A New House Rule
(Two blogs in one day! Look at me go!)
For people who do not have TV we sure do watch a lot of it. Thanks to my handy dandy laptop and Ben's fantastic computer skills, he easily navigates through Netflix, Disney, PBS Kids and more, finding all the TV shows we were trying to avoid. I think reminding myself that we don't have a TV made it easier to believe that my kids weren't spending gobs of time in front of that screen, but also masked the amount of time they were spending in front of another screen.
Why was I allowing this? Oh that's simple, because it made my life so easy. Upon waking my kids would come straight downstairs and watch shows on the computer - while I continued to sleep. If I needed to make a meal a "quick game" was played while I was in the kitchen. If I wanted to talk on the phone, sure, go ahead and watch some old school Goofy clips. When it came time to pick up the house instead of all of us picking up I found myself saying things like, "Why don't you go watch a short (30min) show while I clean up?" If you add all that together, my guess is that they were spending over two hours A DAY on the computer. Whaaaaaaat?
So when Mark strongly suggested that we cut out movies and games and all things computer I raised my eyebrows and thought, easy for you to say, you're gone 10 hours a day. But instead I said, Alright, if that's what you think is best. But YOU have to be the one to break the news to the addicts, I mean kids.
So he did.
And it has been the biggest blessing EVER. I thought for sure it'd be extremely difficult for me and the kids during the day. But instead it's been so great! They help me clean, imagine that, and we spend longer periods of time imagining and playing pretend together. They haven't even fussed about it much at all. Troy still asks to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every morning, but he gets over it. We let them watch some shows on Saturdays and we have Family Movie Night on Monday evenings, so we're not completely without. The lapse in-between makes those two days extra special.
I'm so thankful for Mark and his wisdom in making this decision for our family. I would've never done it, or thought it was possible. Oh happy me!
For people who do not have TV we sure do watch a lot of it. Thanks to my handy dandy laptop and Ben's fantastic computer skills, he easily navigates through Netflix, Disney, PBS Kids and more, finding all the TV shows we were trying to avoid. I think reminding myself that we don't have a TV made it easier to believe that my kids weren't spending gobs of time in front of that screen, but also masked the amount of time they were spending in front of another screen.
Why was I allowing this? Oh that's simple, because it made my life so easy. Upon waking my kids would come straight downstairs and watch shows on the computer - while I continued to sleep. If I needed to make a meal a "quick game" was played while I was in the kitchen. If I wanted to talk on the phone, sure, go ahead and watch some old school Goofy clips. When it came time to pick up the house instead of all of us picking up I found myself saying things like, "Why don't you go watch a short (30min) show while I clean up?" If you add all that together, my guess is that they were spending over two hours A DAY on the computer. Whaaaaaaat?
So when Mark strongly suggested that we cut out movies and games and all things computer I raised my eyebrows and thought, easy for you to say, you're gone 10 hours a day. But instead I said, Alright, if that's what you think is best. But YOU have to be the one to break the news to the addicts, I mean kids.
So he did.
And it has been the biggest blessing EVER. I thought for sure it'd be extremely difficult for me and the kids during the day. But instead it's been so great! They help me clean, imagine that, and we spend longer periods of time imagining and playing pretend together. They haven't even fussed about it much at all. Troy still asks to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every morning, but he gets over it. We let them watch some shows on Saturdays and we have Family Movie Night on Monday evenings, so we're not completely without. The lapse in-between makes those two days extra special.
I'm so thankful for Mark and his wisdom in making this decision for our family. I would've never done it, or thought it was possible. Oh happy me!
Comments
I love that you're blogging and sharing what God is doing in your lives!!
No, seriously, I think TV has gone so far down the TUBES since way back in your day, I find few things now worth the time. A movie here and there or some special earned time for the kids would be a treat. . or reward for them. They learn so much from you and Mark right now, so whatever you SHOW them is much more important than any TV program.