the TV” is just background noise that can be ignored with no serious consequences.