“Celebrating” TV Free Week
A note came home from school announcing that April 26th through the 30th was TV Free Week. So, we decided to participate. I asked my son to make a sign that we could put on the TV to remind ourselves of this observance. The frown face pretty much tells you how he felt about it.
I was checking out the site for the Center For Screen-Time Awareness (the originator of TV Turn-Off Week) and I found this great quote from a child who participated in this project:
“I really didn’t like TV-Turnoff Week except that I did notice that my grades went up and I was in a good mood all week.” – Second grader Drew Henderson, Donora, PA
I love it! According to the Center for Screen-Time Awareness, screen time cuts into family time and is a leading cause of obesity in both adults and children.
So, how did it go in our household? I’ll be honest, it was tough at times. We were up against a pretty difficult week. It was cold and rainy, so outside play was not an option. My daughter was sick from Wednesday on. What else is a 4-year-old to do when she’s sick? My husband and I had a lot going on (both on the homefront and for work) and it became obvious how much we rely on the tube as a babysitter.
Going in to the project, I thought, “Oh, my kids really don’t watch much TV!” But as I said, on this difficult week, it became apparent that we do turn it on probably more than we think.
Here’s some of the Highlights of the Week:
Monday: We forget that it’s TV Free Week, so our daughter gets to watch her 15 minutes of Elmo’s World as she does every morning. Her Guilty Pleasure. After School, the kids play Star Wars in the basement for 2 hours. Like real pretend play. Like we used to do when we were kids. I get tons of work done while they play. After the kids go to bed, my husband and I sit down at the kitchen table with a cup of tea. And Talk. While looking at each other. At bedtime, I head to bed early and read more than my usual 2 pages of The Help.
Tuesday: It’s 6:45 am and my daughter is sitting on the couch wondering why she can’t watch her 15 minutes of Elmo’s World. My son reads his Star Wars book. He starts making a list of Stuff He Wants. I guess TV Free Week does not cut down on materialism in kids. While I’m trying to make dinner, I run from the dining room where my son is looking at Star Wars merchandise on my laptop (we did TV-free, not Screen-free) to the living room where my daughter is reading books to the kitchen where I try to cook. My son almost purchases Star Wars merchandise worth one hundred British Pounds on Amazon UK. After the kids go to bed, my husband and I clean the house instead of watching TV. It is really clean now. At bedtime, I read more of The Help. It’s a great book!
Wednesday: Oh no. My daughter is sick. My mother graciously offers to come up to our house to watch her so that I can go to work at NuVal. I lift the TV ban for my daughter while she is home on the couch. She really feels lousy. The TV Free Week sign goes back on the TV when my son gets home from school. After dinner, the kids do extra homework and then play more Star Wars in the basement. We read extra books at bedtime. And I read even more pages of The Help.
Thursday: My husband and I are craving one of our favorite times of the day – the fifteen minutes before the kids get up where we have coffee and watch the local news. We break down, take down the sign, and watch the news for 15 minutes. Ironically, we actually spend the time talking to each other than watching. It’s just that the TV is on. My daughter is still sick and now it’s my turn to stay home with her. I have conference calls, emails to answer, a blog post to write. I lift the TV ban. She spends the day on the couch with freeze pops and fluids. When my son comes home from school, there is a note in his BackPack. TV Free Week will be celebrated next week, not this week! It figures!
Overall, I did not find that the kids were necessarily more physically active without the TV, but I think that was due to the bad weather and my daughter feeling under the weather. However, they definitely used their imaginations more, read more, and wrote more. They also did seek other avenues for Screen Time (like my laptop). The house was much quieter – which was really nice. As for us grown-ups, we got more done around the house without Dancing With The Stars luring us away. It was great to use my book as my wind-down time instead of TV.
So, adults and kids alike, I definitely recommend that you try out TV Free Week. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t make it the whole week through. We didn’t. Just try it out and see what you observe. Oh, and put a sign like that on your TV. It will help to keep you from grabbing a sneak peak!
Now the big question is, could we go Screen-Free (computers, Wii, Ipod, cell phone). That would have to happen on a vacation!
Question of the Day
Have you tried to go TV Free or Screen Free? How did it go?
Winner of Yesterday’s Lunch Box Love GiveAway
Congratulations to Commenter #18 Stephanie! You’ve won 4 packs of Lunch Box Love for Kids. Please email me with your mailing address at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com.
Posted by: Melissa 6 comments
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Tags: TV Free Week, Uncategorized
