I was reading this book by a homeschooling mom of 9. The book has a lot of good tips and I'll "review" it later, but one thing that annoyed me is that she sets this standard of hardly any TV watching in her house. My husband would gladly give our TV away in a second (although what, my love, would you watch the Netflix movies on besids my laptop?).
Anyway, the mom said something about unwinding OTHER ways, like by reading or playing a game or ... I don't remember what else. I want to defend television by saying that sometimes it is the BEST way to unwind for some people. Think about it. There is no interaction or thinking usually. You just watch something mindless and you get to RELAX YOUR BRAIN.
Lady, I don't WANT my brain "on" all the time. If I'm sick or overwhelmed or find myself suddenly alone in my house (rare!), I like to have the TV on to just chill.
Do we watch too much TV at my house? Sure. But I have to say a good half of it is PBS educational stuff that's on while Sam is nursing and sleeping on me. It's our "quiet time." What's the difference between them watching that and other homeschoolers sticking their kid in front of a Bob Jones University DVD for hours while they "do school"?????
When the TV is on, they are occupied and quiet. A cousin of Aron's once called it the TV-sitter. I admire you if you have no television, but I can't do it. We only have one TV and are certainly not fanatics, but it is nice every once in a while to zone out, no?
Kerrie,
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a TV (except an OLD broadcast one for VHS use) and to be honest I don't know when we would ever watch it. We watch movies very occasionally--like once every two months or so. We haven't always been this way, and for some family members the change was more challenging than with others, but I will tell you it is definitely worth it. IF I have time to sit and chill, I just sit and chill, enjoy the mountain view out my picture window, meditate on a scripture verse, or converse with a child. When I was nursing babies, I kept a pile of reading material next to the chair...with my Bible on the top of the stack, or I dozed. I believe the national Turn Off Your TV week is coming up in September. I highly recommend you give it a try.
Carol, you are my idol for sure. We did do the Turn off TV week in 2008 and it went okay. My nerves were jangled for a few days then it was okay. We also did it one week last year when hubs took the TV away for the kids eating downstairs or something like that. that was tough. I agree that we have plenty to do otherwise. i agree that it can be too much. our tv is old and the color is off and we have a converter box and a VCR. i like to watch my shows on tape when the kids aren't around while i nurse b/c i can't read all the time and they won't let me nap! and reading sometimes makes me want to nap! we will definitely be cutting back, and I might try your no tv week challenge and blog about it! it's sad how much we like tv, and we are mild compared to many!
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