Our television recently died.
Well, six weeks, four days and 12 hours ago if you’re counting (which is what I thought my husband would do).
I know this would send many people into a panic but let me assure you we still have two other televisions–one in the basement and another tucked away in our bedroom. Both rarely get used due to their locations. The television in our family room had become as much a part of us as the family pet.
Except we don’t own any animals.
We did, however, feed our television daily. Sometimes several meals a day. We formed the habit of turning on the children’s cartoons as they ate breakfast. Out of laziness, it would sometimes remain on for a couple of hours as we went about our day. We would turn off the television for the often-insipid daytime programs but then would bring it back to life during our favorite Primetime shows.
We currently cannot afford to replace that television so discussed the possibility of bringing the television from our bedroom into the family room.
Until I proposed the unthinkable: to do an experiment and not watch TV for the summer.
To clarify, I wasn’t proposing we cut out our television-viewing habits completely, just limit ourselves and not replace the one that we watch 95% of the time in the most convenient location.
Out of the four of us, my husband probably watches the most television and has gotten into the bad habit of falling asleep in front of it. The kids need their early-morning Dora the Explorer fix like some adults need their caffeine. I probably watch the least but am not without my own sacrifices: I get a lot of work done when my children are plunked in front of it.
I feared the backlash would be similar to when we weaned Haddie from her binky at the ripe ol’ age of 18 months (think: heroin withdrawal). Do you know what, though? Six weeks, four days and 12 hours into (but who’s counting?) we’re surviving. In fact, I’d even say we’re thriving. I can’t say I will ever become one of those anti-television zealots because, welp, I need my Matt Lauer fix. And I cannot discount the educational value of television, as my daughter Hadley demonstrated when she was about to turn 2.
For several months, I had been incessantly reciting 123s and ABCs wherever we went. She would occasionally list off the occasional number just to shut me up but really, she was more focused on becoming am alphabet prodigy. One day we were in the car and I attempted to teach her how to say she was “2 years old,” in honor of her birthday at the end of the month.
She gave me her typical teen-aged “Why are you bothering me, Mother,” look and then casually blurted out, “1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.” I stopped, shocked. “Did you just count to 10, Hadley?” She repeated herself, this time throwing in the number 11 for good measure. Showoff.
I was practically jumping for joy! Finally, all those countless hours of teaching her, of slaving over her growth had finally paid off! I had a glimmer of hope that I was making at least some difference in her life! Bursting with pride, I wanted acknowledgment and gratitude for my efforts. “Hadley, who taught you to count to 10?”
“Barney!!!!!!!!”
What are your family’s television habits? Could you live without your television for a summer?
Mama Bird
Bwahahahahahahaha! Barney!! Reagan also needs her Dora fix in the mornings. In fact, it’s the first word out of her mouth when I pull her from her crib. But, I also know she is definitely learning while vegging because there are some things she knows that we can’t explain. As much as we’d like to take credit, we know better. It was Dora and her cousin, Diego.
I am so impressed though! How is your husband surviving this? I think mine would rather boil himself in oil than go a day without his TV. And, how do you get your work done now? That was a very brave confession. But if we were all being honest, we’d admit we get the most work done, housework and otherwise, while the tube is on.
I could definitely live without the TV. The rest of the family – not so much.
Amber Johnson
That’s how it is for us. I really don’t miss it because the only show I watch in the summer is Wipeout. Husband? Well, he goes down to his “man cave” aka the basement to watch it in the late hours. I love that the kids have weaned themselves off it, though!
Tee aka The Diva's Thoughts
Ok, no TV? I would just die. There is no way. lol I would sooner give up my right arm.
calibosmom
What do you think my kids are doing right now so I can blog? I would love to try that experiment but it would probably be like trying to give up Diet Coke. We’d all have a huge headache and be super grumpy and tired. Don’t even get me started on video games…
Amber Johnson
I didn’t even think of the video game factor. My kids are too young to get into those but I’m sure going without would be rough on many!
Head Nurse
I watch- well actually- listen to a lot of movies on my computer. I can’t think the last time I sat down and watched TV- we watch movies on a smaller TV or the computer- but really it is just the hubby and kids- who more often than not are playing Wii or XBOX- with the occassional Disney Channel (they are a bit older than your kids)
I limit their amount- and it has to be after all their chores, piano practice, and minimum 30 min of reading are completed. I am mean like that-
Stephanie
We own a tv, but it’s not hooked up to the network. My girls watch videos, and I agree that I get a lot more done when they are occupied. Not being hooked up to the network we miss a lot of the educational shows (I miss PBS!!), but I’m thinking about investing in a couple DVDs of the best shows (Sesame street, Super Why, etc.).
I love not having TV be part of our lives, but I don’t think it’s the devil either. It’s just one more distraction, and we have the internet, who needs TV? 🙂
Kagey
We went totally TV-less during Lent, plus a couple weeks. I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would. Now we’re trying to keep it to 2 hours or less a day. This is actually harder than going completely TV-free, although the kids are learning that if they really want to watch “Word Girl” at 3 pm, they need to skip “Clifford” in the morning. I figure this is good prioritizing?
Oh, and if they want to watch a movie, they have to not turn it on at all in the morning. The 5 yr old is ready for this kind of delayed gratification. His 3 yr old sister is not!
Lori in Denver
I *think* we wouldn’t miss the TV much. But don’t you DARE take away my computer/Internet! Heroin, indeed.
JoAnn
We don’t watch much (if any) television during the day. If I have kids’ movies/shows to review, I’ll make an exception, and every now and then, we’ll watch an episode of Sesame Street that we have saved on our DVR…but that’s about it. (I’m THRILLED that Claire has no idea who Barney is, and we don’t watch Dora. She knows some of those characters through books, but I’m not forced to watch them! Yay!)
I don’t have a thing “against” TV…it’s mainly for logistical reasons, because we don’t have a TV in our main upstairs living room. We have a tiny one in our bedroom and the massive one is down in the Entertainment Room. At night, we’ll go down there, but there are some nights in the summer when we skip it, because we’re too busy having fun outside.
So…we could go without TV during the Summer. All the summer shows I love would be waiting for me on my DVR and I could start watching them when the snow flies. 🙂 It would be hard for me to miss LOST…that show, I need to watch the day it airs, but that’s another addiction completely. 🙂
We have friends who officially suspend their dish service during the summer, and they just focus on Netflix, etc., and they re-activate the account in the fall.
That would be totally doable here, but I just don’t see the need.
Kimberly
Yeah, my kids learned that sort of stuff from the fridge magnets. Oi.
Amber Johnson
I the idea of suspending dish service in the summer and laughed about lent.
No problem disbanding TV for me but when I was in the Olympic Peninsula a few weeks ago with no Internet? Watch out!
Michele
We decided to not get any cable TV when we moved to a new location last summer. Although the kids and hubby were not enthralled with the idea, I justified that there were plenty of summer activities in our new hometown. After a month (or less) of withdrawal (we essentially had no TV shows since we didn’t have an antennae either), we just used the TV for an occasional DVD rental. Though I missed my news fix on TV, I found the radio to fill in fine without the distractions of infomercials, etc. We moved out of the rental house in the late fall into our new home. Naturally, the topic came up again. Ski season was around the corner so we punted TV again to the sidelines of an occasional video. After 1 year plus of “no cable” (or network or pbs, etc.), I am proud to say that we are quite content with our TV-less lives. Don’t fool yourself that you NEED tv; you can do FINE without it!
Carol
Our family room TV went out about 2 months ago. I can’t say that I agreed to willingly live without that television because we called a repair guy to see if it could be fixed. He told us it could but it would require that the broken part be sent to Sony and that would take two weeks.
Three weeks later he returns to put the TV back together. It’s lasted approximately 5 days before it went out again. He returned and took the part again and again sent it away. Two weeks ago he repaired it for a second time after another 3 week stretch. It has again started to fail.
What I learned from this unwilling TV-less experiment is that I can in fact live without it. Don’t you dare cut my internet off though!! 🙂
Amber Johnson
I think there is a common theme–surviving without TV is possible but not without the Internet. 🙂
JoAnn
I agree…the Internet is a whole ‘nother story!
That being said, when we went on our 12-day road trip in May, we were completely unplugged. I didn’t check my email or get online for 12 days. It was actually what I needed to decompress. I was only jittery for that first day. 🙂
Would I like to do that all the time? No. Do I have the Internet running through my veins most of the day? Yes. Will I do A Totally Unplugged Vacation again next year? Maybe. It really was nice to “get away” for awhile, knowing I’d be back soon. We’ll see…
diana/sunshine
i probably could go without the tv during the summer because it’s mostly reruns. but don’t take away my tv when my prime time favorites start their new seasons. nope, i wouldn’t last.
i also enjoy watching the morning news. it would be hard getting used to going without. glad i don’t have to =)
Powell
Watching Television? Television has gotten so bad I would rather not turn it on at all Summer or Winter
Holly
Our TV broke too. Geoff tried to fix it, didn’t work. I was sooo happy. I’m not into TV but what I really hate is XBox. Damn XBox. He can’t play XBox now and it makes me smile. Guess we can’t fix the TV, we need a new one and are too broke for that. The only thing I’m happy we can’t afford!!!
Good for you guys going TV less!
Ashley
I could not survive it! You are a brave, brave woman. 🙂
Allie
Are you kidding? Just the thought of my hubby going without TV has me sitting here in a fit of giggles. I mean, what good is life without watching TSN and/or ESPN sports highlights at least 100 times a day? Now … the kids and I could do without and scarily quite easily. In fact, when it is only me in the house (as in hubby not around), the TV is rarely on. The kids and I are always boppin around to music, playing hockey in the basement or outside on the trampoline. And, once the kids are in bed, I break out the book and savour both the silence and the fantasy world created within a novel.
I know though, that it is just a matter of time before my kids catch on to the TV and video game craze. All of the older kids in the neighbourhood are hooked and with my son hitting kindergarten come fall, I am preparing myself now for a few battles to come.
Patti Jo Medina
I actually treasure the times that I have been tv-less in my life. It is so easy for me to allow my whole life to revolve around that television show that I must see each night. But in the end it doesn’t make my life easier. There are some days that I wish our tv would break down. I even miss the time at the beginning of our marriage when we had no tv. We talked more, studied more and read more together.
When I say no to tv:
I’m more patient in the bedtime process with my kids. I’m not rushing so I won’t miss my show.
I have more time to read books.
I have time in the evenings to sew, which is harder to do with kid distractions during the day.
I’m not tempted to watch inappropriate shows. I love crime drama, but what a skewed view it gives us of life. And desensitizes us. Violence, evil, death, and mayhem is not normal and acceptable.
I am willing to have FHE every night with my kids, at their request.
I can participate in online courses and webinars that otherwise I wouldn’t have time for.
I have more time to blog.
Enjoy your time without a tv!
yvonne
I would LOVE to say I could do without TV, but hence: I cannot tell a lie.
We don’t have it on that much, but I do watch CNN to catch up with what’s going on in the news; jump around the morning shows; and once the new season starts, I will be there to watch Biggest Loser, 24, and CSI.
Elaine Ellis
I don’t have a TV. I think I’m going on year four. For me, I had just quickly become too addicted. People would call and ask me to do stuff, and I’d say no. Because Fear Factor was on. So when I moved to downtown Denver I gave them away. I definitely found the Internet to occupy me. But I’m more conscious of my TV watching, which helps immensely for someone who once probably watched 15+ hours a week.
Steve
In our old house, we had the TV down in the basement rec room…as a result, we barely watched it, so we just had basic cable ($12/mo). In our new house, although the TV is in the upstairs family room, I’ve never gotten around to ordering cable or FIOS or whatever, so no TV. We watch DVDs sometimes from Netflix, stream the odd show from Netflix, or grab our favorite couple shows on hulu.
I guess we do watch TV, but it works out to be about 1 hour per week, mostly on the laptop (hulu, netflix)! The TV itself is hooked up to the Wii, which does get played a bit (not much, though!) in the summer, maybe more come winter?
Honestly, we really don’t miss it being availabe 24/7.