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So my family has decided to not watch TV for all of July and see how it goes. We just told our 3 year old the TV is broken so we don't get asked every day (she doesn't watch much about 30 mins a day but it just makes sense that we all stop) and I hid the remote. TV is such a time waster and already I am finding myself more productive.
We were unplugged for 2 years and I miss the pace!
I loooove TV, but my son does not watch it (he's 2 yo). We only watch TV at night or at nap time. On weekends we are usually out so no time there. I do not think I could be up for that challenge... I will be hitting my head in the wall, I am such an addict (mainly of mystery series and movies lol)
Kudos to you Torontokids. The tv here is not on during the day. I play music instead for the kids and myself however, LOL I do admit it settling on the couch around 9 and treating myself to one of the reality cooking shows (love master chef comps) with a little vino of course
I was thinking the same thing. I gave it up for 7 years once (I was single and had a travelling job) It was GREAT and I was actually thinking today that I might do the same thing again.
It's amazing what you can get done and do get to do when you get that time back that you dedicate to the television. Go for it Torontokids!!!!!!!!!
No tv during daycare hours but me... i am a tv junkie. It is how I relax my brain
Ummmm, uhoh, here's my sad secret. I am addicted to some shows and sometimes I have taped (yes I still use a VCR!) about 10 hours by the weekend and get through them a lot quicker by fast forwarding commercials but I like to have a quiet day on the weekend to veg out and watch tv and rest. I like comedies and dramas.
I rarely just sit when watching tv so that is when I cut out felt orders, crochet stuff or do lesson planning. Often I am sitting at my desk on the computer while watching tv. I think TV has been given a bad rap and like anything needs moderation in use but for those that just can't step away without watching "just one more show" then like an addiction it needs to be avoided altogether.
For me the computer is a far more serious time waster than the tv - especially during naptime. In a sense it is a substitute for the fact we have little to no adult interaction during the day and all my "friends" live in my computer.
You're so right Playfelt. I belong to 4 daycare forums and checking into all of them at least twice a day keeps me sane and I feel as though there are others in my little world who understand my daycare life and career choice. I'm always on the computer or doing something else when I watch tv in the evening and I do my dishes, laundry and other housework in commercials. Over the years I've become an expert at doing my work and getting back to my living room before the commercials are over. :laugh:
I don't think I'd ever go completely unplugged. I love my documentaries and movies. However, we watch very, very little now. I got rid of our satellite service when we moved into a suburban area with highspeed (finally). We've opted for Netflix ($8/mo) and 1channel.ch (free). LOVE IT!!! Instead of turning on the tv to zone out, we look for a specific movie or program to watch. It's almost never on during the day, apart from occasionally during naps or the odd movie on a rainy day. Other than that, watching a little something is a just before bed event for me and my teen boys.
I don't miss network television in the slightest (or the $70/mo bill for crap).
As a child, television was restricted in my house, not a choice I made but a rule that was forced upon me. I wanted to watch tv and would go days, sometimes over a week without so much as a single 5 minute cartoon show and felt hard done to. As an adult I now understand that my parents kind of had my best interests at heart. Their mistake was that they didn't give me anything to substitute it with. Yes I had certain things I could play with in my room, but I only ever received a few toys for Xmas and birthdays so I did not have that many things and got tired and bored very quickly. When I was younger there was never any encouragement to use my imagination to have fun, only abrupt dismissal every time I approached my parents and I was seen as a burden. There were never family nights of board games, days out/ trips to the park or playing ball or bike rides with my parents so all my parents did was cause me boredom while still wanting me to be "seen and not heard" My parents were extreme hardasses and this made having fun a challenge. Due to this, as I got older I became very much a fan of radio. I would record music from the radio and inbetween songs DJ :) I loved it.
Anyway, now as an adult, I love tv. Its almost like due to my parents being overly restrictive meant that as soon as I was able to be in control as an adult able to make my own choices, I ended up being the complete opposite and went from literally no tv to lots and lots and lots of tv. My tv was restricted for 14 years so a lot of resentment built up towards my parents as they had zero leniency to pretty much all their rules.
I think the idea of no tv is absolutely fine as long as it is everyones choice or kids understand why its a good idea and are involved in coming up with fun replacement activities so they don't see it as losing out. I have a 10 and 12 year old and I am sure if I picked a few days a week to have no tv and "explained why", and then included them in brainstorming more ways to use time constructively then it could be a very productive lifestyle change. IME as a child always being "told" what to do without any kind of reason, reinforcing the idea in my head that my parents must not care what I think, ended up being a very negative thing.
I agree with Playfelt that tv gets a bad rap. I think balance and moderation in most things is very important. I love watching complete seasons of tv series on Netflix and quite frankly I know that I waste a lot of time watching them lol, but lets be clear that I can waste just as much time when I get into a good series of books at which time my DVR ends up full in no time as it can be days without the tv going on. The laundry pile is big in either case, the kids have to wash their own dishes and my floors go un mopped a few extra days. It's not the tv or the books that is the problem. It's me lol and its not the end of the world. I seem to go in waves also depending on how busy I am. I regularly go to night school at which time I get little down time at all so then it is sleep, work, study and repeat and I am home a lot less.
I do not have a tv in my daycare room and it is not a part of my day with the kids. Kudos to anyone who willingly chooses to eliminate tv all together. I would love to know what new productivity comes as a result. This summer my kids are restricted with tv and video games. We have had a family discussion about it. I already made the decision for them but wanted them to feel that they had a say in the decision as I personally don't feel like it would be an easy fight if I just flat out told them NO. Together we have come up with things to do each day. They are learning cursive, doing daily math drills and have a spare time topic research project they can do when they are "bored". My Gifted/LD son who is 10 is also learning the periodic table over the summer. If I had simply told them no tv and no video games and then when they complained of being bored I just told them to go away and stop complaining then there would have been problems but instead they have a choice of things to do in place of the "zombie box" They also know the consequences of not sticking to the commitments "they chose" to make.
Funnily enough though, they know to leave me alone for an hour after the daycare kids go down for nap so I can have some alone time......to watch tv LOLOLOL
Hey Trace of Angels, I can't believe this, how could anyone stay away from such an addiction for 7 long years. Kudos to you for that. I agree with everyone that TV is such a waste of time and when the kids start getting a habit of it they should be stopped then and there so that it does not become an addiction. I also love watching TV but many a days I get up in the morning and pledge that since there is too much of work today I won't watch TV today- to complete my tasks, and tomorrow- to take rest and nap.