i have a billion thoughts running through my head most days with no outlet for them. my three year old isn't the best conversationalist sometime. yet, i can't seem to find a few minutes to write them down and get them out of my head. plus, i get wrapped up into whether or not people are even READING what i have to say. i like having a blog, but the high school girl in me worries if not enough people read it or don't leave comments. you know, do they LIKE me like me or do they only like me? so i went no-comment to keep those insecurities at bay. it makes me happier. i like not having to worry about what other people think. ;)
my kids are back in school, with three weeks under their belt. and this year, i did something a little radical for us. i've always been pretty tight with the screen time around here. it helps with have no cable, just some bunny ears to pick up local channels. and a bunch of spanish-speaking shows. and a really weird music video channel. we do the netflix thing, but there's not a whole lot on there to stream for quality tv shows. emphasis on the quality. we didn't cancel the cable just to save money and limit our exposure to commercials. but also, to cut out all the negative, bad influence type of role models. i'm talking to you nickelodeon and disney channel.
cutting off cable was really easy. like ridicously easy, thanks to netflix and the ability to watch tv shows on the internet. while i still kept the tv watching time to a minimum, i noticed on school days it was still taking up too much of our time. cutting the cable out was simply not enough to achieve the home environment i wanted. it still had too much of a pull on my kids. by the time the kids come home at 4, grab a snack, do homework, watch tv, eat dinner, take a bath, go to bed. there goes their whole afternoon! there was very little playing involved. the school gets out late and i refused to ever let them watch tv before school. and they had gotten so used to watching the tv every day, that it had become part of their routine, like getting dressed or brushing teeth.
this year, i decided to shake things up a bit. i got the idea from a neighboring family....no tv during the school week! i know, i know, it's not THAT radical, plenty of families do that, too. but it was first for us. and my kids surprised me. my daughter just said, "okay." that was it. my son was a little shocked, but didn't really complain. honestly, he was watching the least because he spent most afternoons with the aforementioned
"no tv during the school week" kid playing outside. i knew he wouldn't miss it.
"no tv during the school week" kid playing outside. i knew he wouldn't miss it.
we've had three weeks of no tv on school days and there hasn't been one single fuss about the tv. seriously, not ONE single fuss. no "just five more minutes" whine over a wii game. no "can i please watch one more show." or "he watched more than me." cue hallelujah chorus.
side note though, i do let the three year old watch a little tv. it's not a school day for him and i NEED the break! and before you ask, no, the tv does not come on at night much either. i like to watch a little master chef and that's about it.
