NO T.V. FOR A WEEK!
The official start date of this family experiment was this morning, but I unofficially started it about 11:30 yesterday morning due a horrendous tantrum that was thrown by one, Jackson Hacker.
What are the reasons behind this experiment? Mommy! I am tired of the television. It is always on. It is not always being watched, but it is always on. I decided right before Christmas that I needed a t.v. break and I am finally getting one. Now that being said, this may be harder on me than anyone else, but I'll live and I think I'll enjoy it overall.
No, I am not the one who watches the most t.v., but I do have to admit to using the t.v. to babysit Jackson when it is just me, him and the babies here. I'm not saying I'm proud of it, but when you are juggling feeding, changing and calming 4 babies with the demands of a 3 year old boy, you do what you have to to survive some days. So, now I have to figure out how to entertain Jackson (or trick him into entertaining himself) when babies are eating (which takes an hour and God Bless him, what 3 year old can be patient while waiting for mommy's attention for a whole hour).
Clint and Jackson are both pretty avid t.v. watchers. Me, I would be happy to remove it from the house altogether. I only watch the TODAY show on the days when Jackson is at daycare and I watch two shows that we DVR when I am feeding babies on those same days, but I could easily do without all of that, though I do enjoy the occasional movie. I am guilty of leaving it on even when Clint and Jackson are not here just for some background noise, but I really prefer the radio and try to use it instead. Jackson is an extremely active kid, but does enjoy the television too. 9 times out of 10, he ends up playing instead of watching when he asks to watch something, but he gets mad if you change it even if he's not watching it (totally unacceptable). Clint, the avid sports fan, may die without ESPN for a week, but oh well. He was a little reluctant when I first brought this up, though he did admit that he saw the value in giving it a go.
How's it going so far.? Very well. Jackson asked for a show this morning (he is not a morning person), but I told him the t.v. was broken and after a few questions he seemed to accept it and only brought it up one other time today. Clint hasn't shriveled up and died yet from lack of his daily dose of ESPN (but he does still have the internet and Iphone). And I am thoroughly enjoying the sounds of the lives being lived in our house rather than the sound of artificial life on t.v. I do think I could do with a little radio though. (Jackson is so fun to watch dance right now so it is enjoyable for the ears and the eyes to turn on the radio).
My hope is that we will spend more time as a family/couple (when the kids are asleep) this week actually interacting rather than just being in the same room. I think if we turned the t.v. off more, we could learn a lot about each other and probably enjoy life a little more. I'm not saying our lives are governed by the t.v. That is actually far from the case, but it is amazing what gets accomplished when it's not even on in the background. You can't get sucked into a show that you actually care nothing about and if you want to hear some noise, you have to make it yourself! Wish us luck as we continue our week long journey or if you feel so inclined, join us!
What are the reasons behind this experiment? Mommy! I am tired of the television. It is always on. It is not always being watched, but it is always on. I decided right before Christmas that I needed a t.v. break and I am finally getting one. Now that being said, this may be harder on me than anyone else, but I'll live and I think I'll enjoy it overall.
No, I am not the one who watches the most t.v., but I do have to admit to using the t.v. to babysit Jackson when it is just me, him and the babies here. I'm not saying I'm proud of it, but when you are juggling feeding, changing and calming 4 babies with the demands of a 3 year old boy, you do what you have to to survive some days. So, now I have to figure out how to entertain Jackson (or trick him into entertaining himself) when babies are eating (which takes an hour and God Bless him, what 3 year old can be patient while waiting for mommy's attention for a whole hour).
Clint and Jackson are both pretty avid t.v. watchers. Me, I would be happy to remove it from the house altogether. I only watch the TODAY show on the days when Jackson is at daycare and I watch two shows that we DVR when I am feeding babies on those same days, but I could easily do without all of that, though I do enjoy the occasional movie. I am guilty of leaving it on even when Clint and Jackson are not here just for some background noise, but I really prefer the radio and try to use it instead. Jackson is an extremely active kid, but does enjoy the television too. 9 times out of 10, he ends up playing instead of watching when he asks to watch something, but he gets mad if you change it even if he's not watching it (totally unacceptable). Clint, the avid sports fan, may die without ESPN for a week, but oh well. He was a little reluctant when I first brought this up, though he did admit that he saw the value in giving it a go.
How's it going so far.? Very well. Jackson asked for a show this morning (he is not a morning person), but I told him the t.v. was broken and after a few questions he seemed to accept it and only brought it up one other time today. Clint hasn't shriveled up and died yet from lack of his daily dose of ESPN (but he does still have the internet and Iphone). And I am thoroughly enjoying the sounds of the lives being lived in our house rather than the sound of artificial life on t.v. I do think I could do with a little radio though. (Jackson is so fun to watch dance right now so it is enjoyable for the ears and the eyes to turn on the radio).
My hope is that we will spend more time as a family/couple (when the kids are asleep) this week actually interacting rather than just being in the same room. I think if we turned the t.v. off more, we could learn a lot about each other and probably enjoy life a little more. I'm not saying our lives are governed by the t.v. That is actually far from the case, but it is amazing what gets accomplished when it's not even on in the background. You can't get sucked into a show that you actually care nothing about and if you want to hear some noise, you have to make it yourself! Wish us luck as we continue our week long journey or if you feel so inclined, join us!
I think that is a wonderful idea! We should do something like that, I'm sure it would improve our marriage!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I don't see TV as "all good" or "all bad," -- to be sure, there are a lot of wonderful nature and history shows and a lot of great DVDs for kids. But it is easy to forget that there are many alternative ways to spend the time we spend watching TV. I'm old enough to remember life before we could afford a TV. As kids we spent a lot of time outside playing or skating, and inside playing games of our own invention.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much gave up TV a few years ago because my spare time is limited and I was committed to learning to play a new musical instrument. I don't miss it a bit. Now maybe I should reduce my internet time... ;)