Since it has already been addressed and discussed a little, I thought I would take a minute and explain our history with tv usage. This wasn't the intended direction of this weeks' topic - but I think its necessary to address while we discuss our favorite shows!
Well, when we first got married, Jacob was in seminary, working and I was teaching full time. There wasn't much time for tv watching - though we do have a few fav shows and love to watch NCSU sports. We had an antennae at that time. Until we started having trouble getting the antennae to pick up CBS...which is the Survivor channel and many wolfpack sporting events...
So we upgraded to basic cable (20 channels) to ensure we got CBS.
And then I went on bedrest with Will, so we upgraded our service to include all 75ish channels of standard cable. We reduced it back to basic when maternity leave ended.
Another bedrest (this one much longer) came in 2008, so we once again got full cable and have had it ever since. I think the hook for us that time around was the fact that Will was two and would watch tv more than before. In addition, I was now a stay at home Mom.
At first, we limited it to 30 minutes a day. Then we settled at 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes just before Daddy got home. Do you see the slippery slope??
There have been times where we have very easily slipped into a bad habit of having the tv on consistently all morning. Usually it follows a sickness or busy time when we have one day that leads to several...It is SUCH a slippery slope and you don't even realize its happening!
Thankfully, we're at a stage now where my kids are getting a little older and we're out of the house more (more than the infant stage...) for activities - especially in the warm months - so naturally less tv is watched.
I share all of this so you have a real picture of how much tv we watch. It is a continual process of evaluating how we spend our time and making changes to avoid the tv. I try to be intentional about sending them outside to play. We just moved into a house with a great side deck that I can block off and see from my kitchen. It's great to get the kids out of the house. We also retreat to our upstairs bonus area to do puzzles, color, etc. and there is NO TV upstairs.
The other day I needed my kids (2 and almost 4) to sit still for about 10 minutes while I finished getting ready. Instead of turning on the tv, I had them pick out a stack of books and take a seat on the couch (separate couches, actually :) I was SHOCKED when they sat that for MORE than ten minutes and quietly looked at books! It was a rare moment of obedience and much better than turning on the tv, even for just 10 minutes.
I'll do a separate post about the actual shows/DVDs that are our favorites! And some that I avoid and why. Anyone else struggle with letting their kids watch too much tv?
5 comments:
Thanks so much for sharing that, Christina! I often struggle with how much television I let my kids watch, and it is definitely a slippery slope. We do well for a few days, then something happens, the television comes on, and next thing I know, my kids have spent more time in front of the boob tube than not! I appreciate the gentle proding:-)
Yeah, I definitely feel guilty about letting my 19 mo old watch TV at all, much less 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins in the late afternoon. Both times are because I need to get things done! I haven't found anything else that keeps his attention long enough. He is totally and completely mesmerized by it and I hate to see the blank expression on his face. I would like to change it, but just don't know what else to do. I guess we all make some compromises that we wish we didn't have to.
I definintly struggle with it, especially during the winter.
We are sliding on the slope right now- there is no place outside the apartment for them to play where I can see them, and there is no where to play inside with all the boxes. I have to get this place packed up... we do spend lots of time at the table with coloring books and crayons, and with library books. But still- I bet the tv was on Sprout for 2 hours this morning while I packed up the office. Bleh. But it will be over soon!
I can most definitely indentify with this. T.V., movies, leapsters, computer games are guaranteed fall backs for keeping kids attention. I've depended on them more since Lydia was born and we're back to weaning off the habit. That being said, I feel alot less guilty about the movies and I've found quite a few "classics" that I think are actually pretty wholesome. Tha being said, I do think that it can certainly hamper creative play. Its something we're constantly working on at our house. Looking forward to reading more about this.
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