How to go TV Free?

[lincap]

How do you go TV free?

 

Do you move the TV? Just unplug it incase you and DH want to watch it in the evenings? Do you just set more limits?

 

I have HAD it with TV. We let the boys watch PBS or some DVDs that we have. But my 5 year old is now obsessed.

 

I say "hey guys lets get our coats and go outside"

5 yr old says " No I wanna watch my show"

 

I say "time for lunch!"

5 yr old says "can I eat it in the living room" (where TV is..)

 

I say "time to go in the playroom"

5 yr old says "no, I think I will stay down here and watch a show"

 

Then it becomes a BATTLE. Crying, warnings, time out in his room, more crying etc etc.

 

If you don't move it, but set limits, do you use a visual, like a chart?

 

 

I like some DVDs I really do! I like The Reading Rainbow ones we have, Chica Chica Boom Boom, Eric Carle ones... it gives me time to make dinner..

 

How do you do it?

[Giraffe]

:bigear:

[MariannNOVA]

This is how we did it:

 

One day there was tv (we were living in the extended stay hotel on a Friday - had been there four months - and we were moving home on Saturday and the decision had been made that there would be no cable/fios/satellite - whatever) - and the next there wasn't.

 

It has worked out fine -- netflix, redbox, blockbuster -- it is fine. I have said this before here on this board -- imo and ime (meaning 'for my family') it was easiest to do completely and quickly.........like removing a band aid.;)

[fhjmom]

We don't watch TV during the week when in school. The kids occasionally watch an educational video or something on History Channel/Discovery/etc. while we are eating lunch or something but I try not to let it go beyond that. There was some whining at first but now they know not to ask. Plus there has been a lot more of "Mom, can we go ride our bikes/play outside/go to the park?" questions since the TV has become off limits.

[alpidarkomama]

Two words: GOOD WILL. :)

[Ali in OR]

No cable.

 

In our house, that means no reception except for PBS which has a local transmitter. We don't even watch much PBS, except every four years when there is a presidential election. We watch DVDs for family movie nights and dh can hook up his computer to the tv and get some college football games. But that's about it for viewing here.

[DawnM]

This is hard for us as we only have TV as entertainment, we don't go to movies, etc....

 

We are not considering dropping TV completely, but we are looking at dropping Satellite and getting a good rooftop antenna and seeing what we can get with that and maybe buying a Tivo.

 

We realize that 90% of what we watch is network TV anyway and we can do without the History Channel and CNN if we have to. Or at least we would like to try.

 

Dawn

[Mynyel]

For us? Cable was cut and that was it. We have movies and nintendo but if asked and I say no and they beg? I don't tolerate it, I give them a chore or some kind of punishment. Mom says no it is final, period. They may complain, as they often do about what I tell them but they don't watch TV!

[Melinda in VT]

My parents did this when I was 5. One day the TV was gone, and it didn't come back until after I was married with a child of my own. :D

 

DH and I eliminated cable for about a year, but we still had a VCR so we weren't entirely viewing-free.

[Soror]

We haven't had cable since before the kids were born. We have had varying amounts of viewing. We do dvds, we did get in a couple of stations but broadcast tv isn't generally kid appropriate, save for PBS which we generally only get sporadically. We have dvd player and movies and currently Netflix instant view, we cancel it in the Summer. When we have have came off of periods of greater tv viewing we just let them know the rules and consistently just say no.

 

We don't do a lot of movies out either, a few times a year. We play games together, read stories, have tea parties, play with legos, read to ourselves, do crosswords and mad libs. In the summer we generally stay outside until dark but even in the cooler weather we try to go outside at least daily. We do various free festivals and events for entertainment, lots of stuff to do for free.

[Julie in AZ]

No cable - made the biggest difference in our family

 

We have a Roku and watch using Netflix or Amazon video on demand.

[rfoster]

Like most of the other posters, our first move was cutting off the cable. Netflix is available on the Wii if we want to let them watch a movie on there, and we occasionally rent a DVD. Hubby and I use our computers if we want to watch something. Works great for us!

[nmoira]

We're another family with no cable, just Netflix and DVDs.

[Sparkle]

We have no TV either. We dropped cable a few years ago because it was too expensive, and then when the reception switched over to HD we just turned off the TV completely. We have lots of DVDs, and occasionally we'll watch a show on the computer - DH likes to watch the Daily Show and I will watch DWTS.

 

If you don't want to get rid of it completely, I would set strict time limits on it - like no more than 2 shows a day, or only on the weekends. As an aside, we have always limited video games to weekends and holidays only and that has worked out really well for us.

[Tarreymere]

No cable and we don't get any 'local' broadcasting. We do have a tv in the living room, hooked up to a computer (netflix and hulu and youtube and free educational games, and all those great educational websites like discover and natgeo), a wii, and a dvd player. Nothing gets on the screen without my personal approval and only at a time that I allow. We have Napster too, and during school I run a playlist of educational songs or we listen to audio stories through the surround sound speakers on the tv/computer system. After school the kids can watch something from netflix until DH gets home and then he reads his email and forums on the big screen until he decides if he wants to watch anything during the evening. Right now we are usually watching an episode or two of Dr. Who during the evening.

[Heather in Neverland]

I called the cable company and canceled our service. Problem solved.

 

We only use our TV for occasional DVDs. No one died. :D Best decision we ever made!

[yellowperch]

We've never had one. But if I wanted to (and I'm not saying anyone should) go tv free, I'd go cold turkey. Just give it away, sell it, put it in a big box in the basement. The only time I missed it was on 9/11 (I lived in NYC and DH was down there) but I went to a friends to watch the news. It was better that way anyway.

 

I love being tv-free. We'll watch a dvd or something every three weeks or so and never in the summer. If we watch more frequently (which sometimes does happen if we are in the middle of moving or someone (me) is horribly sick or we have a huge home improvement project underway) the 4 yo will nag and ask for almost daily to watch something. I've found 3 weeks or less frequently works best.

 

My children really don't seem to mind. The initial reason for being tv free is that I dislike television and stopped watching it as a teen. I never saw a reason to buy a set. As the children have grown I have loved their freedom from the box. So if you are inclined, I would say it is absolutely worth the initial adjustment.

 

Two weeks or less and you will be over it.

 

GL

[MeaganS]

Shortly after our first daughter was born, we got rid of our satellite and went completely to DVDs or Hulu and Netflix. We can watch anything we want online if we wait long enough, and my daughters have the benefit of growing up without ever knowing what they're missing. When we're at someone's house where they have cable, all the commercials and the children's programs seem so crazy and flashy. I'm not sad at all that we made this decision.

[jenn&charles]

We got rid of cable about 10 years ago (and even before that we only had it sometimes). I'm very glad we did. I think the kids missed it at first, but after a short bit, it wasn't a big deal at all and I'm SO glad we did it! I think it was SO much better for them growing up.

If we want to watch T.V. we do so on the computer or watch a DVD. Almost everything is watched together as a family.

I would just say go cold turkey. Cut the cable, don't have any digital reception set up and your T.V. problems will go away after a week or two!

[Parrothead]

Hon, I think it might just be a symptom. Why does a 5-year old have that much control?

 

I say "hey guys lets get our coats and go outside"

5 yr old says " No I wanna watch my show"

You reach over and turn off the TV, unplugging it if you have to and then calmly wait until he puts on his coat.

 

I say "time for lunch!"

5 yr old says "can I eat it in the living room" (where TV is..)

You say no, turning off and unplugging the TV if need be, and calmly eat your lunch at the table while you wait for the 5-year old to do the same.

 

I say "time to go in the playroom"

5 yr old says "no, I think I will stay down here and watch a show"

You repeat the steps above by reaching over and turning off the TV, unplugging it if you have to and calmly wait until he goes to the playroom.

 

[kalanamak]

 

How do you do it?

 

Audio books, and a play table near the speakers for art and assembling. At 5, my son loooooooved Tantoo Cardinal's reading of Island of the Blue Dolphin.