When "TV Turn Off Week" is Every Week

My husband and I decided to get rid of our TV when we moved to our present home last fall and since then "TV Turn Off Week" is every week in our house. Honestly, our number one catalyst was space: We didn't want the Giant Box (it wasn't a flat screen) taking up valuable space in our future living room. Over the years we've worked hard to amass (through our own collections prior to marriage, swapping with friends, or beloved library book sales) a sizeable library of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. That doesn't even include our children's book collections, which seem to be ever expanding.

Having a large library in our home is of utmost importance to us (we're both writers) and an important part of my own childhood as well. So, it was pretty much a no brainer for us: books or TV. Books won by a mile.

When we made the decision to ditch the box last October, we knew we wouldn't have TV in our home for awhile, quite possibly never again. I was fine with that, he was fine with it and it turned out the kids were fine with it too. The digital transition was eminent and our old TV would require cable or a converter to serve it's purpose anyway. We already had someone in mind who would be interested in taking it off our hands. Though, I was a bit skeptical about my husband's future inability to watch sports as often as he did, he championed the idea more than any of us.

And that's how we said goodbye to TV: on our last day at our old apt. It stood alone, in the now barren room, a giant black plastic encased hunk of metal, glass and wires. See ya.

Once In our new home, we noticed there was less noise generally, less raising our voices to be heard over the volume of the TV, less energy doused sitting around on a beautiful Saturday morning over cartoons, (though I admit we missed being able to take advantage of a few more minutes of sleep on those mornings.)

Most notably, there was a tremendous increase in the creative play my children engaged in, play that was entirely self-directed. They pored over books, made fantasy worlds for their dolls and figures and Legos and generally played more together with actual cooperation occurring. Cooperation neither enhanced nor facilitated by me or their father.

While I'm not saying that living TV-free has led to an idealized fairytale world. Rather, it's allowed us to make better use of the time we spend together, doing more meaningful activities individually and as a family, things like drawing, crafts, writing, reading, pretending, cooking, experimenting, playing, running around outdoors and talking and listening to one another. 

There's clearly no void that needs filling with the absence of TV.

Sure, we watch movies online occasionally, rent videos online or at the library for viewing on our laptop, but when a movie is over, it's over. You turn it off. There's nothing tempting you to keep it on a half hour longer.

It's much easier to manage time spent in front of the screen when the amount is finite and in increments. We also now have the ability to select more quality programming than what's available on the networks. Do you know the best part? It's all commercial free.

If you're thinking about losing the unwanted family member, TV Turn Off Week, (April 20 to 26) is the perfect time to give it a try. Who knows you may enjoy life without TV or find that it gives you extra time to do the things you really love on your own or with your kids, time to get back to your old hobbies, read a good book, or get more exercise.

See these sites for 101 great tv-free activities to do and more information on living tv-free as a family and limiting your screen time.

-Christine

Comments

[Ted Villaire]

Great post! While growing up, my family had a television intermittently. When we did have one, its use was severely restricted. I'm convinced it gave me more time for reading, playing with siblings, and getting outside. Now, as an adult, I can't watch for long before it starts to feel like a colossal waste of time.

Ted Villaire

[Christine]

Gina,

Thanks for the tips!

[Gina]

Hooray for your family! It sounds like you're seeing all the wonderful benefits in your family life. Having the tube on seems like lost opportunity to create, learn or just cuddle!

We're going to do it this week & I'm hoping it becomes habit. For any readers looking for ways to fill the time, here are a couple fun ideas we put together http://twurl.nl/h73y0s

[Christine]

I suspect that if more families gave it a try, just for a week even, it wouldn't seem strange to most, and they may get to know each other better. That's what happened to us.

[EcoLabel Fundraising]

Very cool. A family where I grew up in rural Iowa, didn't have t.v. We thought it was strange then. I think it is strange when people camp out with every extra hour of their day in front of the t.v. It makes me a bit batty to hear it constantly on in someone's house if I'm visiting. Couple days of that and I'm really ready to go home!