I'm thinking of going TV free for the Summer-share your story

[jrsmama]

:jawdrop

My son and I watch way too much TV. I'm 90% committed to going TVfree for the Summer. This would mean I would cut off the cable, we could watch a few videos or connect the laptop to the TV to watch the occasional TV show.

I'd love for us to spend more time outside, exploring, reading....just BEING!

Any pointers? I know that's a silly question but :shrug3

Who among you are TV free all the time?

[BHope]

It sounds like a fantastic idea!

[RiverRock]

We've only had cable for a few years and I've been considering dropping the cable once the season of Lost is done. We don't really watch too much tv in our house, but it is absolutely creepy what pops up when I'm surfing channels. My kids are getting older and flip around between the various kids' channels and I often feel :sick about what they might be seeing.

[Aerynne]

We don't have a tv. It's really not an issue or anything I can give pointers on unless you have specific question. We just do the same things everyone else does except tv, but we have more time to do them. :shrug3 I would hate to have one now, though. We'll watch a show on hulu once a week or so (just dh and I). We like to read to each other. We're reading the Time Traveler right now, just dh and I.

[WildOlive]

We go to the beach every morning M-F in summer
go to the library
play in the sand pile
work in the garden
go for walks
ride bikes
play on the swingset
make 'tents' in the yard
read books
do cooking projects


You can do this! :heart

[Katigre]

DH and I have never had TV channels since we got married - we have a television, just hooked up only to a VCR/DVD player. It is great, we love it. When we're at others' homes or at hotels and turn on the TV there is rarely anything we want to watch and it doesn't hold our interest - we come away from those times of having TV access saying "We really don't miss it at all"

We each have a few shows that we like to watch (LOST, Top Chef, etc...) that we view online via abc.com, hulu.com or sites like that. I really like watching that way because you have to intentionally search out the show you want to watch, there are limited advertisements, and you don't end up fliping on the TV to 'see what's on' when you're bored. When DS asks for 'screen time' he puts in a video (he doesn't really watch many kids' videos, but he does like putting music CD's into the DVD player where the track numbers show up on the screen, and also putting in DVD's of photos of himself that his grandparents put together).

I'd say to cancel cable and not look back - you can have moderate screen time with just videos/dvd's and watching some things online but removing the instant television shows unplugs the TV from being the center of entertainment, yk?

[hopeforchange]

we recently turned our cable off. dd was watching way too much tv and even though it was just noggin, it was too much.

we ended up keeping basic channels so we occasionally still watch American idol and we'll watch so you think you can dance this summer. but dd plays a lot better and uses her imagination a lot more since we turned it off. :rockon

[bananacake]

We unhooked our cable for Lent & moved our TV from the living room to a side room. It's great! TV is no longer the first thing DS1 asks for in the morning. He's also learned to entertain himself quite well.

[AmyDoll]

In Sept. I took the TV out of the family room & moved it to the play room & made a no-tv-till-4pm rule.
Yesterday, I called & suspended our satellite thru the end of October :) Our lives are busy & we just don't watch it. The kids occassionally put in a video at 4p but usually they have other stuff on their minds. I like to watch a couple shows that I've DVR'd while I iron dh's work shirts :giggle but I can hulu them or something & dh has it set up so I can run the TV thru my computer.
My kids don't know I've suspended our satellite BTW :shifty I'm kind curious when they will notice. :shifty

[Momma2Luke]

Oh - what a great idea and the perfect time to do this!
We're not tv free.. well, I could easily be, but my hubby would go through major and I'm sure very painful withdrawal symptoms....

I'd like to really cut back though for ds and I... he watches about 1/2 hour a day (sometimes 1 hour - if it's a day that daddy is caring for him)..
We may be buying a trailer at a campsite and so I'm thinking that this will really help us avoid tv this summer!

Please keep us posted on how you do!

[Littlewonders]

We cut our cable almost 2 years ago now, the first couple weeks required a real paradigm shift but now we are all very happy about it! Our home is much more peaceful and intentional. The kids have a few dvd cartoons that we own, but it is soooo nice not to have to 'police' it or have disagreements with the kids about what they are watching. Hubby thought he would really miss it, but has gotten used to checking sports scores online ;). And we find it much easier to spend our evenings connecting with the kids, playing games, sports, biking or walking. Spring would be the perfect time to try it, IMO! Other side benefits are kids reading more, and being more apt to volunteer to help us with dishes, cooking, chores etc, being less concerned about the 'latest' toys or games, oh I could go on for a long time.....going 'cable free' has been one of our family's best decisions!

[RealLifeMama]

We have been TV free for a while now. We have never had cable, but we did watch PBS a lot and Lost. We lost our converter box remote, so we have been TV free since then.
We do have Netflix and I watch a few shows online like people have mentioned. We have since bought a monitor with a TV tuner, but we have not used it for broadcasted TV because we don't see the point.

I do not know how we will last the summer since I hate going outside in the summer, it is so oppressive, I just wilt. I hope people post some really good ideas!

[Damselfly]

I really love being TV free. I grew up without TV and although there were a lot of bad things about my childhood, that was one of the good things. My husband and I had TV for a short time early on in our marriage but got rid of it before we had kids. We do watch movies occasionally. We used to watch movies more often but I noticed the kids were very jittery and would obsessively quote from the movies they watched so we even cut back on that. Our kids are allowed to watch a movie or two on weekends but since they aren't in the habit of it during the week, we often forget about it. We spend lots of our free time outdoors---whether at home gardening and doing yard work or getting out and playing at the park or taking hikes at state or national parks. We love reading and acting out stories. We enjoy cooking together. I think it would be a lot harder at first but once you get used to it, it's great. Our kids used to beg to watch a movie all the time but now they are so used to finding other entertainment, they don't even miss it.

Good luck!

[3PeasInAPod]

I haven't read all the replies. We go about 80% tv free during the summer. It doesn't get dark until 10:30 so that helps. We're outside pretty much all day.
What we do to fill the days:

park playdates
Trail hikes (easy ones)
beach days
fish & swim
get some squirt guns or a pool
work in garden
make a water river out of foil, turn the hose on & float stuff down it

and do art outside!
finger paint except use your body for a canvas
sidewalk chalk
make bird feeders
paint outside w/some tempura paint & shaving cream

Get a good comfy chair & umbrella so you can take time to sit & relax while your kids play & you're not tempted to go in the house & turn on the tube..
Lay out a large blanket to have lunch together...

Invite friends over as much as possible

[Forsynthianicki]

Subbing. Lots of great ideas so far. We watch way too much tv; I never intended it but without being intentional it's ended up that way.
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[April G]

We disconnect our cable every spring and don't reconnect till fall. We don't miss it. We spend the entire summer outside in the garden, at the parks, at the beach, etc... :rockon

[WildOlive]

Get a good comfy chair & umbrella so you can take time to sit & relax while your kids play & you're not tempted to go in the house & turn on the tube..




Great point! I was just coming back to say this is a great time to take up a portable craft, like knitting or embroidery or something, or just read some great books. I love taking a chair outside while my kids are playing and getting some ME time. :yes

Also, maybe you can make it a special thing and have a few new toys to entice them away from the TV. Like if you have a sandbox, go out and get some new sand toys and surprise them. Maybe bury some fun things in the sand and have them dig for treasure. Or do a scavenger hunt and have them find some new outdoor toys. Say "we're going to unplug the TV for the summer, because I've got some fun things that are even better!".

[HomeyT]

we disconnected satellite and got an atenae (that barely works) and moved the tv to the basement. kids watch some dvds on occassion and i like to rent movies. but i like that i can be intentional about what i watch, they watch.

we read a lot! and we talk a lot as a family. this is probably the best part. if i had a tv going on while i was making dinner i'd miss out on convos with my 3 yr old. i'd care more about what oprah was saying :) life does seem more peaceful and intentional...although i won't kid, sometimes i want tv days! when i'm tired of parenting. and need the distraction. but change of scenery works just as well! go outside, the park, a drive, run an errand.

DH and I both agree not to reconnect the satellite.

[Sihaya48]

I've wanted to be tv-free for about 5 years now but DH is strongly opposed. We don't have an internet connection that allows us to watch shows on the computer and DH isn't willing to give up his video games. We only get 4-5 channels with our converter box, watch movies and tv series from Netflix and the library, and have an xBox, but I hate how I feel and how DS acts when we're watching tv regularly..

Also, is anyone here tv-free and also without transportation during weekdays? We live in a rural area and can't just hop in the car (or bus, or bike) to go to the library or playdates. When I had a car, limiting tv wasn't a big deal, but being stuck at home all day every day makes it hard not to rely on movies to entertain DS.

[RealLifeMama]

Also, is anyone here tv-free and also without transportation during weekdays? We live in a rural area and can't just hop in the car (or bus, or bike) to go to the library or playdates. When I had a car, limiting tv wasn't a big deal, but being stuck at home all day every day makes it hard not to rely on movies to entertain DS.

I don't have transportation during the day, but my kids are older. Personally, though, I think there is a difference between how intentional TV viewing affects my family. (ie, "Let's watch this great DVD I specifically ordered from Netflix for this set amount of time" vs. "let's turn on the TV and watch it!" )
The biggest difference I have seen in my kids and myself WRT screen time is that TV viewing and too much computer time makes us passive.

[cbmk4]

let us know how it goes!

[jrsmama]

Thanks! I can't move the TV (we don't have an extra room for viewing), so I think I'll move the furniture. Currently, our living room is arranged for best viewing. I will also remove the tv from my room (I am so used to falling asleep to the tv...I know :blush).

I work out of the home 4 days/week and J will be with my parents where I'm sure he'll have PLENTY of tv viewing :-/

If it weren't for my NEED to DVR Lost, Amazing Race and Survivor to view when I come back from my trip I would unplug the cable now. :shifty

We live in a rural area, too. Maybe I'll buy a bike for myself so J and I can bike down to the river to swim. I spend lots of time gardening and grilling in the summer but he'd rather be watching Spongebob :doh I made a little fort for him but he never uses it....so maybe I'll gussy it up a little bit more with some climbing plants and huge sunflowers around it. Love the ideas about getting a few new things and putting them outside.

[abh5e8]

i think there is definatly a "de-tox" period for kids...but it does not last forever. :) so don't let that discourage you. kids will come around...be more creative and intentional in their play. we just cut our cable last week. we are moving the tv to the back room/office and planning to just use it for the occasional dvd. i would LOVE to move it to the basement and have more room on the bookcases for books. but one step at a time. canceling the cable was a BIG step for dh.

what i am wondering is, how do you all listen music in your home? we always ran our cd's thru the x-box and tv. and i really don't want to now have to buy a stereo...i want less stuff around here, not more. :giggle i have about 150 songs on my phone and can listen with earbuds...are there small speakers i could plug the phone into ?

i also want to be able to get am radio....any thoughts? (and for some reason, the radio via internet never works here.)

[Jenn2627]

I'm 90% committed to going TVfree for the Summer. This would mean I would cut off the cable, we could watch a few videos or connect the laptop to the TV to watch the occasional TV show.



This is pretty much the setup we have. My dh and I cut cable off years ago and have just gotten a few broadcast channels through our antenna since then. Although we missed it a bit at first, we'd never go back now.

My best tip for keeping tv watching for my dd reigned in is to really be intentional about what she watches. We have a few videos that we're okay with her watching and there are two shows that come on PBS here that I don't mind her watching. I strive to not have the tv on at all most days and only having a few choices helps with that a lot.

Also, I don't feel nearly as guilty when I do have an occasional day that has more tv watching that I would ideally like - I figure she doesn't watch much most of the time, so a bit here and there when she's sick and needs to rest or something comes up that I have to deal with isn't too bad. ;)

Good luck!

[Aerynne]

For music we just have a cd player/ipod docking station that has a radio on it. I've never used a tv for a radio. :shrug3 We also have itunes on the laptop and can play cd's on our downstairs computer, or on the laptop were I really motivated to do so (I would have to hook up our external cd drive to do that).

We sometimes have a car. It's harder on yucky days when we don't- I actually have to be an active parent, and it's not easy. But it's good for my kids. :tu