- Image by Walt Jabsco via Flickr
All this makes me think of is: might as well face it your addicted to… love, right? Well not in this case. My family is addicted to TV. If the boob tube is on they are off. I find it to be very amazing. How could three people be so addicted to something so stupid? Don’t get me wrong. I love a good show or movie as much as the rest of them. There are just a few things that I do not understand about the television and it’s powers! Some examples of my lack of understanding are…
- Why is it that once the television goes on it cannot go back off. They all just sit there. It is like they have a been entranced and will be hurt if they were to look away even for a moment.
- Even though there is often nothing good on they will still watch. I flip through the channels and see that nothing I want to watch is on and then I do something quite odd… I turn it OFF!
- WHy does it have to be on all of the time and loud? This is perplexing to me. I just do not understand why three people, with perfect hearing, need to listen to the television so loud. This is such a problem that I even had Abigail’s hearing tested. I really thought that she was deaf.
- Why can’t they hear? I call and I call and I call and nothing. It is not until I turn the television off that they seem to be able to hear again. Once I have done this tensions are running high in our house again!
- Once I turn the television off, you know after I have called them all for about a half of an hour. This causes arguing close to a person who is addicted to crack! The thing is that this is usually the only way I can get their attention.
All in all I just have trouble figuring out what makes the television so addictive? I just do not get it. I would so much rather be playing a game with them. I would rather be doing just about anything with them. This television addiction has become so bad that we have had to establish some rules in our house. These rules are followed most days although I am not perfect. There certainly are days that it is just not worth the fight! So here are the rules which yes as I had stated are sometimes lax.
- NO television in the morning before school. I think that without this rule we would never make it to school on time.
- In the evening they can watch 2 30 minute shows. after this the television should go off. The problem seems to be when I turn it off they get angry. I mean ANGRY!!! Abigail will start screaming and throwing a fit, Rob decides that I have committed a sin and will not talk to me and Emma whines. I know it makes you wonder why I turn it off at all! Some days I wonder too.
- The television cannot be louder then 30. If this rule is broken it is simply turned off.
- The kids are only aloud to watch certain channels and only certain shows on those channels. They can watch Disney channel, PBS, Nickelodeon (depending on the show), and HBO family. Rob is not allowed to watch anything rated higher then pg when the kids are awake. I know that this seems to be a no brainer but you would be amazed that the things he tries to watch when they are running around!
All in all I have to say I hate television. I wish that we could cancel cable and just be done. I think that it would make my life so much easier!
Becca
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We got rid of cable about 5 years ago because it was becoming a huge issue with my son who was 9 at the time. We’ve never even looked back.
This is very reassuring! I am thinking about doing the same! Thanks for visiting…
Becca
This is very funny, as a grandmother and one who does not have to deal with the TV addition, I laughed and laughed. This reminds me of years ago, some thing I guess never change.
TV has always had that power, marketing what a tool !!!!
I’m torn… We have similar rules in out house about the tv. And in theory I’d like to do as mom mentioned and just cancel the cable. But then there are the times (sickness, serious phone calls that can’t wait, blah, blah, blah) when I need them to watch the tv for half an hour. Granted it’s not every day, but it is weekly-biweekly… Let us know what you decide. I’d rather let you have a go at it first and see how it works
I suppose I should be a bit more specific.
We do have TV. We have a DVD/VHS player and a ton of movies.
What we don’t have is outside reception. There is no cable / Dish to be dealt with. The power rests solely in the play button on one little machine and in the purchasing of whatever I think is appropriate for them to be watching.
It’s much less expensive to buy a new movie or two each month than it is to pay for cable. And when they’ve watched the movie a time or two, it isn’t quite as interesting.
When they know that the movie will still be there to watch later, telling them that we have to turn the TV off is not such a big deal.
LOL, I think a lot of households struggle with this! The other day my youngest told me TV was one of the greatest things ever! Yikes! I do not ban TV, because I think there are some really great programs on it. However, I do make them turn it off before their “brains turn to mush” as I say. So far, there are no arguments when I tell them this. They just move on to the next thing.
TV is tricky. I try to regulate TV viewing by choosing the shows and TV schedules. Luckily, my kids aren’t obsessed with TV so it’s still easy to convince them to shut it off. I think you’re doing a good job so far. =)
It sounds like you are doing a good job so far. I wish that it was easier with my eight year old… oh and my husband! Thanks for visiting. I hope to see you again soon!
Becca