2 Weeks Without Television and Counting

Jess and I are not big TV watchers. We average 1-2 hours a week. Our kids on the other hand LOVE the television. We do not subscribe to cable, therefore they are only interested in PBS programming which isn't too bad. When I was "bed-ridden," the TV saved me. The kids watched it ALL day long while I remained in the fetal position. But, during Christmas break I snapped. I couldn't take any more of the TV. I had Jess remove our bulky, old 32 inch- screened television from the toy room. For the past two weeks we have gone without the TV. And, you know what?--- My kids are imaginative and creative and actually love playing with their toys and reading their books and putting together their puzzles. No longer do I wake up to Arthur or Martha Speaks. I usually am awakened by the sounds of pirates and fairies and race cars and whatever else they happen to be playing with. During Christmas break, Simon and I each took a turn reading one paragraph at a time from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We have since finished it and have moved onto Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Yesterday, I found Ava thumbing through all of the pages of her Beatrix Potter books and silently reading them to herself.

As a youth, I adored the TV. In fact, people who have food addictions describe their love of eating as "comforting." I found this to be true with the television. It was comforting to watch Full House or Saturday morning infomercials or celebrity news shows or Made-for-TV-movies. Anything that could be watched, I watched it. I've since changed my ways and have shunned the TV for various reasons.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this blog entry to become preachy or self-righteous. The majority of moms out there are much more savvy when it comes to setting rules and scheduling their kids' days around productive activities. I, on the other hand, have a problem as a parent controlling the amount of television watched by my 3 young children. The solution right now has been to confiscate all signs of the TV. We'll see how long that lasts. I hope it is forever. But, I highly doubt that with the way Jess has been eye-ing all of the flat screen TV's at Costco lately. I thought it would be appropriate to end this post with a chant sung by the Oompa Loompa's (in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) in response to the naughty boy, Mike Teavee:

So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

And in its place you can install

A lovely bookshelf on the wall.

Then fill the shelves with lots of books,

Ignoring all the dirty looks,

The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,

And children hitting you with sticks-

Fear not, because we promise you

That, in about a week or two

Of having nothing else to do,

They'll now begin to feel the need

Of having something good to read.

And once they start -oh boy, oh boy!

You watch the slowly growing joy

That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen

They'll wonder what they'd ever seen

In that ridiculous machine,

That nauseating, foul unclean,

Repulsive television screen!

And later, each and every kid

Will love you more for what you did.

--Roald Dahl