TV Time Management
Posted by Kysha | 0 comments
It’s been a renewing battle for us lately. Last year, our principal had discontinued the satellite TV service in order for our children to dedicate more time to studies and reading. Each week, we had WW III in my home as my gang and I would battle with this issue along with video game time. Our rule is no TV on weekdays. TV is a treat and privilege so our family’s TV time is usually on the weekends especially on Fun Family Fridays. On Fridays, we usually rent movies or find a good show on television to view together or we play board games, bake goodies, take little outings, have wonderful discussions etc. We do just about anything but the rule is that we do it as a family.
Well, things were going great. We were reading more. I unfortunately began to blog more. Ha! We actually had meaningful conversations at the dinner table. I had even found a Table Time Topic sheet which had great conversation starters for our gang during dinners. We have had discussions about anything from “Name the nicest thing that someone has ever done for you” to “If you had a choice, where would you visit and why?” Now all of this had been really great until the principal came up with the idea of renewing our TV service after a year without it. I had mixed feelings. I missed a few shows although the only shows I would watch were the local news, anything on HGTV, TBN, The Word Network, Discovery and Nick At Night. Why would he renew it? He had been missing his favorite guy shows. You know the sports, action stations, etc. The guys at the fire department where he works would watch these shows constantly so the principal simply caved. Ha!
Now, I’m back to square one and have been fighting the TV battle once again. The gang has been excitingly rushing through their school work in order to watch TV. And I just can’t stand the shows on TV now. They are so silly. The cartoons are not really for children either. What ever happened to shows with meaning and depth like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck? Where in world is Foghorn Leghorn and did the Coyote ever catch the Road Runner? And we don’t even want to get on the topic of statistics as far as viewing the tube. We know that viewing more than four hours of TV a day leads to obesity, hinders brain development, and can be traumatizing to a child if he or she is viewing the violence that’s shown today.
We live in an ever increasing world of technology and more children are indoors rather than outdoors. It’s so important for us to get outside playtime and read a book, isn’t it? Did you also know that at least 50% of children under six have been exposed to a computer. And there is a great number of children under age 2 who are falling into the bad television habits. I guess that explains the growth of the booming multi-billion dollar infant and toddler video industry. Also, more teens have access to computers and many have televisions in their bedrooms. Did you know that children with televisions in their bedrooms watch at least two more hours of TV a day than children who don’t have televisions in their bedrooms? No surprise right? Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of well informing programs out there. I just love the History and Science channels. Television can actually be a good thing. We simply need moderation and we need to remember that these little minds need stimulation aside from Sponge Bob and Dora whether it’s by reading great literature or observing God’s wonderful creation. We need to take a TV time-out. Mommy may need to lead the way in setting an example by taking a computer time-out as well.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Well, the whining saga continues. Will Super Mom defeat her arch enemy, “The Tube Tots”? Will Super Dad soon come to her rescue once again? Tune in later to see how this drama unfolds. In the meantime, I would love to know how you monitor TV viewing time in your home?
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