TV-Free Newbies and Wannabes!

[holyhelianthus]

Hi, my name is Maggie and I'm a TVaholic.

We haven't gotten rid of our TV (by that I mean cable. I don't think a movie every once in a while is a bad thing) but we are planning to, it's just been so hard this time around (we were TV free for a year or 2 there). It seems that we always find some excuse to keep it. I know I know, we should just get rid of it but that's easier said then done.

Anyways I was wondering if I was alone in being a wannabe. It seems like there are so many "seasoned" TV-free mamas here- care to offer any words of wisdom? Throw out some advice? TV has totally become my security blanket and I HATE it! When DH and I talk about the home environment we not it's not us sitting in front of the TV or screaming over it's noise and that's how things always seem to be here.

[greenegirl]

I am a wannabe! We got rid of our cable 3 months ago, and I have not missed it much. We do still get about 20 channels or so because DH built an antennae to get the over the air digital channels. The great thing about this is that it saved us $75/month!!! Plus most of the channels we get are PBS, public access, or local government channels. Those channels have a lot of good programs which we were not watching before. Of course we still get ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and CW so there is still a lot of junk on.

It really bothers me how much time I allow the TV to take. I have been TV before -- for about 1.5 years. I did it because I couldn't afford cable at the time, and I didn't miss it. But when my DH moved in, one of the first things he did was get a cable account. He likes to have to TV on for background noise when he is doing other things (his entire family does this). I really hate it.

Reading this thread is inspiring me, though. I'm going to start paying attention to just how much time I waste in front of the TV. And I'm starting right now -- most of what I watch we DVR and watch later. I'm going to delete some shows from my DVR list immediately.

[JamSamMom]

I like the idea of being TV free but my DH will probably choose TV if I gave him an a choice....me or the TV So anyway I will lurk around and see what happens. My DH is getting home form Afghanistan next wednesday after being gone for 15 months so maby I could delay the cable hook up in our new house. It will be awahile before we move to our new assignment with the air force and we still do not know where we are moving. I do not like the influence of the commericals on my 5 year old DD. Although I do like to unwind at the end of the day with my favorite TV shows. I guess there will be other things I can do at the end of the day with my husband!!!!
So no you are not alone in being a wannabe!

[Arwyn]

Just ditch it. Go cooooooooold turkey. Move the TV into some obscure, uncomfortable, hard to access place, cancel cable, and prepare for the withdrawal... Read through the old TV-free tribe, there's a lot of good stuff in there. One bit of near consensus is it takes about 2 weeks to adjust to being TV-free - give or take, but there WILL be a withdrawal period. But you'll make it through.

In the meantime, if you're not prepared to quit just yet, become more mindful of what you're watching and when. I don't mean judging yourself, I don't mean trying to impose limits, I mean just be aware. Watch yourself watching TV. I predict you'll gain some amazing insights, and possibly some motivation for making the leap.

[Sydnee]

I'm here!! I really don't watch a lot of TV, in MY standards!! I do enjoy Y&R, that I watch at night, and Survivor. DH will have the TV at all times if I don't say anything, especially in the colder months. But in the last 3 years, I have really cut back on my and the kids' TV viewing. During the day (I do daycare in my home) I allow the older kids to watch a movie for quiet time, but that's usually the only time it's on. In the evenings it's usually off, unless baseball is on. And on the weekends during the day, it's off. This is a HUUUGE improvement for us! I am now convincing DH to get rid of the TV in the living room, and just have one downstairs. I want a big bookshelf for that room.

I am hoping to learn a lot and get some great ideas from everyone!!

[glendora]

I'm a wannabe. Dh would have a breakdown if I got rid of the television.

[Down2Earth]

I really want to become tv-free for our new baby, but right now I'm a tv addict!
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this forum. I've just spent an hour reading a bunch of stuff and really firmed up my resolve to be tv free.

Now, I just need to do it!

[JayGee]

I'm a wannabe :. I grew up TV free until age 8 or so, and then it was very limited. As a young adult, I didn't have a TV until my DH (then my boyfriend) got me one for Valentine's Day! My DS was TV free until age 2 or so, and every few months I go TV free for a few weeks, but we always go back to watching. My girls both watch too much, IMO. I'd like to be TV free, but I need to make it stick.

[kdubs_mom]

Count me in. We were TV free, pre-baby, for 2 years. We've never paid for cable and never will. But our house has a big ole antenna on the roof that gets network and UHF channels.

I am pretty good about limiting my viewing during the day. I have my favorite talk shows (Dr. Phil, Tyra) and I pick one to watch. If it's a rerun I kill it. Sometimes I don't even plug in the entertainment center until DH gets home.

I'd like to go black in February '09 instead of buying a converter box. I don't know if DH would go for it. He's got his eye on a wall-mounted flat screen, but I can think of lots of better things to spend our money on!

[MelanieMC]

I'm a wannabe who is currently an addict. I don't think I will ever be without a tv in my house, mainly b/c I LOVE to watch movies. I've been obsessed with indie films for a few years now and I'm ok with keeping a tv for that reason.

One of my friends is tv free but has a projector that she can put dvds into and watch a movie every now and then on an empty wall. When not in use it's stored away and takes up very little space. I really like the idea of that, that i can still watch movies from time to time without having a tv taking up space and forcing the focus of a room to be the tv set.

[goldfinch]

I like that projector idea, too. Are they expensive?

[kdubs_mom]

I was curious too. Sounds like a good idea! On Next Tag they range from $200 to over $1000.

Was just talking to DH, and he's stoked! As long as we get one that he can play PS2 on.

[MelanieMC]

The one my friend has she got from ebay a few years ago for $250. I've seen them at target for about $400. I think that's a good price when you consider how portable it is and the fact that it will display much larger than any tv you can buy - if you had a tv anywhere near as big it would cost thousands. She just sets it up whenever she is going to use it and points it toward a blank wall and has an instant movie theater in her home.

Also, I think that Sara (Delight) used to have one. I think that I saw it in one of her pics from one of her apartments a long time ago.

[feminist~mama]

We're TV free, although we do watch movies. I will watch the most random crap for hours with little to no worries about the quality of what I'm watching if I'm not careful. Easier not to watch it at all for me!

[Julie1014]

Wow! Thanks for the projector idea! We only watch DVDs after DS has gone to bed and I hate how much space our tv uses so this would be perfect for us!

[PiePie]

we are tv-free newbies as of this week, i was tv-free for 4 yrs before but dh never. honestly the cost of cable kicked him over.

[galincognito]

i most definitely want to be tv free. dh is almost convinced but is a HUGE nfl football fan (we drove from central canada to indianapolis for a game!) but we might be able to make that work. i feel like it's always on and i've noticed that dd has her favorite show: she loves the game show lingo; she'll sit and watch for like 10 minutes straight and clap at the appropriate times and everything. although it's cute in a way, it's kind of disturbing.
i know in my head that cold-turkey is the best method but i think our plan is that we'll cut down to basic cable from now until mid june (when i go back to work) and then cancel it completely. with summer we'll be so busy outside anyway, that i know we won't even miss it. winter might be tough as it gets totally freezing here for long periods of time to the point where you can't go outside but hopefully we'll all have adapted well by that point.

[Azuralea]

I don't know if we'd be officially called TV-free, but we have been TV-extremely-limited for many, many years. We watch movies together about once a month, and sometimes watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report together, also about once a month. I think you can go extremely-limited pretty easily. For us, we use it as together-time, and we talk about what we watch, so we're not just spacing out. My big beef with TV is how people just space out and don't even think about what they're absorbing, so I think so long as it's causing good conversation and is limited, it's okay. My DH also has one show (Battlestar Galatica) that he watches after DS is in bed. I don't watch that one with him.

Our DS rarely gets to see any TV. We record space shuttle launches for him, because he loves those, and we have a DVD of trains that he watches every 2-3 months. Otherwise the TV is off when he is awake.

So, not completely TV-free, but we've done this limited version for many years now, long before DS was born.

[jadekat]

I am a TV free wannabe! Currently DC watch too much TV. Sometimes I need to have them occupied while I do stuff like cook or clean. I feel bad about this. I need to work on including them in my day to day activities more.

I feel bad to say but DD spent alot of her early years watching TV (no flames please!). I'm tired of some of the junky cartoons on Nickaloden and Disney. I need to talk to DH about getting rid of our satelite but I don't think he would go for it.

[mummy marja]

We're moving to a house on a lake in a few weeks, and when we move we're planning to put our TV in the unfinished basement. This will severely limit our TV watching, which gets me SO excited. Right now the TV is in the middle of the livingroom/kitchen/diningroom area--basically the centre of our home. How awful is that? Since it's RIGHT THERE, it's so easy to turn on.

I was TV free as a kid and teenager. I don't want to raise my kids that way--I feel that a few shows and many movies are really excellent and well worth watching. But I am really looking forward to having the TV way out of the way. We also won't be hooking up Satellite. We may only get one or two channels.