We only watch television on weekends. We have done this for several years and it works quite well for us. I have found that the kids find other things to do that are more productive. We do make allowances for special shows, such as the Olympics, etc. Also, we may watch the news some evenings or the weather channel if bad weather is coming.
__________________
Have a great day... Debra Sox
Mom to: Sarah - 10, Nathan - 16, Derek - 19, Byron - 23
http://www.youravon.com/dsox (passcode avon)
All we did was get rid of cable!! Kids were 5 and 8 and have not really noticed. Have three channels but only two are watchable. They did watch few kids shows at first on one of those channels and then they eventually stopped and never really mentioned it. We do have movie night every weekend but that is it for TV and I love it. Much more reading and crafting going on here. This is about our 8th month of cable free.
My DD (she's only 2) loves to watch tv. It's my fault, I watch a lot of tv, also. I guess it just makes it easier to get things done around the house if she's watching it. She LOVES to watch movies though. She could really care less if she gets to watch certain programs. I could say she's addicted to Peter Pan, Shrek, and Toy Story 2. She does play a lot, and I think she'd play more if she had someone her own age to play with, but I think it's harmless unless your child is glued to the tv all day. They shoud also watch something educational if possible. Some people think tv is bad for you, but I can say that my DD and I have both learned a lot from watching. I'd go crazy w/o.
We dont watch much tv, most of what we do watch is during the day. My DH used to watch alot and he was oblivious to anything that went on around him, about 5 years ago he said he realized it was robbing him of so much time and he just stopped watching at all, [he will watch a movie with me sometimes.] The last 4 months he has been gone on his jobs Mon. - Thurs. and I have been watching more than usual. ;-)
__________________
If you need help, ask God
If you don't need help, Thank God
Honestly what would happen if you lost power for a week? Would your children not sleep? It's like any habit , it can be broken it just takes time and patience. I let my 1st D sleep w me, big mistake. When #2 came along it was hell on me & her for 3 nights but she learned. If you dont do it now how silly is an adult who is crippled by some of these habits?
when I was helping n raising my gd's. When they arrived home from school, they were able to watch it for awhile to relax or they could play, then homework.. Once a week we would watch a movie together... On Sat, we would do our chores, find somethng to do, but they would also watch for a spell. the oldest one doesnt care to watch it all day, the youngest one would.
Since I didn't watch it that much and was n the big room, on my computer, they wanted to play in that room which was fine. We would play sometimes a game on the computer, and then we would play pretty parlor, or color, or somthing...
OUr habits happens because we didn't limit ourselves, or we are depressed and we allow ourselves to be absord in something beside what is really going on.. We allow it become the crutch.. we need to teach the kids to play outside, to allow thier creative juices to flow, family tme, etc.
question is can you limiit the TV, you bet you can and it is a good idea to do so.
My my two oldest were in school they knew that as soon as they got in the door from school it was homework time. Once it was done and checked by me, then they could watch tv. If it was really nice outside, they might get to play with the neighborhood kids for an hour or two but then it was dinner time then homework then bed. If there wasn't enough time for tv, too bad. My two youngest are in to dance, gymnastics, cheerleading, its sometimes hard to get the homework done, but they take it with them and work on it between lessons.
__________________ Coll
`````````````````````````````````````````` I before E except after C. WEIRD?
Hello everyone,
My kids are in school all day also but I do have a few rules about the tv. On school days there is no nintendo before school or at lunch time either. After school they don't watch tv except to play nintendo. I have 3 boys. The 2 younger ones get out of school at 2:30pm and the other at 3pm. When they get home they take turns on the game, 30 minutes each. I don't really limit television show time because they don't do much of that anyway. My boys are very busy, they are all in tae kwon do, cubs and beavers.
On the weekends the half hour limit per kid doesn't really apply but I try to offset this by allowing them to play on Saturday morning but they also have to tidy the room in which they play the game, they must tidy their rooms and if friends come to call on them to play outside I always boot them out.
My sons ages are 9-7-and 5.
Oh yeah, they also have swimming lessons for an hour on Sunday so that also breaks up the time on the tv. I guess my advice to anyone that may need help with this topic is to first set a reasonable time for a limitation on the set then following that keep them reeeeeeeeealllllllllllly busy That way, as far as they are concerned, you didn't do a whole lot to keep them off the tv . The FACT is they have chosen SUCH A BUSY LIFESTYLE
Ciao for now,
Irene
Ha! If I was a mom and not an auntie I would totally try this. My mom made us read books and go outside no matter how we complained. Not sure how she did it... and not sure how much we complained, but now I'm happy I got to read all those books
Also, about the kids wanting to fall asleep to the TV - could that be a habit where they just want something to happen consistently every night? I used to not be able to fall asleep unless I started on my left side and turned to my right side after a couple minutes. I still fall asleep faster if I follow that routine. Maybe try to come up with a different routine that you do at the same time as the TV is on, and then phase out the TV part of it after time? Or decide to have a favorite program or film that you both agree is a good one instead of just random TV, if you're not already doing this.
I'd tell you to check out the movie my internship just released (Midnight Reckoning Official Site) if it wasn't a PG-13 thriller (not something to fall asleep to...). Or actually, do check it out but not for bedtime and just for the teenage audience
Debra Sox
