No More TV!

The great experiment has begun. My family and I decided three weeks ago to rid ourselves of TV. The price kept soaring, and the family-oriented programing kept decreasing, and the decision became easy.

I am not a huge advocate of TV, but I have to admit, I liked ESPN, The History Channel, Discovery and several news channels. Over the last year, as I watched these channels I found myself having to turn the channel during commercials for the sake of my children. Even during early evening hours, commercials and most programs were hardly appropriate for my children of 9 years and 7 years. So, we decided to do away with the bill and the cable.

And, three weeks into the great experiment, we are doing well. My wife has finished 4 books, I have finished two books and am writing more and my children, well, we now do not have to monitor all their TV watching because there is none. And, to be totally honest, I do not miss it at all.

What has our great experiment revealed to us? Well, I learned that even though I thought I did not watch much TV... I was watching more than I thought. TV was a habit that had become part of our routine as it had become natural to turn the TV on at every turn. TV prevents conversation: we watched many programs as a family but never talked with each other during the watching process. Now, we talk more and spend time doing things that promote conversation. TV had become rest in some ways for us. When we were tired and worn we often put on the TV and passively sat in front of it; instead, we should have gone to bed early for some much-needed rest. And finally, we are outside more.

I thought we had a handle on TV, but the reality was this: it took more of our time than we could have ever imagined. Try a week with out TV; it will reveal more than you know. Blessings!