Just some observations on our TV-free household that will probably ring a bell with others... I sent the two telemonsters into storage last week after a call from my 7th-grader's teacher. She said he was not turning in any homework. Around here, homework is 100% the kid's responsibility...I don't ask, remind or nag. If you have homework, you're expected to do it. I have too much to do besides babysit 10 & 13 year old kids about homework. Anyway, so we ditched the TV, probably til springtime. (Sound harsh? At least this time the TV stayed in one piece. Wasn't long ago that I got a call at work from the above-mentioned 10 & 13 year olds. Seemed a brawl had erupted over what show to watch. Blood was spilled. I had to leave work over it, and when I got home, I grabbed a hammer that happened to be sitting nearby and smashed the screen out of the object of contention. Problem solved!) But I didn't start this thread to illustrate the violent tendancies of my family. What I wanted to say is, last night my kids played chess for 3 hours. The night before, hubby and I finished up some small household projects that had been waiting for weeks. My thirteen year old has been rummaging through nooks and crannies of our old farm house, and last night found an old coin in a heat duct. Tonight, we'll put the Christmas tree up with music in the background, rather than Star Trek. I see a winter of playing outside, reading, drawing, cooking, and other activities that are so easily shirked when the TV is on. Anybody else live in a TV free household? I have found that simply saying "NO TV!" doesn't work. The box has to be GONE from the house in order for the kids to really be motivated to do other things.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), December 19, 2001

Answers

Right there with you, Shannon.

I call the television the "Electronic Income Reducer". I could add to that "Electronic Creativity Killer." We have one, but it only gets watched about once a week. More for family movies than anything else. My kids get noticeably more creative when they haven't watched TV in awhile. I also get lots more reading and work done around the house.

I heard someone say once, "What do most people in this country do with their hard-won freedom? Sit on it and watch TV!"

Cheers!

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), December 19, 2001.

I wish that you could have a lock (code) on the TV so that you could still use it. That would help out a lot. Or even a TV armoire like you see in some hotels. Unplugging it (from the already inaccessible outlet) makes it a real pain to reprogram all the settings for those that aren't under the TV ban.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), December 19, 2001.

My bootoob died in 1973; I decided not to replace it, as I was rapidly turning into a videot. My kids thought I was one mean sob, but years later, they thanked me. Said it was one of the best things I ever did for them.

Every time I get tempted to get another one, all I have to do is go to the coast, which we do frequently, and watch tv at the hotel or wherever we stay. We become reaffirmed that we don't want one of them alive in our lives.

-- joj (jump@off.c), December 19, 2001.

I love it!!! And good for you!!!! We are not a TV free household by any means, but if it were up to me we would be. What a colossal waste of time! Ahhhh... maybe someday....

-- Stacey (stacey@lakesideinternet.com), December 19, 2001.

We got rid of our TV back in 1982. Haven't watched it since, except in forced situations like visiting people who are too mesmerized by the stupid thing to turn it off when company calls, and in waiting rooms, etc. From what I've seen, we haven't missed much!

People ask what we possibly find to do if we don't watch TV. When I think of the backlog of projects we still haven't gotten to EVEN WITHOUT TV, I have to laugh.

I just don't understand the fascination!

-- Deborah Stephenson (wonkaandgypsy@hotmail.com), December 19, 2001.

Did that years ago when the kids were younger and still home. Why you would have thought that as parents we were the biggest monsters in the world. My in-laws accused us of being cruel to the kids, because everybody else gets to watch tv.

It got to the point that, through research, one of the kids learned that they could pick up one of the local tv stations' audio on an old shortwave radio. They would LISTEN to tv. Now that's what I call being addicted. We did nothing to stop them as long as they didn't do it during school hours. (We also homeschooled) In amatter of a few weeks the radio fad was over and we didn't have a tv for quiter some time after that.

I agree with others here. It is amazing what kids will find to do when they don't have the tube to stare at. They are like sponges seeking knowledge to absorb. All we have to do is let them do it without any obstructions.

Talk to you later.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), December 19, 2001.

I watch television very, very seldom. I really get strange looks and comments when someone ask me if I watched blah blah blah and I say no I don't watch much tv. It never fails they ask,"what do you do for fun?" I say, "I read, get on the computor, work in the yard,take care of the animals, go for a walk, go fishing, or take a nice long ride down country roads and try to get lost. The response is always the same "man, are you ever boring" I say "yeah but at least I learn by what I do. What do you learn by watching tv, how to flip the channels." Wouldn't it be great if more people turned off the tv and got on with their lives? I get tired of people telling me that I'm boring for not watching television or trying to have a conversation with people who watch tv all the time saying "shhhhh I can't hear or get out of the way I can't see."

-- george (bngcrview@aol.com), December 19, 2001.

We got rid of our tv about 10 yrs. ago. Best decision we ever made. About 3 yrs. ago, as our kids got older, we wanted to be able to watch some of the good videos from the library. We got a TV with a VCR and we made Sat. nights our family night. We usually fix a pizza and watch and old Disney movie, or something educational. After being without one for so long, it was much easier to "regulate" it when we got one. I can't imagine having broadcast television, it just isn't a part of our lives. A couple of weeks ago, we went into Radio Shack for something. The guy was really pushing the satillites. We even said he'd pay us to take one. We just laughed. There's no way you could pay us enough to have regular tv in our home. While there are some good things on it especially some of the cable channels, we wouldn't justify the cost of cable since we have so much to do besides watching tv. I know if it were here and available all the time, it would be easy to get into the "habit". Most people don't see tv as a habit, but it really is. Just try to take one away from someone, they will go nuts :)

Since we have internet, we keep up on the important news and such, just don't have to sit thru the raunchy commercials.

-- Kim Bailey (bailey@hilly-acre.com), December 19, 2001.

Hello Shannon, I quite honestly do not understand how anyone has time to watch TV....especially kids! The average child watches about 40 hours of it a week! And that plus going to school and doing homework leaves little time for anything else!

My family and I have not watched TV in over two years and as the results of it we have time to do a lot of things that most people do not. We read, make crafts, listen to music, take walks along our valley. Of course on occasions we treat ourselves to a movie (vcr) but, other than the treat we spend our time together doing meaningful things.

The Entertainment Industry just does not give you any satisfaction as much as making your own quilt or soap or any of the furniture that we build. I think it is refreshing to see others out there that see it the same as my family and I do.

I remember the "Survivor" craze of the last couple of years and how several people that I knew were shock that we did not watch it. I read an article about the show prior to its release and found out that "just as most things are" the show was a hoax! The ruins on the island were fabricated and there was a major city just minutes away from the filming area! A Hoax! And people were eating it up!

I bet if you put "those survivors" in a remote area like some of us live in you would quickly see them crying. Meli and I were snowed in last year for 23 days and we actually enjoyed the sitiuation. I have experience many situations everyday that I know a "Survivor" would be able to handle and I am sure many folks here would argree.

There was a test dones several years ago with a controlled group of people allowing them to watch TV with circuits attached to their brains to record brainwaves. The brainwaves should little or no movement during the TV viewing periods. But, that same group of people were attached to computer monitors and allowed to surf through the net and man oh man, did those brainwaves move. It is obvious to the researchers and us that it is better to stimulate your brain with interactive viewing than to just sit in front of the "boob tube" and waste your time.

As I follow the forums here and other places I have seen more and more families "give up the TV" and begin stimulating their minds together and becoming more family oriented as well.

Keep up the good work and I am sure you and your family will only better from this experience!

Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), December 19, 2001.

I used to watch the soaps...wonder what happened to Kim and Bob? Anyway, I got pissed at the O.J. trial preempting everything and turned it off during the day. The only time the TV is on now during the day is if hubby is doing something in the living room. I consider TV a vast waste of time. In the evening, we usually watch something we've taped. When we were in a motel with a satilite(sp) dish, I was astounded that people actually paid money to watch that drivel. I would like to see more people turning off the TV and either getting some work done or learning something. By the way, DH rigged up a lock-out switch on our TV when the children were younger so they couldn't watch anything we didn't approve of when we were out of the house.

-- Ardie /WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), December 19, 2001.

I won't deny that there is a lot of bad (for all sorts of different reasons) stuff on TV, but selective (and that is the keyword here) viewing can be really educational in an inexpensive way. For example, there are some good how-to home, cooking and art shows on PBS depending upon where you live. To pay someone to show you how to learn things that cannot be easily learned from books can be quite expensive, so TV can serve a purpose.

I don't think we would ever get rid of ours completely--that seems like so many of the people I know who don't have internet access because of all the horror stories they've heard about kids getting on porn sites or charging on the parents' credit card, etc. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Anything (no matter how good) can consume your life if you let it. If not the TV, then the internet, if not that, then practicing for a marathon 4-5 hours a day. Moderation in everything.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), December 19, 2001.

Ernest,O.k. so last year with all the talk about Survivor I decided to watch the show. I got hooked. Something about watching people cry and back stab kept me coming back for more. When the series ended I thought, "Gosh, I can't believe I kept myself glued to the tv every Thursday week after week just to watch people suffer." Heck, if I want to watch someone suffer I can look in the mirror. Just joking, I have a great life. But really I kind of get really ticked off when I think of how those people suffered (yeah right) so much to become basically famous and how my younger brother suffers everyday with A.I.D.S. yet never crys and carries on and I'll bet he'll never get even close to being famous even though he suffers daily and is thin and passes out and is unable to eat for days at a time and has terrible cramps and the list goes on and on. I refused to watch Survivor this year.

-- george (bngcrview@aol.com), December 19, 2001.

Shannon,

You are right about the need to get rid of it. Trying to regulate television seldom works.

Here are my names for television:

the boob tube

the idiot box

the plug-in drug

the mind machine for morons

-- Rick#7 (rick7@postmark.net), December 19, 2001.

I would gladly get rid of it .Hubby and kids say no .As i sit here they are watching the simpsons.Talk about brain dead shows.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), December 19, 2001.

We haven't had a tv in I don't remember how long! Don't even miss it. The kids don't either. Because we homeschool, the kids don't even hear about the shows. They love to read and play games. Every once in a while we see one in a pizza place or at the orthodontist's office. I am very shocked at what comes into the home on that thing. Even (or maybe especially!) during the daytime! You might be able to control the shows, but it is harder to control the commercials!!!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), December 19, 2001.

No television here other than a tv connected to a vcr. No cable or antenna. I grew up without tv and I didn't miss out on anything. However, I do monitor my kids homework every night. The district here gives them alot of homework too. Homework is part of the nightly routine so there's no need to remind or nag. They need assistance sometimes and I always check it and correct them if necessary before it's put away to turn in tomorrow. I really feel it's a parents repsonsibility to do that, at least until High School and even then still check up on it somewhat. It doesn't take much of my time, surely not anything compared to people who homeschool their children.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 19, 2001.

That's why we stay pretty much with PBS.

As to the homework, I remember as a child that it was MY responsibility to do it. I learned from my own mistakes.

What I see today, however, is that a lot of teachers deliberately assign homework that involves other members of the family, who quite honestly may not wish to be involved, and shouldn't have to be. I don't mean like taking a child to the library, or helping out a little bit, that's normal. I mean geneological projects (which some may reject on privacy grounds), requirements to go here or there when you could just as easily learn the same thing at home, jaunts to shop for expensive supplies when inexpensive will do, group assignments which are essentially playdates, etc.

The first time that happens, I am going to politely remind the teacher that I am not in her class. Probably the next time will send me homeschooling, lol.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), December 19, 2001.

We didn't have a TV for years, then my sisters felt sorry for my kids & bought us a TV & VCR. We went a little overboard at first (Perry Mason almost every day with lunch) but where we live now we only get ABC, which has nothing worthwhile. So when we feel the "need" to be entertained we watch old movies & TV shows (like Andy Griffith & Lone Ranger) on video. Right now we're going to watch Funny Face (Fred Astaire & Audrey Hepburn) & make Xmas ornaments.

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), December 19, 2001.

Shannon, Good for you! My kids grew up here with no tv until my youngest left for college, than hubby got one to watch sports. I never look at it, but do like my NPR radio, especially the morning news with my coffee. As a result the kids all are avid readers and one writes stories for his livelihood. Get them library cards and make time to visit your local library.Our library even has a collection of books on tapes which I love for my half hour commutes to my town job.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), December 19, 2001.

TV?

Oh, yes, that's that screen thing - sort of like a computer monitor, but not really. I've got one of those. I know it works because my brother visited me a couple of months ago, and used it.

There are some things I'd watch if it were easy - Star Trek, Star Gate, like that. I catch them from time to time elsewhere, but I can't be bothered personally - I've got more interesting things to do. Like this (and other) forums (fora?). And reading - I have never yet found a director who can produce an image on-screen a quarter as vivid as I can produce in-head. And in fact the best fantasies I know are depicted in New Scientist magazine - there is nothing more fantastic than the byways and nooks and crannies of the real world.

And I've got a problem with girl's crotches on bicycles in close-up on screen. Not that there's anything wrong with girl's crotches - I'm sure I'd love them close up, in private, under the right circumstances. Their mothers maybe even more so. However, I'd take a lot of convincing that we need them in our faces in our living rooms.

P.S Except Steven Spielberg - to give the man his due. I might be able to imagine better, but his is different, and he's made it real.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 19, 2001.

Yup... the wife is addicted to TV and junk food. I hear her constantly say she has no time to wash the dishes, clean the house, read a book, do anything ever outside. No time she says and watches about 8 hours of TV every evening. I go out side... split wood, work with the horse, go to EDUCATIONAL forums, read books. I will be tempted by the tube only on saturdays by PBS shows like the woodwright's shop. My wife lost her addiction of alchol and meth and turned to TV instead. I get the bad rap of having an online girlfriend (I dont) because I get on the computer for abou an hour long after sundown. Lets see, I built a barn and she appeared for minutes to help- the project took 5 weeks to complete and I desperately needed the help. The fence, the corral, the firewood (wont even carry any from the pile to the door, heck wont even light the woodstove when its 40 in the house), the lawn mowing, the horse training, the rentovations on the house, the painting, the list goes on and on. She wakes in the morning, cooks breakfast for herself and turns the TV on. Well, turns the TV on then cooks breakfast. I have thought of ways to foil this TV fettish- bought a bunch of books that I really thought she would like (if you cant gt into lonesome dove, theres something wrong with you), really made the TV being on a sore point, tried to prohibit the dirty smutt shows (the Family Guy comes to mind- I was passing through the room and darn near took the tv out with force when I heard the filth!) I have even thought about damaging the TVs one by one- internally so they wont play anymore- clip a wire or something, but I KNOW they would be in the shop the next day (get your fix one way or another). Divorce!? over a TV, god, I said for better or worse! I am just PRAYING DAILY for something to snap and she gets over it- she was not addicted to TV when we wed.

-- IHATETV (Iguessnotthistime@sadman.com), December 19, 2001.

Congratulations Shannon! Well done.

-- Susan from almost Northern MI (smb7705@aol.com), December 20, 2001.

Now lets see... T.V.s don't abuse people, people abuse T.V.

Kind of on the same theme as ...guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Ahaa lets just get rid of guns and T.V. or should we just git rid of people and keep the T.V. and guns?

Darn I'm sure there was a point here but I got confused!!!!....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), December 20, 2001.

Years ago a friend was in the situation where she didn't want her children, when home for the day, to spend all of it watching TV. Notice on many plug-ins, each of the prongs has a hole in it. She bought a jewerly box lock and attached it to one of the prongs.

Most of commercial TV is trash; however, some programs are quite good, such as Law & Order. I mostly watch the 24/7 news programs with them serving the same purpose as a radio. Use to love NOVA, but either they drifted off from me or me from them.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), December 20, 2001.

We have rules for TV. They work (so far). No stupid TV, no WWF wrestling, no soaps, very little prime time stuff, no game shows....... It's also off during meals (except breakfast when we watch morning news) off on sunny afternoons, clear nice winter days, rainy days when we want to drag the kids out for a walk in the wet. Off more than it's on and we tell our kids why. We've tried to warp thier litle minds into picking quality out of the noise, and we're not particularly sorry about it! LOL Seems to be working, they'll shut it off on thier own and play or colour or even read (which is fairly new) Ages 8 and 10 girl and boy.

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), December 20, 2001.

How totally Twilight Zone!! Yesterday, I read this thread, and later I went to turn on the TV, and the tube was dead! It had worked just fine the night before. Weird, but thank god! At various times I/we have been without TV and it was all just FINE. Except when you get a flu or cold and you just want to veg. We mainly use(d!) the TV for watching videos we check out from the library, but we were doing too much of that, too. My husband has a CC radio which gets TV, so we can listen to the 2 shows we actually like (Frasier & West Wing), which are a couple of the few shows which have scripts with enough density to maintain one's interest/attention without the visual onslaught. Kill your TV? -- ours committed suicide! Hooray!

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), December 20, 2001.

Before I was 10, I'd come home from school to go outside and play until called in for supper. After supper my sis and I washed dishes.

After I was 10, I came home from school to the breakfast mess still on the table and the house a total wreak [compliments of lil' sis]. Sis and I cleaned house, washed dishes, helped cook supper, washed dishes again, and took care of younger sis.

Guess when we got a TV..?

Guess why I never watched soaps..?

-- carol (kanogisdi@yahoo.com), December 20, 2001.

I must say I am thorougly unimpressed with TV and therefore I have trouble appreciating those who invest thousands in Flat Screen Plasma Monitors with Dolby 6.1 Digital Theatre Sound. On the other hand, we have cable which is occasionally a nice thing. GT is right on in saying all things in moderation.

We have three young children who might chooose to overdo the TV if given the choice. I had some Radio Shack Plug and Power modules from my gadget days and plugged the TV's into those. The controller is high up inside our closet. In the evening an hour before bedtime, I push The Button and the kids get their fill of 'quality' video entertainment, then they're through. We feel fulfilled, they feel fulfilled, everyone's happy.

For a very different point of view, try reading Sarah Lawrence's positions on TV and kids. She is the editor of the paper, Taking Children Seriously, and lectures among other things on the Four Fallacious Arguments Against Television: Why The Arguments Against Giving Children Free and Unlimited Access to Television are Mistaken.

Mark

-- Mark in West Central Ohio (mark@marksykes.net), December 20, 2001.

Hi Shannon,,It is amazing how quickly the mind can start being creative when the TV is not used to take up ALL free family time. Many wonderful activities come to life, quality time together becomes a reality,,,so wonderful! I feel it even brings a extra measure of peace to the household when the TV and it's worry is absent. Hurray for you and your family,,have a wonderful and safe winter,,filled with outside weiner roasts,,sno-ball fights,,and sled rides,,and many wonderful evenings together,,

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), December 21, 2001.

Our tv stayed in Texas when we moved away almost 3 years ago. We had been on-again-off-again on the tv issue, but finally decided, "NO MORE". Our children don't miss it, and we get lots done. When I was little, we were limited to two hours per week, no shows after 9 p.m., and only one Sat. morning show.

-- Cathy N. (notmyaddy@noviruses.com), December 23, 2001.

My fiance is addicted to the tube, and in a small apartment, I've resorted to taking walks to get away from the idiocy. Most of the shows make me cringe or cover my ears! Or I turn the music up in the back room, or turn on the mp3player in the computer. I want peace and quiet, he can't stand a quiet room. You'd think, being the oldest of five sibs, he'd RELISH the peace. NOT so. Yuck. My tv is old, made in the 80's and I'm hoping it'll do the decent thing and DIE soon! LOL, the suggestion to clip an innocent wire here or there is very tempting. The only reason I've got time to think in a semilogical manner now is because he's asleep! But at least he supports the homesteading issue (we've already had THAT discussion), so maybe then the boob tube will be less of an attraction!

-- Connie L (MykellSilver@aol.com), December 24, 2001.

We've been TV free for about 6 years now, and neither of us miss it at all. During the day, we have plenty to keep us busy, and for relaxation in the evening, we do on-line research, listen to good music, or read.

As a child, our TV died, and I barely noticed. We lived on a farm, and mom could hardly get us inside to go to bed. Sitting there staring at the tube held NO attraction. One of Mom's friends was appalled that we were so deprived, and offered to give us one. The look on her face was something to see when all three kids said, "No thanks, we'd never watch it anyway."

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), December 25, 2001.

Earlier in this thread I posted how our TV had made the decision for us & committed suicide. I had even opened it up to see if it was a blown fuse. Bunny (DH) took advantage of holiday sales and went out and bought a monster TV and put it under the Christmas tree. I was not thrilled. In fact, we don't have money to spend on replacing the TV and moreover, we need no help in watching more TV -- we need to watch less. We argued. He knows we need to save money for taxes. When finally he agreed to take it back, he went over to our old TV, said a prayer, and flicked the switch, and by golly, it came on! I have no idea what was wrong with it, or what kind of prayer he said, nor what kind of deity has time to repair televisions with war and hunger all over the earth. Oh, well.

-- snoozy (bunny@northsound.net), December 26, 2001.