Too Much TV.

As you all know, I’ve drastically cut back the amount of TV services we have coming into our house.  We have Netflix now, and a very basic cable package.  We rent a dvd or two from Redbox once in a blue moon.  But I never really thought about HOW much TV we watch.  I thought cutting the cable was a good enough.  But then I realized that my kids were STILL watching A LOT.  Granted, the content they are allowed to watch is highly restricted, but I noticed they were spending more time than reasonable in front of our TV watching said content.  

Don’t get me wrong.  Our TV is AWESOME.  We paid enough for it, so I guess it should be.  It makes movies POP.  It’s HUGE.  Well, huge for us.  All our previous TVs had been hand-me-downs; the largest of which was a 32 inch Sony Trinitron that required a furniture dolly and two grown men to move.  Needless to say, our current TV blows everything out of the water, and we LOVE using it.  I guess that explains WHY we use it so much. 

But we’ve all heard about the studies.  We all know that too much TV is NOT a good thing.  Here’s a pretty informative video that shows the science behind why little ones shouldn’t get over-stimulated.  When I saw this I immediately thought of my kiddos, and I think it is a must see for parents of young children. 

 

So last night, we didn’t watch anything. 

That’s right.  I kept the TV off until right before bed (Xander watches until he falls to sleep, but I’m going to wean him from that, too.)  What did we do instead, you ask? We did art projects.  I cleaned out the kids’ activity chest and reorganized it.  Megan and I made “activity cards” that listed alternatives to watching TV, and we had a lot of fun coming up with things to do.  I wrote the descriptions; she drew the pictures.  It was awesome, and Megan went to bed happy.  Can’t beat that!

So, I think I’m going to cut the TV crap for my kiddos.  They’ll watch it occasionally, but I don’t think I’m going to let it babysit them any longer.  This is something I should have done from the get-go, but work schedules being what they were, TV helped us get by.  Now I’m saying enough.

I’d love to hear what you guys do or don’t do about TV.  Sound off!   

Cutting Cable - You, too, can be cable free

Remember a few months ago when I blogged about cutting cable?  Here’s an article that lists a few more alternatives for you.  More and more people are taking control of what they watch – and how much they pay for it.  As I blogged before, my family now uses Netflix and Redbox.  We aren’t sorry, either. 

Cutting the Crap: Cable TV Edition

Today we severed our cable and phone ties with Comcast, and we are now Netflix subscribers.  We aren’t really saving a lot, since we had a bundled package that included cable, internet, and phone.  We’re keeping internet, because frankly, we use it for work.  When we canceled the other two services, Comcast wanted to charge us $150 for getting out of our contract.  Rob got that negotiated to NOTHING, AND they gave us our internet at $24.95/mo for the next 6 months.  It CAN be done, People.  We went from a $130/mo bill to $24.95 for internet and about $10 for Netflix per month.  I’d say we really cut the crap.  Here’s the kicker: because I use my internet for work, my company reimburses me $50/mo.  You do the math.  Even after the promotional period ends, I’ll be paying next to nothing. 

I’m almost giddy now that we’re getting rid of all those useless cable channels that we don’t watch.  You know, those channels that are thrown into the package but provide no value whatsoever?  No more wading through sports and foreign language channels (which numbered in the hundreds).  Now we can look at the Netflix library and say, “I feel like an action movie.” And find that.  Much more simple.  Less expensive.  This also gives us a GREAT deal of control over what our children watch.  More than the savings, more than the simplicity, to me that is the best thing.  I mean, have you guys checked out the content on Cartoon Network lately?  OMG.  It’s AWFUL. 

I’m learning that we’re not the only ones getting rid of cable these days.  My best friend cut cable last year and hasn’t looked back.  My brother doesn’t use it.  His best friend never had it.  The one thing these three families have in common is Netflix.  They pay about $10/month to stream and/or get dvds in the mail.  That’s all they need.  And you know what? They’re happy with that.  I think we will be, as well.

My internet research suggests that many people are going down the cable-free path as well.  Here’s another blog that explores this idea and offers some pretty good links to boot.  The comments show a good discussion as well.  http://www.tvonthecheap.com/ has some interesting ideas.  Take a look if you’re interested.   This article at Lifehacker.com lists some of the other services (like HULU) that are available to people willing to cut the cable.   

Overall, I think our cutbacks are necessary for our family to enjoy other things (Megan has been begging for dance lessons), and really.  We don’t need all the crap that’s on TV anyway.  I encourage you to have a look and really decide if you can live without cable.  It might be the best thing you’ve ever done.