The Hubs and I both grew up with limited to no TV for a period of our lives. My Hubs grew up in the Oregon wilderness so there literally was no cable to speak of, and I grew up in Europe for several years where all programming was in German. Don't get me wrong...we LOVE television. We love movies, and sitcoms, and even a few of the dreaded reality shows. But now that I have children of my own, the monster of my youth has returned. It sucks my sons in and glazes over their eyes over in just a few short minutes with banal gibberish and flashes of color.
To counteract the addiction we've taken steps to reduce the lure. We bought a TiVo about 5 years ago...that cut down a lot on advertisements. We got an AppleTV about two years ago, that made it easier to limit shows to educational programs and movies. We cut our cable about 6 months ago, and so far we'd seen a greater reduction in the amount of tube time all of us are exposed to. I bought volumes of Fraggle Rock and Scooby-Doo and Wallace and Gromit in a nostalgic attempt to recreate the programming of yesteryear.
Alas, we're still a techie family. The Hubs works for Apple, and we have iPhones and iPods and iCrap coming out of our eyes, but I think I've finally had it. I'll admit it...too long has the TV been used as my 25 minute babysitter. I'm going to have to come up with some more creative ideas to keep the kids busy while I try to do my own thing around the house. I'm pledging a week to not use the TV at all. I'm going to need help! Advice? I need some!
How old are your children? We let our 21 month old watch Baby Einstein early - and I so regret it now. We went tv free for him at 18 months old and he hasn't even pointed to the tv anymore. He missed Elmo's World for a while - maybe 1 week, then it was smooth sailing. May be more difficult with an older kid. Tiffany at NatureMoms blog has a site called Insteadoftv. She has lots of ideas. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOur kids are 8 and almost 2. It's not really the two year old who minds that there's no tv...he's interested when it's on, but he can live without it. It's more our 8 year old who craves it. We're putting our foot down. We don't watch a lot of TV, and we do a lot of activities both inside and outside the house. I've just been using it as a crutch lately...time to walk alone ;0) Thanks for the site recommendation...I will check it out!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I wish I could help you. Nobody wants advice from a woman who uses Dora the Explorer as the babysitter.
ReplyDeleteHugs and Mocha,
Stesha
HA! I was just tweeting today about how as much as I hate to admit it, Spongebob DOES make a good distraction while I cook dinner!
ReplyDeleteOh Sponge Bob makes me a little sad, actually. Matthew was only allowed to watch it with his great grandpa who recently passed away...the two of them could giggle over it for hours if we let them. So sweet those Sponge Bob Square Pant watching days.
ReplyDeleteNot everything on the one eyed monster is bad for your children! Check out BabyTV, it is the first channel dedicated to creating a world of content that is designed to suit babies' natural intelligence and instincts. Your children can watch, learn and sing-a-long to a variety of original programms made to inspire laughter and wonder in your childrens' minds. The different short series with no commericals not only allows parents to have some time on their own, but it can even become an acitivy for everyone in the family to watch together!
ReplyDeleteHope this makes your transition to watching TV again a lot better.
Check out our website where you can watch the programs online.