10.28.2011

TV Free



We don't have cable.  Go ahead and gasp.  Most people do.  We do have Netflix, streaming and DVD.  See, we aren't that crazy.  At least not yet.  I like being able to control what the kids watch, not endure commercials, and oh yeah, its much cheaper than cable.  Even after Netflix's recent price hike.  Despite this, my kiddos are still couch potatoes in the making.  I mean, the love them some TV.  I could do without.  Yes, I already know I'm odd.  (just for the record, I do miss HGTV.  I could watch that all day.)  So on my last day off, we had a no TV day.

I didn't mean for it to go on all day.  I was just frustrated that my princess wanted to watch TV before she ate breakfast.  She and her brother have this habit of shoving the remote in your hand and announcing which show they want to watch.  They now know how to turn on the TV, and are working on starting there own shows without help.  Its scary, since they are under four, and I don't think their grandparents know how to do that.  Before kiddos, I always thought my kids wouldn't watch much TV.  Heck, they wouldn't want to because they were having so much fun with their toys, books, or each other.  Welcome to reality.  My kids love it.  They choose TV over just about anything.  I admit, it is a lifesaver sometimes. But my kids are starting to beg for it.  They cry when the show is over.  I'm not proud of this.

So we went a whole day without TV.  We played trains and cars.  We read books and sang along with books.  We played outside.  We did laundry and made dinner.  We had lots of tantrums and I really wanted to set them down in front of the tube so I could chill out.  But I didn't.  I had made it this far, so I decided to make a day of it.  Was it worth it?  I'm not sure yet.  But I know I can make it as a mom without TV on my day off, and still get something accomplished.  I guess that makes it worth it.

How do you deal with TV?  Do you set limits, or is it a free-for-all?  Can you survive without TV?

4 comments:

Carly said...

Haha...my kids are the same way! I blame it on hubby, though, he always turns on the tv first thing in the morning. We've been letting them watch a few shows in the morning on PBS or on Netflix (we have a Roku player, love it!), and most of the time, that's it...if I have enough patience to keep it off. I'm seriously thinking about starting an "electronics sabbatical," once a week, probably Sunday. No tv, no computer, no cell phones except to make phone calls, for the whole family. We'll just eat and play and go on hikes and things like that. Wish us luck.

P.S. We don't have cable either. I don't think that's weird.

Unknown said...

I could blame it on my hubby, he loves him some tv too. I could do without. I've thought about the no technology day as well, but that's about as far as i've gotten. thinking about it.

Carly said...

My hubs is on board with it. I think it's because I spent a year begging to throw out the tv, and the next year begging to hide it in a non-main room. Turning it off for one day a week seems like such a mild option in contrast. Haha. You should start laying the ground work now.

Betsy said...

I can live without tv because I love to read, sew, listen to music, etc. I get so much stuff done when the tv is off! lol We try to limit how much they watch per day and what they watch. When it's time for the tv to be turned off they find plenty of ways to entertain themselves. We looked at getting rid of Dish and having an antenna, but we don't get a signal where we live. Jake has been talking about having just Netflix so maybe we will have more changes around here soon...