I cannot kill my television.

[eilonwy]

I know it needs to be done. I see how my son stares, especially at commercials for trucks and SUVs, I hear him repeating things he's heard on tv ("bada ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it" for one : ) and have seen him make the connections (between a commercial for a Saturn and an actual Saturn, for example). It horrifies me.

But I just can't let it go. I *need* tv. I get weird and cranky when I don't have it around, even to the point of violence sometimes . I've tried to "quit" before, but I just can't let it go. I can limit severly, but I just can't turn it off entirely. What would you do?

[mamawanabe]

Can you tape shows you like or read about and then fast forward commercials?

Can you watch PBS only (though there are actual commericals on PBS now? very weird?)

[lilmiss'mama]

What about music? Would it help just to have some background noise?

I know for the longest time i could watch t.v. and the kids would just play and do their thing, but now my oldest is fixated to whatever is on. The t.v. is definetly addictive.

However, it could be the lesser of two evils. KWIM? It might be better for you and ds to have you happy.

[mocha09]

If you MUST watch TV, can you mute the commercials?

[eilonwy]

Originally posted by mamawanabe
Can you tape shows you like or read about and then fast forward commercials?

Can you watch PBS only (though there are actual commericals on PBS now? very weird?)

This is hard, because I only have one blank videotape. It will be several weeks before I can even consider buying more, but this is what I was thinking of doing.

PBS is okay, except that I don't want Eli to watch their morning (kids) programming. Even though there are no commercials, it's too commercial. I mean, you can walk into any grocery store or K-mart or Wal-mart and see dozens of products with PBS characters plastered all over them. I don't want my son to get into the habit of watching a show and then going into a store and screaming for a Teletubby or Elmo or Clifford doll/towel/paper plates/snack/etc.

I do try to mute the commercials, but the problem is that I forget to do this. Also, I've found that muting them makes Eli focus and watch more carefully! He notices the volume change and pays more attention to the commercials as a result! I can't tell which is worse, the sight or the sound.

[mamawanabe]

Also. talk to him about the commercials "Isn't that silly, the makers of the truck show it all shiny driving on a pretty mountain in order to sell the truck to people who don't even need a truck . . ."

I really do think we'll have more more success helping our kids navigate material culture than trying to protect them from it (impossible sooner or later).

[Ceili]

I got a TiVo for Christmas last year and it's really improved my tv viewing habits.

I've completely stopped watching commercials, I just fast forward through them. It's become second nature. Also I only watch things that I actually enjoy watching, as I'm not stuck with the tv schedule anymore. So rather than flipping through the channels looking for something to watch because I need a little tv downtime, I can watch something I'm actually interested in.

[Shoshoni]

Wow! See I am just the opposite. I had to fight dh to have no cable t.v. I get upset if I have to stop what I am doing in the middle of a show, so I just gave up on t.v. I watch it occasionally because with rabbit ears we get CSI and a couple other shows I like, but I am no longer addicted. Now I sit here at the computer instead:

~ trying unsuccessfully to wean from the computer

[Tanibani]

Originally posted by Ceili
I got a TiVo for Christmas last year and it's really improved my tv viewing habits.

I've completely stopped watching commercials, I just fast forward through them. It's become second nature. Also I only watch things that I actually enjoy watching, as I'm not stuck with the tv schedule anymore. So rather than flipping through the channels looking for something to watch because I need a little tv downtime, I can watch something I'm actually interested in.

I don't watch morning news programs anymore (Today show, Good Morning America) I miss them. But I don't want my son getting into the habit off zoning out and staring at it (as he will). So that's my little sacrifice.

The cool thing is... with TiVO, I can press record and watch it later! I'm not a slave to the TV schedule.

NO MORE VCR TAPES!!!! That's the best part. Like i have time to fumble with a stupid tape. Everything is recorded on the TIVO and stays there until I delete. I can't tell you how much we rercord on it - it's SO COOL.

It's funny... the reason we got it was that I announced to DH, that's IT! I want Oprah taped eVERY DAY. I always miss it ('cause I'm out) and do it! He didn't want to deal with a million black tapes. :LOL And we got TiVO. We gave it as a gift to my SIL and it's changed their lives. Very cool.

It's especially fun to FORWARD through every stupid commercial. DH used to spend 3-4 hours watching live sports shows.... now it's just 1-1.5 hrs.

I do enjoy a little TV.... I especially like watching Oprah... and I'll save that for when my DS isn't around.

Point is, with TiVO, you can STILL have the TV you need... just try to keep it off when DS is awake.

[mocha09]

Originally posted by mamawanabe
Also. talk to him about the commercials "Isn't that silly, the makers of the truck show it all shiny driving on a pretty mountain in order to sell the truck to people who don't even need a truck . . ."

I really do think we'll have more more success helping our kids navigate material culture than trying to protect them from it (impossible sooner or later).

Wise mama!

[eilonwy]

I really like the TiVo suggestion guys, but that's really seriously not an option. :LOL

[Tanibani]

Understood.

Then the problem is...
1) you need TV
2) you are horrified your DS tunes into it.

Can you just watch when he is
a) napping ???
b) asleep ???

I like TV, but if it's on as "white noise" in the background, that can drive me crazy too. So, personally, I can live with it being off during the day.

Or do what I do... at breakfast, he's in the kitchen nook with me eating breakfast and I'm cranking my head to try to see the TV in the family room and watch the Today Show. :LOL

[Faith]

We got to the point a few years ago where we were deciding whether to get rid of our last TV alltogether, or to keep it but drasticially change the way we used it.

We decided to keep it (mostly because we are HSing, and I wanted to use it for certain videos).


In order to use it the best way we could- as little as possible~

~We got an inexpensive corner cabinet with doors to keep it in. Now none of the furniture faces it and we keep the doors shut a lot, so no one ever even sees it. This reduces temptation a lot! (Before we got the cabinet, I would tape DC artwork over the screen.)

~We canceled our satelite and now only get the channels that come in on our TV without it- generally only PBS and an occasional fuzzy network.

~We severely limit the videos we own. We only own our very favorite ones and no others. (Right now the four of us own about five-six videos alltogether.)

~During the transition, we played a lot of good music for background noise, read more books, went out more, bought some more games, etc. I think spring/summer is a great time to make the switch, because you can just go outside.


Good luck! You can do it!

[eilonwy]

Originally posted by Faith
~We got an inexpensive corner cabinet with doors to keep it in. Now none of the furniture faces it and we keep the doors shut a lot, so no one ever even sees it. This reduces temptation a lot! (Before we got the cabinet, I would tape DC artwork over the screen.)

I really like this idea! Now... where's the cheapest place to find such a cabinet, and how much will it cost? Eli's artwork is.. well, it's mostly limited to the magna doodle (he's only got one box of 8 crayons for now). That, and I'm afraid that if I tape something to the tv, it will be more attractive to Eli, and he'll want to go and pull on it.

[srain]

Originally posted by Tanibani
Can you just watch when he is
a) napping ???
b) asleep ???

I agree; if your main problem is its effects on your son, then this seems like the most obvious solution. If you're also concerned by your own reactions, though, that's tougher.

[eilonwy]

I actually fall asleep at night before Eli does these days, if you can believe that! : Exhaustion of pregnancy! We wake up together, and he doesn't always nap during the day anymore. If he does, it's generally one 45 minute stretch, which I use to shower all by myself. When I get another videotape, (or three) that should give me enough time to watch an hour or so of taped shows, though. Keep the ideas coming!

[NoHiddenFees]

We gave up broadcast and cable TV a number of years ago and after a couple months of detox haven't had a single regret, not even for PBS. At first we didn't have a choice, because we'd moved to a new building for which the cable was not yet hooked up.

It's changed how DH and I relate as a couple and also how we view our community because we don't see any toxic local newscasts. However, both DH and myself are movie buffs and eventually joined NetFlix (local video storeds didn't do the trick due to relatively poor selection). Now we watch 2 or 3 movies a week and have rented DVD sets of the TV programs we do like, or have heard raves about (like Six Feet Under). Since getting pregnant, we've started going through 4 or more movies a week, because I'm too bagged at the end of the evening to do anything else.

During the transition we had NPR on constantly for background noise. We still listen to NPR of course, but no longer use talk as background noise (I'd rather not train DD to filter out talk), preferring the local public classical station instead. 2yo DD loves it; she's always asking, "what's that one???" and still more often than not I have to hit the station's website to let her know when she's not willing to wait for the announcer.

An acquaintance of ours was adamantly "no TV" for his family. His wife all but begged for him to change his mind, only so she could watch the occasional movie and get some exercise videos. He finally relented, but removed the tuner from the new TV. Neat trick if you've got the knowhow.

[Faith]

Originally posted by eilonwy
I really like this idea! Now... where's the cheapest place to find such a cabinet, and how much will it cost? Eli's artwork is.. well, it's mostly limited to the magna doodle (he's only got one box of 8 crayons for now). That, and I'm afraid that if I tape something to the tv, it will be more attractive to Eli, and he'll want to go and pull on it.

We were going to get ours thru the JCPenny catalog a few years ago, but I can't find one in there now. We ended up getting it at a local family furniture store. It was under $300, and the cheapest we found. It is real wood and very nice, and has room for our DVD player and stereo and speakers and all that. I can PM you the store if you are interested. They could maybe hook you up with a way to order one in your area.

If you think the artwork would be distracting, you could get a piece of material and cover it. We did that for a while. After the newness wore off, maybe your DS would ignore it.

I did a lot to make the change. (Most of it for DH!) I routinely unplugged the TV, to make it more inconvient to watch, seeing how many days he could go, etc.

I had a friend who joked she was going to make her own cabinet out of a decorated box! If you are not picky, you could make one of those in the meantime. It sounded kind of cute.

[pageta]

I grew up in a home with no tv, and my dh and I have tv but no cable, and our reception varies. DH will watch shows, but I can only watch if I'm doing something else (I have a hard time sitting still and just watching) so DH will think I'm not watching so he'll start changing the channel so I've just given up. But if I'm somewhere that has cable for a day, it's like I'm addicted. Then I'm annoyed at myself because I feel blah from sitting all day.

With that said, my suggestion is to get a life, and I'm saying that nicely, not sarcastically. Seriously, find hobbies that you enjoy doing and then you'll forget about the tv. Start cooking, reading, going for walks, sewing, whatever. TV keeps you from having hobbies. If you get really into a craft project or something, watching tv won't even tempt you.

I would suggest turing the tv off for 15 minutes at a time and working on something else. Set a timer. You can do anything for 15 minutes. Then, if you're enjoying your project, keep working on it. If not, let yourself turn on the tv. You'll be in the middle of a show, though, so it will be kind of weird and you may decide to turn it back off.

The key is finding something more interesting to do than watching tv. Use the money you spend on cable to start a new hobby.

Or schedule your tv time and just watch the shows that are really important to you. Schedule it in such a way that you cut your viewing by 50%. You'll still feel like you get to watch tv and you won't feel so deprived, and you'll get used to doing things without having it on.

Bottom line, be kind to yourself. If you beat yourself up for wanting to watch tv, not watching tv will become a burden to you and you'll give up. Be nice to yourself and find things you'd rather do than watch tv.

Good luck!

[Foobar]

Do you WANT to kill your TV? Or do you just want your son to not copy it?

Goo cries during comercials (when we watch hockey) because she wants the show. We tell her that the truth. Commercials are to make money for the TV show. They are trying to get you to buy something you probably don't need.

How much does she understand? I don't know, but I do know that I would be excited if she could identify a Saturn from a commercial and make the connection with real life. I guess I just like to see her brain work.