If not TV, WHAT?? - Page 2

[Past_VNE]

I find this thread to be very interesting. I am 18 weeks pregnant with our first child and like to see what you folks do with your kids. It's the sort of things we have discussed innumerable times when we talk about child-rearing. We don't have a tv, even though we have the rest of a killer high-end surround sound system (LOL) We long-term-loaned the flat front widescreen 32" tv to my mom. We never had cable or an antenna anyway, we just rented movies about twice a month in the winter, so it's no big loss to us.

Both of us grew up with very little tv. He grew up in the country, I grew up in town. He spent his days in the woods or on his dirtbike. I spent mine reading, swimming or tooling the blocks on bicycles with my kid friends until dinner. So, I think we have a pretty good hold on what older kids do to entertain themselves, but I like seeing how you folks handle the younger ones.

Thanks for all the good advice!!

[mammabear]

Unplug the TV and tell them it's broken.

No, really last night I unplugged the surge that everything is plugged into and now the box won't work- which means none of the channels come in. I guess I got lucky with that one.

Believe it or not, your kids will find other things to keep themselves occupied without TV.

We are lucky enought o have a pay room which is very interesting- filled with toys, coloring books, stories, arts & crafts, a fish tank, a hermit crab habitat, etc... If I go into the playroom with the children and get them started with an interesting activity, I am more times than not able to get thing sdone when they are distracted by fun activities.

I'll have to take a look at that book too! sounds like a great resource

[mich]

I have been trying to cut out tv for 3 years. It would last a couple months no tv at all, and then we would slowly get back to daily tv.

Well, three weeks ago I gave it another try. My kids are 2.5 and 5. The new plan is no tv Mon-Fri. With a couple shows on the wekend. We have a cabinet for the tv, I agree that helps cut down on temptation. After the kids go to bed I usually watch a little.

This has been the easiest try yet, (and hopefully the last!) The first week was crazy. The boys were fighting all day and the house was suddenly so loud! But I have to say that now I am in heaven! They play together all day, I have adjusted to the louder, crazy play. And they dont even ask for the tv. I have had a couple "is today a tv day" or "how many days till tv day". Thats it, I was truly suprised that my 5yo didnt pitch a fit.

Anyway my point is, if it's to much to handle with very young children. You can always try again! I'm glad I did.

[JenInMpls]

This is a fabulous thread. My dp and I have been trying to come to an agreement about tv watching. I grew up totally ignoring the tv; my mother used to try to set me in front of Sesame Street so she could get something done but I would not stay put! That said, I did watch an awful lot of nature programming on PBS as a kid, and that is what our discussions keep coming back to - educational programming.

I teach in a Waldorf school and see quite clearly the effect that television has on children. We ask our parents to restrict screen time (tv, movies, computer, video games) during the week. Most families do have a no-screen-time rule for the week but permit tv and movies on the weekends. After a weekend of movies and tv, the children - little and big - process what they have taken in through their language and their play. Monday and Tuesday interactions and play tend to be more sarcastic and violent, and instead of creating their own storylines, they are usually acting out the story of a movie or a show. The children also have more difficulty staying focused and still in class. Blurting out, lack of concentration and talking back to the teacher is most common on Mondays. I am sure that some of it has to do with getting out of the rhythm of school on the weekend, but the behavior is most common with those who spent a lot of time parked on their butts in front of the boob tube for two days straight.

But I see, also, some of the children learning a great deal from The Nature Channel and the like. When my colleagues and I discuss this, it is always brought up that children should learn from their own experiences. But how many of our children are going to have the opportunity to take a submarine to the bottom of the ocean? What if it's a re-telling of something that already happened? Our fifth grade teacher wanted to take her class to see the Lewis and Clark movie playing at our local Omnitheatre; that raised a lot of discussion.

I would like to recommend some books about young children and play. Children have natural tendencies to imitative work and play and will be thrilled to "help" you (although their help may undo work you have already accomplished). One of the more concise ones I have read is by Freya Jaffke and is called "Toymaking with Children". The majority of the book is how to make toys, but the beginning has a lot of discussion about different age groups and their natural tendencies in play. Two I have not yet read but that we recommend to parents are "You Are Your Child's First Teacher" and "Beyond the Rainbow Bridge: Parenting the Child from Birth to Seven". Perhaps they would lend you some insights on things to do with a child if you want to cut out media!

Good luck,

Jen

[Raven]

Like most technology TV has its uses. We never really watch TV - mostly videos - and that is rare too... maybe 3 times a month if that.

I like Nature documentaries (sp) and there are some nice videos out there to rent. Amber really likes these - she is an animal fanatic.

I am appalled at the amout of crud kids shows have on them these days! : I dont let Amber watch tv during the day - she doesnt even ask for it. But there are times when she wants to watch a video and I let her. At least then I know what it is and her head isnt being filled with trash. And then I like to sit with her.

This is a really cool thread!

[LisainCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Raven

Like most technology TV has its uses.

I agree, and I think that for me it is not about throwing out the TV all together, but teaching my kids moderation in their TV watching that will serve them well when they are adults.

Most of the time during the day our TV is off, but in the late afternoon as I am preparing for dinner the kids will often watch a half hour to hour (max) of TV. I am careful about chosing what they watch--and they know this and will not even attempt to watch shows I find questionable. We talk about how it is not healthy to watch too much TV, just like it is not healthy to eat sweets all day long or junk food too often. This has been one of the biggest lessons I have been able to teach them, and I am glad that I did not deny TV all together so that they could be exposed to healthy viewing habits. My son loves animals and likes to watch Animal Planet and a show about vets. I think these shows teach him a great deal--and the visual of seeing a vet work on an animal is not something that he can get from a book.

It *is* possible to teach kids to watch wisely--but we have to model that behavior ourselves as adults. So Mike and I don't watch TV much at night--unless there is something on that we really want to watch. Mike really likes the History channel, and will watch something once a week or so. I pretty much only watch one show regularly now (Six Feet Under) but obviously the kids are not around when that is on! I sometimes watch a PBS cooking show on the weekend.

My kids play, read, draw, do puzzles, build with blocks and leggos--there are endless activites that don't involve TV and I can still take care of the house while they are busy with these activities. We like the quiet and to sometimes listen to music too. I have one of those goofy "nature sounds" CD from Target with the rain storm and jungle sounds that the kids love for me to put on while they are playing. Kids are not "out playing outside" all day long like we use to as kids most of the time. We live in a very safe, small town, and I would not want my 10 year old (and certainly not my 7 year old and 4 year old!) to play outside by themselves for hours on end like I did as a kid. So we have to be more creative and arrange time to play outdoors (with me there) and then indoors too.

So I think there *are* some good quality TV programs for kids today--just as their are some good movies, some neat things to look at online, etc... but just all in moderation with careful consideration.

Hugs,
Lisa