Are we TV-free??? Uncertain . . .

[annmartina]

I've been lurking on the forum and reading the posts and trying to figure out if we're TV free. We don't own one but we do watch DVDs on our computer, which is not always the most comfortable thing in the world, so consequently we don't do it very often.

Also, I'm kind of an internet nut, and I know internet is different than TV, but I feel guilty saying I'm TV-free when I spend at least an hour each day on the internet.

Dd is 11 mo and never watches anything except accidental snatches of news when we're at my MIL's.

Finally, being TV-free (I think????) wasn't really a concious choice. I didn't watch much growing up (homeschooled) and when dh and I met in college we were too busy for it, then we graduated and got married but never got around to getting a TV set. Now that I'm reading these posts I starting to think it's a good idea to keep things like this.

Is this what it means to be TV-free . . . ???

[Arwyn]

Personally, I think it means pretty much whatever you interpret it to mean. I (obviously ) am on the computer a bunch, and we do watch the occasional DVD on the computer (previously on the TV, but not since having Naked Baby). I don't think it matters whether it was a conscious decision or not. The forum is for EVERYONE who wants to explore reducing or eliminating their or their children's TV time, whether or not they own or use a TV, whether they use other media, etc.

What makes this forum important to me is that we don't use TV in our parenting toolbox, which sets us apart parenting-wise, and we don't have commercial television, which sets us apart culture-wise (I almost never know what new movies have come out, for instance, nor what interesting/annoying New Must Have Product has just been launched). And there are lots of TV-free people who feel no need to identify as such or congregate with others, and that's fine too.

Also, hi! I don't think I've seen you in the Westside PDX tribe thread yet. Come introduce yourself! There are a lot of great families around here, and even those who aren't "TV free" aren't usually TV saturated. Plus they're some of the most fabulous people I know.

[boatbaby]

Originally Posted by Arwyn

What makes this forum important to me is that we don't use TV in our parenting toolbox, which sets us apart parenting-wise, and we don't have commercial television, which sets us apart culture-wise (I almost never know what new movies have come out, for instance, nor what interesting/annoying New Must Have Product has just been launched).

Nicely said!!!

[stacyann21]

I feel guilty saying I'm TV-free when I spend at least an hour each day on the internet.

You know?! I'm on the internet for at least 2+ hours a day but I rarely watch TV. We have a TV w/basic cable, I just never watch it. DS watches one cartoon in the morning while he eats breakfast. For the rest of the day, the TV is turned off.

[go0ber]

i think you are. to me tv = ads and movies = no ads.

so even if dh and i watch a tv show that we rented on dvd (or downloaded...) i will call it a "movie." i got that from dh though. i used to correct him but now i find myself saying it because i associate television with commercials.

so by my definition you are tv free.

[lorijds]

Who cares if you meet someone else's definition of TV free? This isn't high school, you aren't required to fit a certain definition to have certain friends!

Unless you are working towards some TV free badge in the superior parenting scouts, why not instead just do what works for you? If not watching TV but playing around on the internet is what works, fine.

If someone asks for some strange reason, maybe a show comes up during break at work, I just say something like "we don't really watch tv." If they pursue it, I usually say, "Actually, our tv isn't hooked up to anything, so we don't get any channels. We just watch netflix movies occasionally."

I'm not looking to impress anyone with our cable and network tv freeness. I HAVE used the tv as a babysitter before, and it was a godsend. If those certain situations ever reared their ugly head again, I'd do it again in an instant. I'm not a better or worse mom because of it. My parenting isn't superior one way or another.

What's the difference between watching tv for two hours a day, or spending 2 hours a day on the internet? The same arguments work for each one. "I'm learning something." "I can shut it off any time I want." "I just want to veg for a bit." "The kids are asleep anyway." Either way, that's two hours where you are minimally aware of your kids, your work or laundry isn't getting done, and you are really just doing something mostly mindless and silly. If that's what keeps you sane, what's wrong with that? I love surfing the internet, I learn such random, useless facts, I love wikipedia, man I can be on that site for an eternity! And MDC? Sure, you can learn something here. But honestly, most of it is just like your yakking on the phone. Does the 1+ hour a day many spend on here really change your life? Would the world revolve without it?

Girl, you just keep right on doing what works for your family, and don't worry about what label you should apply to your household. Or how about the label "Doing what's right for our family"? That's the only label I personally like.

[Azuralea]

You can definitely have different degrees of tv-free. It's not like child-free.

I agree with Arwyn's definition above: TV isn't in our parenting tool-box.

[onlyAngil]

Originally Posted by go0ber

i think you are. to me tv = ads and movies = no ads.

so even if dh and i watch a tv show that we rented on dvd (or downloaded...) i will call it a "movie." i got that from dh though. i used to correct him but now i find myself saying it because i associate television with commercials.

so by my definition you are tv free.

just made me happy