What? Seriously? You may ask. Why would I want to do that, it entertains me and babysits my kids when I need 20 minutes to do the dishes!!!!Heather hasn't had cable for over 10 years and inspired me to do the same. For me it has been one of the best decisions I made for my family. My hubby has been a 'lil sad without his ESPN, but he can still get all the info he needs through apps on his phone and Internet without spending all the time watching it on the TELLIE. I decided to turn off our cable bc I felt like it was becoming such a distraction to my kids. It got to a point that they would just automatically turn it on as soon as they walked into the door or woke up! I was at fault too. I would record all these shows then feel the pressure to keep up on them. That's when I said ENOUGH!
They recommend that you only watch 2 hours a day, but really 2 hours??? Think about what you and your family could do with that time?? I feel like people are really missing out on the finer things in life and filling it with TV time. I mean really, I don't think the TV is the devil or is going to ruin your life if you are watching it, but really, what else could you do or would do if its not on??
Read a book? Play a board game with kiddos? Learn to play an instrument? Do crafts? Paint? Shoot hoops? Bike ride? PLAY? PLAY? PLAY??
The average American watches 81 hours of TV per month (under 3 hours a day), that's 972 hours per year!! =That's 40 days a year just watching TV! Say your kids start at age 2, by the time they are 80years old, they would have waisted almost 9 years of their life watching TV!! ek
Why not give it a shot??? Try it! Do a no TV week and see what happens? What could it hurt? Not like you aren't recording it all anyway!! ;) Teach your kids that there is better things to do with their time and their LIFE!
Not only does it save you time, but it also saves you The Cheese, The dinero , PESOS, lets get it straight~ MONEY!!$$$$$!!! And really lets be honest, who doesn't like saving that! If Heather was paying just $50 for cable a month , for
10 years , that's $6,000! And that's just basic cable, which we all know that is not what everyone has.
The average price thatI have found that my kids play together more, read books, listen to music and together we are enjoying LIFE!is paid for cable is $75, if you invested that money each month (with inflation of cable prices), with lets say a return level of 4%, after 56 years you could of saved over 600k!!!!!No lie!! That's a lot of GREEN!
Here are some of Heathers tricks she uses to get her boys ELECTRONIC urges under control:
Even without cable my boys would spend every spare moment on an electronic device
if we let them. After many exhausting conversations with them about finding other things to do we decided to make a "NO ELECTRONICS" rule Monday thru Friday afternoon and it is working great! My middle son has a very hard time concentrating and so far we have seen great improvements with him coming home and getting his work done. I also feel like I have my boys back during the week. They are back to making forts, playing Lego's, drawing, playing games, and just hanging out together. The house is messier, my boys are laughing more, and I am much happier not having to be on them about how long they have been plugged in.
~I think the best thing to do is have set rules and stick to them. Working together with your husband or wife is VERY important because it shows the kids that you are on the same team. Not on the same team against your children but working together for your children.
~Having three boys all different ages makes it a little harder to have the same set rules for all of them. What might be good for my 5 year old isn't as great for my 12 year old and vice versa. Sometimes the younger ones will complain that its not fair, but I just try and remind them that they will be older one day also.
-One of the rules we have made for our 12 year old is that he is allowed to be on his ipod from 8-9 if all of his homework, reading and chores are done. The younger ones are in bed so we don't even have to mention it to them. It has worked out great for me because if he is being mean to his brothers or not listening then I can take him aside and let him know that if it continues the hour will be taken away. His attitude changes real fast.
~Sometimes we have to change it up, but as long as we establish a new rule and stick with it, then it works out fine. One we have added is they may have 1 Spongebob at bedtime. This was put in effect to keep me from going grey at the young age of 31. For some reason my boys always get the wildest right at bedtime! Instead of yelling at them or getting upset I give them 5 minutes to get jammies on and get into bed if they want to watch a show. If they get out of bed after the show then they lose the show for the next night. We still have a few nights of chaos but 90% of the time its easy sailing.
~My kids are not the only ones who have "NO ELECTRONICS" during the week. My husband and I decided that we would stay off when we are with the kids until they go to bed. My husband compared it to being a drug addict going thru withdrawals. It was hard at first but the rewards make it all worth it. Soon the kids will be all moved out and we will have all the time in the world to play and watch mindless electronics.
~My kids really enjoy watching movies, playing games and apps on their iPods, playing Xbox, watching funny YouTube videos and just about anything else that is electronic and now they can enjoy them without me nagging them to get off......... on the WEEKENDS! We both win! ~
We here at Sparkly Polliwog want you and your families to spend as much time together as possible. You never know if you will have another day together, so why waste it watching TV!? LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE <3
With love,
Heather & Brandi
2 comments:
Very well summarized :)
The practical tips and alternatives you provide inspire healthier lifestyle choices. This movement empowers individuals to reclaim time for meaningful act. How Change Name A commendable and much-needed endeavor.
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