Tied to the Tube

It's been a while since I posted. I hadn't realized how quickly time has been flying by. I can't say that much has happened in the last two months. . .Nolan graduated from preschool, Simon finished first grade, Bella had a beautiful dance concert and Malia is walking all over the place! I have done nothing exciting. . .and I can't think of anything noteworthy for Ben either. I guess the fact that we bought a tent trailer is something to note. :)

This post is to tell about our new experiment. Ben and I have frequently discussed how much television the kids watch. My question is how much is too much? Ben had suggested once before that we not watch TV at all during the week. My response was, "Yeah, right." That's easy for him to say. . .he goes to work all day. I stay home with the kids and would have to entertain them. I told him that maybe we could start that when the school year starts again. To which, he rolled his eyes.

I know it sounds horrible, but I LOVE having the television as a distraction, a babysitter if you will. It is very convenient and easy to turn on a cartoon for the kids (especially Bella) while I try to get something accomplished. There is part of me that wouldn't really mind if they spent the whole day being vegetables on a couch wasting their childhood away. Horrible. . .right?

I did say part of me. . .and I really don't let them do that. However, Ben and I still think they watch too much. . .way way way to much. Like I said, we have talked about it multiple times, but never really done anything about it. That has now changed.

On Monday, Ben sent me a link to an article in the Deseret News. It was about how kids spend most of their time in front of screens. . .TV, computer, Nintendo DS, Gameboy, phones, and so on and so on. It suggests that families turn off their screens for a week and see what happens. It really was an interesting article.

After reading the article, and hearing a talk in General Conference about how we should be spending less time in front of the tube, Ben and I decided that we would give it a try. The only difference is that we are going to do it for the whole Summer and we aren't going to be totally screen-free. I know, it's crazy, right? I figure if we can make it through the Summer we will easily be able to continue when the kids are in school.

Here are the rules. . .

1) No TV Sunday through Friday - on Saturday they get to watch some, but not much.

2) Wii, DS, Gameboy, Computer games are only allowed on specified days. They can play Tuesday & Thursday for two hours, Saturday for however long they want. - we actually started this a while ago and it has been great. The only change is the two hour limit.

3) All the chores have to be done on Saturday before any TV or video games are played.

4) They are allowed to watch one movie a night - I already promised the kids a movie every night before we started our experiment. This is contingent on their behavior during the day.

5) Every day they don't watch TV or play video games they each get to put a sticker on the chart. When they reach a certain number of stars, (I think it works out that they can get enough every other week) we will take them camping in the tent trailer. (Something that we were most likely going to do anyway. . .but they don't need to know that!)

We are on day two of our experiment. Day one went okay. We went outside and worked in our garden, walked across the street and played on the swings, cooked dinner together, cleaned up the house together, and read books among other things. It was a fun day and I think the kids enjoyed having my attention a little more. It was, however, a little stressful. We did make a list of things that we could do instead of watching TV. . .but that list doesn't always help out. I have found that I am very used to having some quiet time during the day. The time when Bella and Malia are sleeping, Nolan is glued to the wii and Simon to his DS. I am also used to having Dora and Bubble Guppies as my babysitters. Without the cartoons, Bella is constantly right next to me asking me to do things with her or to help me with whatever I'm trying to do. I don't think that's a bad thing. . .just something I am going to have to get used to.

Today is going pretty well also. The kids and I did melty beads and did a little more cleaning. Right now, Malia is asleep and Nolan and Bella are supposed to be sleeping. . .only I keep hearing them moving around in their rooms. Simon has read a lot of books and I think I will work with Nolan on his reading today too.

I'd say this first day and a half have worked. It certainly isn't easy. . .not even a little bit. I miss the TV. That sounds so pathetic! I really do though. It was even hard for me not to turn it on and watch one of my shows. Ben was telling me that he went to the TV to turn it on multiple times. It's such a habit. . .for all of us. Even after one day, I can see how just turning off the TV can free up so much time! That is time that can be better spent. I remember looking at the clock yesterday morning and thinking "It's only 9:00! This day is going to drag on forever!" You lose track of time, and it seems to go by so quickly when your watching show after show. I can also see how all of that extra time can be used to teach my kids how to keep things clean, grow a garden, cook a dinner, use their imaginations (heaven forbid) and whatever else.

Growing up, I don't remember watching a lot of TV. We never had cable, so perhaps it wasn't the lack of desire, it was the lack of options. I have never felt slighted by that. I remember playing outside with my siblings all the time. I played hotbox or cowboys & indians or hide-and-seek with my brothers, and Tara and I used to play with Barbies inside and outside all day long. I like those memories. I'd rather my kids have those kinds of memories rather than memories of watching Pokemon or Phineas & Ferb.

Ben and I are hoping that we will be able to spend more time with our kids. Hence the tent trailer and the new TV rules.

I think it's going to be a long, yet beneficial Summer. Wish us luck.