Monday, May 13, 2013

The TV Decision



To my surprise, we've received some criticism, shock, and very little support of our next big decision for our family.  We've talked about it for years, but just now got the courage and the confirmation that it's a good idea.  We're putting away our TV.  



It was a compromise between turning off the cable and internet (gulp!), unplugging for the month of July, and keeping it all going.  After reading that dang book and having all those discussions, we wanted a shift for our family.  TV plays a large roll in our day to day life, mainly entertaining the kids when it is helpful or easy for us, and we want to see how things will change for us once we remove it.  


We won't become one of those "everyone should throw away their TVs" people.  Nope.  We love TV and think there are a lot of positives to TV.  There are so many things that Curious George has taught Burl, and some great movies have introduced him to adventure, life, and great stories.  For John and me, we each grew up in families that watched a lot of TV, and we each had our own personal TV in our bedrooms.  It's always been a part of our lives and we're not knocking it.  We are saying, however, that kids don't have a lot of will power to turn it off and we, as adults, don't either.  Temporary removal is the only solution for us. (Gulp.)  



We're putting our huge hand-me-down box TV upstairs along with our Wii and DVD player.  I'm taking it one day at a time, but John says we're putting it away for the whole summer.  I'm sure that it will return, especially when new babies come along, so we're not turning into extremist.  We told Burl about it and he got sad and asked, "no George?"  Then, we explained all the fun stuff that we're going to do instead (wrestle, paint, play outside, ride the tractor, build forts, picnics).  Both times we've explained this his mouth dropped, his face lit up, and he got so excited.  We're onto something. #winning



We're putting the TV away tonight, so tomorrow morning I'll be frazzled and crazy and excited.  Anytime that we talk about doing this, and even as I type this post, my heart races, I get short of breath, and one time, I swear, I felt the rush of adrenaline pump through my arms.  I'm scared.  Good gosh, what if my brother's right?  What if this is the worst decision ever?  It's only temporary.  It's only TV.  That's what I'll be chanting tomorrow.  



To my local friends, if I develop a twitch or start slurring my speech, then please step in and tell me enough is enough.  If I start being one of those "no TV" freaks that talks about how I just never have time to watch TV, then slap me.  If I become awesome and start having grand fun and doing all those cool things that non-TV people do, then please, give me a high 5/hip shake/fist bump.  This is going to be interesting.

Any advice or well wishes, or heck, even criticism, is welcome.  Wish me luck.

22 comments:

  1. We canceled cable last spring. I've never been big on TV and we weren't allowed to watch it much when we were kids. My husband, however, grew up watching tons of TV and it has a magnetic pull on him. He can walk in a room where the TV is on, have a thought in his mind he wants to share, take one look at the TV, not even like what is on, but be speechless and have to sit down and watch. It's weird. He wasn't happy about how much TV he was watching-he wanted to spend more time learning guitar and doing yoga and other things. So, when our special deal offer with the cable company expired and we could save a whopping $72 a month by canceling cable, we did. We really thought it would only be for the summer...while we were busy and active...but when fall came, he got an antenna to watch local sports and has declared he doesn't want cable, it's too tempting and he's happy that he gets more done now.

    Good luck with it!! When my kids were small I cancelled internet--it was all cruddy dial up back then--and it gave me more time with my kids. It's a decision I never regretted!

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    1. I love it!!! That's what I'm hoping will happen for us as well. That would be great if that's how it was!!!

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  2. Hubby and I had a tv when we got married but, trying to save money, we never hooked it up and only watched dvds on it. Fast forward 3 years, we have a little boy and no hooked up tv. We do have Netflix, a couple gaming systems, and plenty of dvds.
    So I guess we still have the tv stuff, but not actually having cable makes it so much easier to just keep it off all day. At the moment, George is only interesting for about 5, maybe 10 minutes to our little guy so no reason for me to keep it on for too long.
    Kudos to you for packing it up! Do what you need to do for your family right now!

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    1. Thanks so much for the encouragement. We're cancelling Netflix and don't plan on watching things on the computer. We'll see how it goes...

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  3. We've been married 5 years and have never had a TV, although I grew up with one. I found it isn't that scary to be without, although watching a college football game live can be frustrating! We do use Netflix or Amazon Prime for some shows, and YouTube for Curious George, Charlie and Lola, Angelina Ballerina, etc. I try to limit that to crucial moments though, such as when all else has failed and supper needs to be cooked or dishes need to be washed. I think you'll enjoy the break...however long it lasts, once you get used to it!

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    1. Perfect encouragement. We have a desktop computer and might treat Burl to something, but we want it to be VERY occasional. Thanks for the well wishes.

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  4. One of the best decisions you could make at this point. We went the other way - started out with no tv. We went 13 years without it. We have it now, along with the Wii, my phone, a laptop and a desktop. Yikes! I've been feeling uneasy about how much screen time our family puts in each week, and am feeling some regret that we allowed so many screens into our home in the first place. We're not anti-tv, anti-gaming at all. We just realize the value of real-life living. Good for you, Mama!

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  5. Replies
    1. What are you plans tomorrow? wanna get together?

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  6. Watch out - those babies may be coming more quickly than you thought!!!

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    1. is that the hamill birthing plan???

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    2. So I've been told. Actually we watch TV, just not major network crap. The Brits really know how to be entertaining.

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  7. Wow...you guys are brave! I know deep down we watch TV entirely too much but can't seem to let go. I hope to make a change soon especially for my 2 year old. Good luck!!!

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    1. Thanks. It's terrifying. Really cutting into my facebook time!!!

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  8. Any decision that bring one on one time with your family can't be wrong!
    Thanks for being intentional in being parents and spouses.
    They can always come to Pops for a fix.

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    1. Thanks for the support pops, or as Fern says, "bops"

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  9. what kind of criticism are you receiving, Meg? I'm kind of a closet no-tv-watcher because I don't want to make others feel guilty or judged but I cant imagine what kind of judgments others would pass on me.

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    1. it's going to make our kids weird (just from my crazy brother who I love) and a few "it's going to make me crazy not having that for the kids" comments.

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  10. We don't have one at all. I look forward to hearing how it goes. :)
    -Katie

    http://inhisgreatadventure.blogspot.com/2010/10/no-tv.html

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