Movies, Games, etc, Vacation

[Splungeman]

Yesterday we implemented a ban on all movies, shows, and video games (well...not ALL video games...see below) for my 6 year old son. in doing this, we also implemented it on ourselves. We will not watch DVDs, morning cartoons, TV shows, etc. Additionally we limited the thing available to do on the computer. No PBS Kids website, no Playhouse Disney, no making movies.

 

The reason for this was an alarming observation that my son bombards himself with the stuff. For a long time we've been guilty of letting movies and shows babysit. I think we tried to justify it by letting watch educational shows like "Sid the Science Kid". He's been playing learning games on the computer since he was 3 years old. He started teaching himself to read from the wonderful website starfall.com. He HAS learned a lot and he is quite proficient with a computer. But the more time goes on, the more I start to think things need to quiet down. Yesterday i realized he was running back and forth between a movie playing in one room, to a movie playing in another room. He doesn't ever want to sit and watch a whole story. At that point, I decided it has to end. I want him to learn to focus and enjoy books. i want our family to stop plugging in to TV shows and movies and spend more time with each other.

 

Last night we had a marshmallow roast with our son and explained it to him. We didn't want him to think we were punishing him for anything. We explained that this means we will be doing more things together to entertain ourselves and that it will ultimately lead to more fun.

 

We are still allowing a few things. He will still be allowed to play Wii Fit Plus on the Wii. It is a game that gets him moving and teaches him about fitness. We usually play it together anyway, and it's not something he sticks to for very long, since it wears him out. We are also allowing exercise videos (though that's for us tubby adults...five pounds lost so far!). He is permitted to go to starfall.com if he wants to work on their reading exercises (I HIGHLY recommend that site by the way).

 

As for movies and mindless video games...We will bring these back in slowly and in a very limited capacity. Movies will happen once or twice a week, making them special occasions. It'll be the same for the video games.

 

Anyway...sorry for the long message. i was just wondering if anyone else had gone through a similar purging. I am a little worried that in allowing my son so much freedom with electronic entertainment I've been doing harm. He does well with his homeschool work and he is a very outgoing child with a LOT of energy. My wife and I are very much people of the 21st century. We love our gadgets. My wife, in addition to being a newspaper reporter, designs websites. Naturally some of this will rub off onto our son. but i don't want him becoming the 21st century equivalent of Jimmy Jet and his TV Set (Shel Silverstein). :confused:

 

After our marshmallow roast and family meeting last night we went inside and gathered up all the DVDs and video games. After that, with the TV silent and no other options for us, we played a game together. It just sort of happened. We found each other in the living room and just started playing. I guess that's a good start...a good sign...right? :001_smile:

[Splungeman]

So far today, my son has been playing make-believe with his stuffed animals instead of watching TV shows. He's asked about watching a movie or show and i gently reminded him about what we were doing. He said, "Oh yeah. I forgot. Can we do some more school then?"

 

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone.

[1bassoon]

Very inspiring story - you've given me some food for thought!

[FriedClams]

I read "The Plug In Drug" when my kids were younger (2 and 3ish) and we haven't turned back. My kids get 30 minutes of screen time every other day, unless it's a special exception. When they get screen time they usually play a video game together or with dh. They very rarely watch tv unless it's all of us watching food tv. I see no reason why kids need tv or how it's profitable for them. I applaud your decision - you'll be so glad you did it. It may take a week to detox, then you'll never look back. I am certain that my kids are such avid readers because they watch very little tv.

[i.love.lucy]

We're unplugging too. We moved this past weekend and didn't get the DirecTV hooked up until Monday morning so we had 3 full days of silence. The kids played so well together and we all played games and did rent a movie once. It was a very nice break!

 

We're not a big gaming family, so that's not a big deal, but we have decided to limit computer and video games (dd has a DS) to one hour twice a week. And no TV on at all during the day. We do watch a few shows together as a family, like Mythbusters and American Idol, so we will allow those. The TV being off during the day will be a big enough 1st step. I was allowing it to babysit my 5 yo while I do school with the 9yo...not good.

 

I'm proud of you for unplugging!

[Splungeman]

Thanks for the responses! I'm already starting to feel like this was the right decision. We just finished another math lesson and a reading session (extra) per his request. Now he's in his room again, arranging his animals like they are in a movie theatre and acting out movies for them. I don't mind any of that at all! The one thing I've noticed so far is the quiet...sweet blissful quiet.

 

We'll take it day by day. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!

[HerdingCats]

It has been a source of struggle for us as well. We made the conscious decision several years ago to limit the screen time around here and I have never regretted it. You will find after a period of "detox" that kids will naturally begin to do more imaginative things to entertain themselves. Mine read a lot, play together, draw, make up comics, etc. We have settled on a token system for screen time (which is STILL a huge draw for them) in which they get 5 tokens a week. (I think I got the idea from someone on here :)) Each is worth 30 minutes and they can spend them on video games, computer games, television shows or movies. This allows them to budget their time and sets their expectation level. If they want to try to get to a certain level on a game, they can use several coins at once, but then they run out sooner. We still have movie nights or family shows we watch together from time to time which don't require them to spend anything. I also use educational videos in our schooling. It won't seem like a punishment if you explain that there are fun things that don't happen when time is eaten up by screens.

[Susan in KY]

Never watched TV here, and no regrets. We have no video games and our dc seem to be glad we don't. DS once told me playing at a certain friend's was a bore because all he wanted to do was play video games, and that was no fun. :001_smile:

 

We do allow limited computer time (National Geographic Kids at present, it used to be Starfall), and some videos, maybe once or twice a week at most on the coldest or rainiest weeks. That's it. You will never regret your choice.

[Splungeman]

That token system seems like a really good idea. Do the kids get to earn extra tokens if they do particularly well at something or is it just a flat 5 per week no matter what? Also...if they don't use their tokens, do they roll over or do they just reset to 5 every week?

 

Today has been very quiet and my son has really been doing well. He's finding all kinds of ways to entertain himself. He doesn't seem too disappointed yet. I keep expecting the meltdown or the crying. It hasn't happened yet. I wish we'd done this a long time ago!

 

We had forgotten about music CDs. I think we're going to allow those because lyrics at least make him visualize things on his own as opposed to a moving picture, which doesn't require as much thought. He's always loved music and I don't see us taking it away as well.

[Garga]

We started limiting tv and games, too, recently. The boys seem to get into bad moods if they play too many computer games. They get frustrated at the game and get in a bad mood, and when it's time to turn the game off, they get frustrated that they have to quit and are in a bad mood.

 

And then they started begging to watch tv/play games all day long. We didn't have official rules, so they would pester me about it all day, "Can we watch NOW? How about NOW?"

 

I finally had to tell them they have 1 hour of screen time a day and they could choose to use it watching TV or playing games.

 

It's been going well and I think I'll lower it to 1/2 hour a day.