Taking Charge of Our Television

About three years ago, we effectively eliminated television as we knew it from our home. No, we did not banish all electronic entertainment – not at all, actually – but we decided it was time to take control of the entertainment that entered our household and what we were exposing our children to.

Rewind about ten years. We were a typical DINK (double-income-no-kids) couple before our first child was born. We had an impressive home theater system: huge TV, surround sound, a billion satellite channels to watch at our leisure without regard to the language or imagery streaming into our home…then we were blessed with our first baby girl.

We suddenly became sensitive to every word and every scene that emanated from that TV. We began to watch it less and less – spending every precious moment with Girl #1 seemed infinitely more important than whatever was on those billion channels. We began to watch television only when it seemed worth our time. The process had begun.

First we pared down our satellite-TV service until we only got about 10 channels (not counting the ridiculous shopping channels and such). We found ourselves watching mostly documentaries because we could record them on our DVR and watch them when we could actually sit down and enjoy them instead of just having the TV on and channel surfing. (The one exception was LOST. We deemed it worthy of our time and we could watch it after baby girl had gone to bed.)

When Girl #1 was old enough, we picked out the few children’s programs that we thought were actually beneficial in small doses (like Blue’s Clues – the best kids’ show EVER) and allowed her to watch an episode or two a day at certain times.

Then along came Baby Girl #2. We had grown even more accustomed to filling our time with playing outside, listening to music, reading and just hanging out together so she actually didn’t care much for watching TV when she got old enough to notice. After one episode of Blue’s Clues or something similar she was off to work on one of her little projects.

When LOST finally ended, we (half jokingly) asked ourselves if we even needed a TV anymore…and the answer was no. We cancelled our satellite subscription completely and have not missed it. Now I find it hard to believe that we actually paid for that junk to enter our home!

As I mentioned before, we did not completely eliminate all electronic entertainment from our home – we just chose to take control of it. For about a year, we downloaded a few kids’ programs from iTunes and allowed the girls to watch them on the computer a couple of times a day, mostly so I could get some work done. We also rented DVDs from our local video store. They had something called a “Kids’ Pass” that allowed unlimited one-out-at-a-time movie rentals for $5 a month from their Kids and Family category and it worked out pretty well until we had rented all the movies that we thought were appropriate. Then we cancelled it.

Finally, we subscribed to the Netflix streaming plan (about $8 per month) and Amazon Prime ($79 per year and here is a free 30 day trial). The bonus is that we also get free 2-day shipping from Amazon, and that’s great because we buy a lot of books. This has turned out to be an excellent choice for us.

Now we have movies – free or available to rent – as well as TV shows that we don’t mind the kids watching. Both Netflix and Amazon also have numerous documentaries, which we love, from the History Channel, Discovery Channel, PBS and several independent filmmakers. It even has a few “grown-up” TV series that my hubby and I can watch when the kids are asleep. (Sherlock, anyone?)

All of this means that we have less to contribute to conversations with friends and family when they talk about certain TV shows, but it also means that we have taken charge of the entertainment that enters our home. We control what we watch – only turning on shows when we plan to deliberately sit and watch them – and we control how much we watch.

When a movie, TV show, or DVD ends, there is silence…no commercials or promos for the next program. It is easy then to switch off and go outside or go back to the book we are reading.

Speaking of commercials, I can’t tell you the last time I saw one (except for those annoying online ones.)

How has this change in entertainment affected our family? Here are three ways:

1. We don’t have a list of stuff we want.
When Christmas rolled around several months after we first cancelled our satellite TV, even the kids had a very short list. In fact, Girl #1 just wanted a fish and a little tank to go in her room. Our wants were guided by our interests, not by what commercials told us we “needed.” Grocery shopping is now guided by what we really eat instead of flashy new products advertised in those all-too-enticing commercials.

2. We are no longer bombarded with images of scantily-clad women in seductive poses.
It’s not just during football games that the commercials have decidedly sexual overtones. Watch the Food Network. Watch HGTV. The inappropriate advertisements can be for anything from shampoo to champagne, but they warp young children’s (and adults’!) perception of beauty and modesty. It’s nice to know that my daughters aren’t comparing themselves to the unrealistic images of women in commercials (and I don’t worry nearly as much as I used to about the ever-increasing grey streaks in my not-smooth-as-silk hair!)

3. We don’t have to explain ads for things like Viagra.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you have kids and a TV, I’m sure you understand.

Making the choice to rid ourselves of entertainment that was a waste of our time or that was detrimental to teaching our daughters is one of the best things we’ve ever done for our family. We have eliminated worthless TV shows, background noise in our house, annoying and intrusive commercials, and the dependence on our television for entertainment. There are many days that we don’t even turn our TV on, and it feels great…even liberating!

It’s all part of our effort to live deliberately. Life is too short and children are only children for a little while. We choose to take charge of how we spend our time.

Have you eliminated television from your home? How has it affected your family? What are some ways that you have taken control of your family’s entertainment?

Kelly is a Christian, a wife, a homeschooling mom, and a seventh-generation Texan. When she isn’t wrangling her daughters or her numerous animals, she enjoys reading and enjoying a simple life in the country. She has a passion for doing things the old-fashioned way and sells her handmade soaps and beeswax skin care items in her Etsy shop, Bee Hill Naturals. www.etsy.com/shop/beehillnaturals. You can read more from Kelly at Bee Hill Naturals