TV FREE week? anyone doing this?

[RCT]

Chase brought home a flyer for the TV Free Week at school, its April 2 through the 9th......We are seriously thinking of doing it, but wondering if anyone else has done it with success, how old were your children when you did it, and what did you do when they change thier minds half way through the week, or day in our case...LOL.....I would love to hear any success stories or even non success stories from parents who have done the week of no tv

[Diane]

We tried it in the day care and to be honest... as much as I liked the "idea" of it, it was AWFUL and we only lasted a day and a half. It's not like we watch a LOT of TV... a few cartoons in the morning and a movie during nap time in the afternoon, I was almost ready for the funny farm by the time I said forget it! That and the parents said that when the kids got home they appeared to be very crabby and tired. (because they PLAYED/argued, and fought all day instead of getting the quiet rest time they got when they would sit and watch a movie) They needed their "down" time and when they didn't get it, the end results were not good. It might work out better for a few kids than it did for me trying to do it for a LOT of kids... All I can say is to try it and if doesn't work at least you can say you tried. LOL

As for my own family... I couldn't stand it. I don't watch a LOT of tv, but I've got a few shows that I really look forward to and enjoy watching and I didn't really want to miss them. IMHO dh watches WAY too much tv and I'd love to see him cut down, but it's the only thing he does to relax himself at the end of a busy day so... why not? Dd is on the phone more than watching the tv so I don't think she's miss it a lot... I guess it depends upon you and your family and how willing you are to keep everybody busy. LOL I've known some people who have done it successfully and enjoyed the extra time together. Let us know what you decide to do. :)




[Edited by Diane P. on 03-21-2001 at 12:32 PM]

[KarlaB]

I haven't really thought much about doing this - for me personally it would kill me not to watch Survivor! LOL! Youngest ds doesn't sit still long enough to watch tv and oldest ds doesn't watch a lot of tv, but does enjoy a cartoon in the morning and an occasional movie. In the summer it would probably be easy to cut tv out because we are outside so much more. Our dks are young and we do a lot as a family, so I really don't have any concerns about the amount of tv we watch. I could see where it could be different as they get older and then I would really consider doing this if time spent in front of the tv seemed to be an issue. Do let us know what you guys decide! :)

[Ryleigh]

We're not really a big tv watching family so it wouldn't be too much of a problem for us unless it was survivor night, but we could always tape it and watch it the next week. Now a 'computer free week' might not be as easy. We haven't had the computer long but I'm hooked. dh plays around a bit but says he has too much of it at the office. dd is just starting to get into it and ds has a few games he will sit down with but can't sit for too long at a time.
(unless it's the NHL game, then he would sit there for hours, playing hockey, if you let him)

[angie r]

I have some friends that lived in Japan for a while and when they came back they didn't even want to watch tv anymore. They just don't miss it. I think they were there a year or two and there weren't any stations to watch (that they could understand anyway.)

I think I would really like to try this...how do I talk my kids into it? Hey, maybe I can unplug them and say they are broken? Then they would want to use the computer, I can't unplug it, how would I live?? LOL

[Diane]

After reading your post I mentioned it to dh and he said... "NO WAY"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol I guess he's not interested. LOL

[Amy2]

I actually got my dh to consider cutting out the cable channels, which means NO ESPN! He even went so far as to buy "rabbit ears" so we could get just the basic channels. Unfortunatly, you couldn't see ANYTHING, so we took them back. Still, I think my harping about too much tv is rubbing off!

I have found with my kids that when we first cut back on the tv it is very difficult, but after a couple of days everyone becomes amazingly innovative, and we miss it less and less. I am bad, because I use it in the morning when the kids get up so I can get an extra half hour of sleep! Safe programming on our PBS stations at that hour.

For me, I too like Survivor (though it was kinda silly tonight) and The West Wing. The Practice on Sunday night. Other than that, there's not much I really want to watch (Saw The Job the other night and that looks kinda good) so it's not too hard to turn it off. Especially if I have a good book or a knitting project. Actually, I kinda like taping the shows I like and watching them later so I can fast forward through the annoying commercials!

Amy

[KarlaB]

We got rid of extended cable almost 4 years ago. We maybe get a total of 10 stations and I do think it helps with the amount of tv we watch. Dh really missed ESPN in the beginning, but it was worth it to cut back and it saves us a lot of $$!

[Leigh]

DianeP don't feel bad. My dh said NO WAY!!!! too.

We don't have children though,so I don't think that it poses too many problems. The computer is a different story though. Dh had to build me one for my birthday, so we each have our own. Then he networked them togethter so we can get on the internet at the same time. LOL! We are pretty pathetic, aren't we?!?LOL!

[Diane]

Originally posted by Leigh
DianeP don't feel bad. My dh said NO WAY!!!! too.

We don't have children though,so I don't think that it poses too many problems. The computer is a different story though. Dh had to build me one for my birthday, so we each have our own. Then he networked them togethter so we can get on the internet at the same time. LOL! We are pretty pathetic, aren't we?!?LOL!

No... I don't think your pathetic at all. At this point I think I'd actually miss my computer more than I'd miss the television. LOL Since the forum change here I think I've been spending WAY too much time on the puter. :( I'm hoping that with the nicer weather coming I'll spend more time outside (exercising) than sitting on my behinder posting. LOL :)

[KarlaB]

Originally posted by Diane P.
No... I don't think your pathetic at all. At this point I think I'd actually miss my computer more than I'd miss the television. LOL Since the forum change here I think I've been spending WAY too much time on the puter. :( I'm hoping that with the nicer weather coming I'll spend more time outside (exercising) than sitting on my behinder posting. LOL :) [/B]

I totally hear you, Diane!!! We'll just blame our addiction on good old MN winters! ;)

[Leigh]

I am glad that ya'll don't think I am pathetic, and I am glad that I am not the only one with this problem. Maybe when I get back to FL, I'll get out more. I don't like being this far from home.

[lindaM]

we got the flyer yesterday from my sons school they want us to cut out t.v., computer games, and electronic toys (gameboys). I said are they crazy??? We don't watch that much t.v.. But on Friday nights we have pizza and a movie night and we all sit and watch a kid movie together and we all look forward to it. As for the computer games and gameboys this is what kids play with these days. So we won't be doing it here.

[lindaM]

I got interupted earlier when I was posting, imagine that. But as I was saying, I found it a little irritating that this letter implied that we are all sitting around doing nothing but watching tv and playing with our computers. It made all kinds of suggestions of what else we could do together. In our house we have a set limit on how much you can watch and play. But with our schedules we usually don't use all the time. And if I told the kids we weren't having pizza and a movie night they would think they were being punished for something. And as for the gameboy I think that would have been like telling me when I was a kid you can't play with your barbie doll anymore. It is the one toy my son does play with. But in the summer he plays outside alot more so he doesn't play on the computers. Augh I guess this on just bugged me a little!!!!