Tuesday, May 01, 2007

30 days with only one channel on TV

At the beginning of April our cable TV was stopped. We live in a bit of a podunk area, so that was pretty much the only way to get anything besides the local PBS station. It has been liberating not having so much TV in our lives. I found myself watching it just because it was on rather than a desire to see any particular show. I have already powered through a bunch of books and I am working on several craft projects. It is nice that I have "found" so much more free time.

I think that one of the best things about this is that the kids are not going to be as exposed to some of the junk that is out there. They don't mind a bit any way. They are happy watching the same five videos over and over again. They get their Sesame Street and Mr. Rodgers fix from the PBS station we get and sometimes we will not even turn on the TV all day. The silence in the house is amazing.

We did change our Netflix account around a bit. Since the kids were not at all picky about the videos we cut them out of the mix. We then added another disk to our subscription giving us each two DVDs out at a time. That way we both can have something at home the majority of the time. There is also TV online. I watch my beloved Lost online and am thinking about catching up on some other shows that way instead of waiting for the current season to come out in DVD.

So, dear readers if nothing else I hope this post will make you consider (even if it is for only a moment) cutting back on your own TV watching. You are probably watching more than you even think about and there are a lot of fun things that you could be doing with that time.

12 comments:

Steph said...

Good for you guys! I, personally, don't know that I could do it. I go through periods where I watch less, but I don't think that I could give up all but one channel.

While my kids watch probably more than many peers (a few shows a day), it's usually early morning or late evening (while I'm working on dinner) and they have plenty of outside play, crafts, game and other activities too.

I *have* considered turning off the TV for a week, just haven't actually done it yet. Maybe one of these days...

Sarabeth said...

That isn't the case with us--watching too much TV. We have satellite and a DVR, but we only record shows for the kids and an occasional one for us. Most days the TV is one for about two hours for all five of us.

But, it is good to know that you are having a good time with the silence. It really can be lovely, can't it?

Zephra said...

Sorry, I love my TV. I don't even watch it half the time but I need the noise in the back round. Sometimes, I need my mindless show to unwind. I think it is great that you are finding time for yourself but no cable...do they have rehab for that?

Anonymous said...

Good Idea mom!
Getting rid of the TV and taking control over what "streams" into the house is a great idea I never had the nerve to do, yet wish I did years ago.
Keep up the great job.

Anonymous said...

We are so not hooking the cable up once we move ... Good for you for making the change for the better!

Anonymous said...

We've made it almost two years without tv...I can't imagine hooking it up again. Good for you.

Anonymous said...

Good for you. We download all our TV and watch a show a night after our son is in bed. We only have one and it's downstairs. (It takes up too much space for the upstairs!) so it's not something we think of during the day - thank goodness.

Phae-Jae said...

I love that we can watch tv online now!

Life without TV can be so free, I'm in chains currently.

Gina said...

I probably watch too much tv, but I only do it at night. Mr. P gets to watch a few PBS shows and then it is off until he goes to bed. We don't have cable, though.

Anonymous said...

how appropriate! i wrote about the same thing today!

oshee said...

We don't have cable, but we do have Tivo. The Tivo works well because I can record the shows I really want to watch and we can leave the TV off when needed. I watch my shows after the kids go to bed and I sit and fold laundry. It is my evening downtime.

I agree..less TV is better.

Darren said...

We watch quite a bit of TV, but I also went for years without watching much at all. You're right that when it's not there you don't really miss it.