We’re Going TV Free This Week
During a family game of Wii bowling last night, I was absolutely appalled at my daughters’ behavior. The two of them were shaking their booties, taking verbal digs at each other, and spouting out semi-inappropriate sayings. The more I observed, the more I realized the source of their content – TV!!
So I decided that we need a week of Disney Channel Detox. Not that the Disney Channel is the source of it all, but it is a MAJOR contributor. I think that Zack and Cody, Hannah Montana and pals, the Wizards of Waverly Place, and Cory and his crew all need to take a week and disappear. The girls need to reunite with their inner sister, play with their toys, or play games nicely with each other during their down time this week.
And what about my son? Well, his choice in TV isn’t all that bad - mostly Myth Busters, invention and science shows, and the occasional hockey game. But even he could stand to spend more time with his Legos or the basketball this week rather than telling me that the Myth Busters said, “…” every second sentence.
This is the perfect week to go TV free! We have activities every day after school anyhow, the kids are not scheduled to have any days off school, and Daddy won’t be home so we won’t even have his shows on in the evening. Personally, I could go TV free all the time, so I know I won’t miss it one bit.
Have you ever tried this experiment? How did it turn out? How about joining us in a TV Free week? If you do, stop in and let me know how it is going. I’ll give you updates as the week goes on and I will let you know how it all turned out.
Meanwhile I just heard one of the kids say, “I’m stocking up – we aren’t going to see this again for a long time.”
Charlene –
We did this for a week when we returned from a camping trip. We found that without TV, our kids were more creative and calm. But this week? Eek. With snow on the ground and sickness all around, we can’t make that commitment. I will read your story with interest, though!
Char,
I am in! I don’t have enough time as it is, without tv interfering! Great idea. Although, I think I go without tv for a week or more at a time without realizing it. But I don’t normally make anyone else go along with it. This time its going to be different!
“The two of them were shaking their booties, taking verbal digs at each other, and spouting out semi-inappropriate sayings. The more I observed, the more I realized the source of their content – TV!!”
I don’t agree – kids get this stuff at school every single day; with or without TV. We’re an unschooling family – one without arbitrary rules so I’d never ban TV. Cedar likes TV. but he’d rather do other activities (unless he’s sick – then he does like to watch movies).
That said, I’m always interested in reading about family experiments so, I’ll be reading to see what happens.
Jennifer – I know they get a lot of it from school, too, however, when every other thought out of their mouths is a regurgitation of something I heard on TV, it is time to detox!
It should be an interesting experiment.
I think a lot of trash that comes out of kid’s mouths is fueled by tv. I am very selective about the shows my kids watch. This doesn’t mean that I’m sheltering them or that they’ll never watch Sponge Bob. I just don’t think the language on those shows is appropriate for a 2 and 4 year old. I get annoyed at some of the stuff they hear from other kids. My kids know that sassy attitudes and bad language are not ok, even if they hear them. No, this doesn’t mean that they’ll never use them. Ok, sorry for rambling. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I think going without tv for a week is a great idea. It will help your focus on other activities and come up solutions to their boredom.
I commend you for it, but I could never do that. I’m afraid I’m a TV addict. Comes from being raised in a home where the TV was on every second that people were awake and home, and you had to wait until a commercial break to talk. I’m not as bad as my parents were, but I do really enjoy getting away from the demands of every day life and relaxing in front of the TV sometimes.
TV has actually given my daughter and I good fodder for conversation, so it’s not all bad. She’ll see something on a show that she doesn’t understand and it becomes a learning opportunity.
But yeah, I think it’s great that you guys are doing it, and I’m curious to see how it goes.