| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Aunt George |
Posted - Feb 01 2007 : 3:47:32 PM
Well, we are taking steps to become a TV free family. Ouch.....but we are cancelling cable which also means no cable computer access. We will be going to DSL though, so not too bad.
We are taking these steps as a family so that our girls will become unplugged and possibly discover the total beauty and freedom of reading. My DH and I think it will draw us closer as a family. I'll teach the girls to sew and crochet and cook. This is part of our 5 year plan to become more self sustaining. I know this sounds like a little step, but it is huge for us. I'm addicted to 24 AND Idol. I'm getting close to being prepared for our place way out in the country!
I know I haven't posted much in the reading room, but that just proves, that I need to read more!!
Are there any other Farmgirls and their families who have done away with TV? If so was it a difficult adjustment? What benefits have you found with not being sucked into the tube?
Thanks in advance!
auntgeorge
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Naturecraft |
Posted - Mar 06 2007 : 11:24:24 AM
I forgot to mention in my post about Feature Films for Families. If you don't like all the bad content found in the normal movies/cartoons nowadays this company had been producing films suitable for children to watch. I have known about them for a couple years now, you might want to check them out on the internet. We have about a dozen movies from them that are more appropiate and have great life lessons for children.
BB,
Cheryl |
| Naturecraft |
Posted - Mar 06 2007 : 11:21:25 AM
Good for you gals for getting rid of the TV. MY dh would never go for it although, I have stopped him from getting cable/satellite for about a year now! I know that when we get caught up financially the first thing that will happen is getting satellite TV. My husband is addicted even though he won't admit it; he has to watch his shows! My kids watch too much TV as it is and we only have like 6 channels that come it clearly. We do have a great collection of movies that my ds (3) usually watches; most of them Disney. I definetly agree with another poster about some of the cartoons not even being fit for adults! I would like to limit his TV time because I know he watches a lot when he is home all week with my dh (my dh works weekends, I work weekdays). DS watches more TV in the winter obviously because he can't get outside as much. My dd goes to school and is busy with homework and friends so doesn't have as much time to watch TV. We did have Netflicks for a while, but I never had time to watch the movies we got and ended up sending them back because they just cluttered the counter! I do like TV and some of the cable channels (TLC, DIY,etc), but I can easily get sucked into them and I don't like that. I have other things more productive to do. Even though, I do watch a little TV, I am usually doing something else also, I can't just sit there. A lot of times I am reading a book, while the TV is on! I would definitely be OK without a TV in our home, but since that won't happen, when I am home, I CAN turn it off at least. There just has to be a balance.
BB,
Cheryl |
| Vintage Redhead |
Posted - Mar 05 2007 : 2:38:48 PM
I know that I'm weighing in late, but...
I made a unilateral family decision one year ago to do away with our satellite service. It was the *BEST* decision that I have ever made for our family!! Here is why:
1) My boys were becoming idiots, I'm sorry to say, and harsh though that may sound. My DH travels, and when he would return home from a 3 or 4 day trip, they would tell him about "Timmy Turner" (a cartoon character) as though "Timmy Turner" were a real person. Yowza...
2) I don't know how I *ever* got anything done before. Seriously. With the exception of the hour or so that I'm on the computer each day, I'm pretty much working on *something* around the house from the time the boys leave for school until I go to bed to read and wind down. I honestly don't know how I got anything accomplished before.
3) We talk more as a family now. About things that are really important - not about shows, not about the ever-depressing news, not about sporting events. We talk about what is going on in our lives.
4) DH and I no longer live our lives around the TV. We go to bed when we are tired. No more staying up until "XYZ" show is over. No more being a slave to stupid sitcoms. No more NASCAR on Sundays. We aren't glued to the tube for NFL all fall, NBA all winter, MLB and spring/summer. We go out on hikes, take the kids to minor-league games, go for bike-rides. We find a way to combat boredom being *active* instead of passive.
Sure - it's difficult being "...out of the loop..." as far as the news goes. But really: as long as I have the internet, I can always find out whatever I *really* need to know. And I'm not really missing much by not watching Entertaining Tonight, *THAT'S* for certain! We have DVDs and can borrow more for free from the public library, not to mention Blockbuster is just a 30-minute R/T walk. ~ K
~ Kaylyn
(Living in Suburbia with a FARMGIRL Heart!)
My Current Cause: http://nickspavilion.blogspot.com/ |
| jo Thompson |
Posted - Feb 28 2007 : 12:33:28 PM
We just limit it, I watch PBS alot, we like the political insight stuff, McNeill Leher, did I spell that right? by alot I mean twice a week, really don't have the time, we have like one hundred channels and watch three, what a crack up, oh and we had HBO because I was a deadwood fanatic so we can probably get rid of that now! The internet if far more addictive for me than tv, I actually feel guilty being on here right now, I think it sublimates alot for human interaction!! As much as I love this forum I have been avoiding going on here so much............ I think it's important to weed out all of the technological distractions! There are so many! I even got rid of my cell phone...... One hour can become three here. but I do love all of you jo
"life is drab without a lab"
http://homepage.mac.com/thomja/Anchorage/PhotoAlbum15.html |
| westernhorse51 |
Posted - Feb 28 2007 : 10:50:52 AM
I do have a question, how does tv keep you from doing something? Even when mine is on, Im NEVER sitting down just watching that & doing nothing. Who does that? My hands are never idle except when Im sleeping. Just curious.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
| Aunt George |
Posted - Feb 28 2007 : 10:50:04 AM
LOL....thank you all for this discussion. Today is the last day of cable, so I am getting my fix of the old movies and American Idol toight! I will miss it, but I really do have way too much going on to waist time on tv. So today I am cutting out skirts, petticotes and something very special for someone!!
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
| westernhorse51 |
Posted - Feb 28 2007 : 10:43:02 AM
I have TV & I LIKE IT! I am not a crazy tv person but I watch it. My daughter growing up watched it a bit but I never had a problem, she'd be outside most times anyway & loved it so for us it was never a big issue. I think its great in its proper perspective but like anything, too much will get you.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
| Rosemary |
Posted - Feb 28 2007 : 10:31:19 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Aunt George
Sarah and Rosemary.....I just had a feeling about you girlfriends! *wink*
"Why, whatever do you mean?" she said, tossing a handful of flour and cinnamon into the bonfire. The fragrant sparkles that rose up briefly from the flames in the wake of her hand never ceased to delight the children....
Rosemary |
| koolaidqueen |
Posted - Feb 08 2007 : 2:30:11 PM
Hi, Georgann and other farmgirls
I am pleased to hear of your plans. You will find that you didn't know how you got anything done when you had the television. There are so many things to explore and learn about. If you need to find something to do, check out a Girl Scout manual and earn a badge. A super farmgirl came up with that idea on another topic and I thought it was fabulous!! (I'm sorry I can't remember who wrote that idea but thumbs up!!!) Anyway, keep learning and growing in a good farmgirl way!!
Julie...Official Farmgirl, Gardener, Stitcher, County Fair girl, and lots of other stuff!!
"I love the way libraries smell." -That Wild Berries Should Grow by Gloris Whelan |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Feb 08 2007 : 1:55:39 PM
Hi gals, I right there with the amish,in fact mos of my neighbors thought we where. I laughed at them and said do you not see my truck, my outside barn lights. I do make choices, I don't have cable and have not since we moved here. I do not have cell phones, Ipods, flat screens, we even have just plain old dial up computer. I too found that if you are hooked up into all kinds of things it is easy to disconnect from those things that we live out in the country for. I also find that what now passes for entertainment is anything but - I wished that people would be as involved in those around themselves are they are in the plots of these mindless shows. How about going outside and playing the game instead of watching it and making mortal men worth millions for throwing a ball. I do not need the newest gadgets nor do I need to hear about the spoiled,drug addicted,superstar who does not wear underpants. Life is so short I would hate to think that I wasted time figuring out that desperate housewives is something that our sisterhood is striving for. I too watch movies VHS and now I have some DVD's but if I had the 500 channels t pick from it would take me most of the day to pick and by then it would be bedtime. Maybe in some peoples eye's I am amish but I would look at that as a good thing. Keep reading, crafting, cooking and being a farm gal.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com |
| Aunt George |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 09:48:22 AM
Thanks everyone.
My DH said last night that he plans on just discontinuing all TV. It will be a huge cost savings and help pay our health insurance premiums, also I really don't have lots of time to watch it and maybe the girls will learn to love to read. Well, I have one who already does, but my older daughter has yet to discover the joy of being lost in a good book. I think I'll subscribe to the NICK magazine for them. That should keep them up on their shows. It also has a good dose of educational stuff and funny cartoons too. Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It has really helped me!
Georgann
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
| simpler1773 |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 05:01:47 AM
We've not had cable T.V. for, hmmm...going on 5 yrs now. We don't get network either. We have a subcription to Netflix and the kids have their movie collections ~ that's it. Even that seems like too much sometimes.
The wonderful thing is not being subjected to commercials. And the news? No thanks. I'll take public radio over T.V. news anyday! Although, I'll bet the interveiws and such are interesting.
My one daughter is 14 (the other is two) and she is in no way out of it at school. The kids ask her how she lives without cable and she gives them a funny look and asks how they find time to watch T.V. anyway? She reads tons, and she keeps abreast of the shows kids are watching just from listening to them talk, and watching small amounts at friends' houses. It doesn't take much to "catch up" on these shows.
Just my two cents. It hasn't hurt us one bit :)
~Ricki~
You can't pour anything out of an empty vessel, take care of yourself! |
| ddmashayekhi |
Posted - Feb 04 2007 : 7:53:47 PM
Years ago, when my older 2 sons were in grade school, I used to turn the TV off for the entire month of February. The boys had to do homework, read books or the newspaper every evening with me. We listened to the radio a lot too. It is liberating in many ways. The first week is the hardest, but after that I'm sure you'll adjust to it. Keep us posted on how you do.
Dawn in IL |
| abbasgurl |
Posted - Feb 04 2007 : 7:08:53 PM
AuntGeorge,
We started out TV free with our boys and stayed that way for 7 years. My goodness, the benefits were probably unmeasurable really. I credit no tv with their love of reading, the outdoors, music and being very creative as well. I miss the tv free zone. It's such a time (brain) waster.
I always wonder what it would be like to eliminate tv again at this point. Our boys are teens now...hmmm.
Keep us posted on how things go.
Blessings,
Rhonda
I'm a one girl revolution. |
| Aunt George |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 5:37:11 PM
Wow, this has been a great discussion! I rarely watch TV myself. Love 24 and Idol though, but I can do without the. I do love old movies, but rarely sit to watch one. Just find I don't have the time. It takes so much of my time trying to clean house, cook 3x/day x7days/wk...sheesh. Plus sew and homework and my farmgirl time. Julie, love your mother's motherisms!
Thanks farmgirls!! Oh, and Sarah and Rosemary.....I just had a feeling about you girlfriends! *wink*
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
| Rosemary |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 09:35:32 AM
Just thought I'd mention that we're too rural to have cable access, so our "cable" is actually satellite, and basic. We don't watch anything on it except news and public affiars programs, movies on Turner Classic Movies (no commercials, really wonderful old movies) and some Comedy Central shows like Jon Stewart -- we're really politicized at our place! When the news is about a Senate hearing or something, we check it out on CSPAN -- no voice-over idiots trying to tell us what we're watching and hearing for ourselves, and often twisting it. Can't get CSPAN on regular broadcast TV.
Mostly, though, we use our TV for watching videos and DVDs. I'd say it's not on for other purposes more than 2 or 3 hours a day, and even then, only every third day or so. We could probably live fine wirhout it. I didn't see a television set until I was about 10 years old, in the late 50s. Mostly, it confused and disappointed me, but I loved the Wilkins Coffee commercials (we lived near Baltimore at the time), featuring some of what would one day become known as Jim Henson's Muppets. |
| koolaidqueen |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 08:27:09 AM
Hello, farmgirls and especially Georgann,
I will probably be getting on my bandwagon and start preaching, so forgive me, but give me a chance to tell my story...
We had a television for a very long time. As a matter of fact, as I was growing up, my mother was a single mother and people would offer her a TV but not anything of any substance. We did catch up with "modern" times and got one. I was always watching and I was especially a movie buff. We had talked about getting rid of it, but nothing came of it. My mother was NOT going to do it because she wasn't the one who was fascinated with it. She wanted me to come to the place of realizing what I needed to do. One day, I just decided that was the day. It was the day before Thanksgiving, which surprised me because I love to watch parades. Anyway, The set went out and has never been back!! It has now been 9 years or more and I have found that I don't know how I got anything done before. I am also no longer a movie buff...I read the books. I appreciate everyone's own opinion, but I must say that my life is so different now. I have time to run a small farm, work, read, do lots of projects for the fair, and I do know what is going on in the world. I have a more positive and pure outlook on life and the world around me, because of the lack of the media influence. The reasons to get rid of the television far outweigh the reasons to keep it. Thanks for letting me share and I hope I have helped someone else who was/is in my former position.
P.S. My mother encourages everyone to learn by doing(active) rather than by watching(passive).
Julie...Official Farmgirl, Gardener, Stitcher, County Fair girl, and lots of other stuff!!
"I love the way libraries smell." -That Wild Berries Should Grow by Gloris Whelan |
| MustangSuzie |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 07:12:57 AM
I think we can read about news on the computer. imho the news media is all sensationalized, they report what they want to sell their ratings. I learned that first hand from dating an Army captain for a year while he was in Iraq. What he told me and what you saw on the news were not exactly the same thing. Anyhow, at what cost do we allow all the junk of the world to invade our homes? It is great if you can monitor and control that. BUt I know with me being a single parent, I cannot always be right on top of my kids every second keeping them away from what is harmful. For me it's just better not to have it in the first place.
Blessings....
Sarah
Something I borrowed...
"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." -From The Great Law Of The Iroquois Confederacy.
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| Aunt George |
Posted - Feb 03 2007 : 01:03:51 AM
Again, good points. I guess I should have mentioned that we will have television, just not 200 channels with nothing to watch! LOL.....My husband has mentioned purchasing an antenna or some such devise to capture broadcast TV. Or the alternate thing to do would be to go with Cavalier in our area...still have many channels, but also at a $100 per month savings! Part is wishing to do away with all of the TV junkfood and the other is cost savings. Cable is out of control in its pricing in this area of Virginia...perhaps across the nation too!!
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 9:34:11 PM
We used to have all the channels and just this past year cut back to the very basics on cable. We only get local stations and the Hallmark Channel which I love dearly. I have found that I watch much less TV. I have a few shows that I like but other than that I don't sit down for hours and hours of TV. I will admit I miss the Food Network the most!
You go for it. I would love to have no TV or internet at all. The computer is what sucks up my time and high speed hookup makes it even worse.
The Rustic Cottage Etsy Shop http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
Picture A Day Blog http://rcpicaday.blogspot.com |
| faithymom |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 9:11:58 PM
When we moved to Idaho, we left the cable TV behind as they didn't have service to the house we moved to. We have since moved into town and my husband has talked of getting cable, but I don't really want to. I know how I am when we have cable!!!
24 hour FoodTV, HGTV, and CourtTV!!!
I also don't miss worrying about what the kids might come across...some 'cartoons' aren't fit for adults, let alone kids!
We have TV and I enjoy it in moderation, usually just in the evenings and Saturday PBS (cooking shows ; } )
I wish we got all of the network channels, but we only get 2 PBS channels, one for Idaho and one for Washington, and Fox. It's enough for us.
"All television is educational television. The only question is, what is it teaching?"-Fmr. FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson |
| Rosemary |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 7:24:09 PM
The issue of cultural isolation in the country is especially acute for young people. I'm not sure I'd want to raise kids out here today without access to a variety of news and full-length interview programs on CNN, CSPAN and so on (not just the sound bites you get on web sites), especially when an important story is breaking. Being current on national and global news today is important to their education in civic affairs, geography etc. I suppose newspapers, radio and the Internet can fill the void, and I hope you'll take advantage of all those media, using them to seek out fresh sources rather than just going back to the same old touchstones all the time. Regular access to social gathering places (coffee shops, the farm market, bookstores, etc.) in town is important. Your kids may find themselves a little "out of it" (or whatever they call it today) at these places if they never watch any popular tv shows -- but on the other hand, maybe they can make other kids feel out of it for not being up to speed on their reading! Just seek balance and you can't go far wrong. |
| Aunt George |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 6:14:10 PM
Great information, suggestions and answers! Thank you all, I knew I could count on my farmgirl friends to share their experiences with this. I have read every entry here with enthusiasm!! Please keep posting, 'cause I'm still reading!!!
G
http://auntgeorgeshouse.blogspot.com/index.html
Thanks for checking out my apron and sewing musings! |
| laluna |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 5:38:24 PM
@Brenda...oh, I have an iPod, but only because it came free as part of a promotion when I bought my MacBook last summer. I have the modest 2G Nano, and it's basically a portable device. I have music and podcasts downloaded to mine so I can listen when I'm at the Y. You can also get adaptors to plug into your car rather than having to lug around a bin of CD's. I guess it's more useful if you're really into music (which I am, with a CD collection that numbers well over 500!) and it certainly cuts down on the waste of CD's and all the subsequent packaging because you can download virtually any music you want to from iTunes now! |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - Feb 02 2007 : 4:31:18 PM
Speaking of techno gadgets, I sometimes feel really left behind because I don't have an iPod. Do you have to have an iPod? What can you do with it that you can't get on your computer?
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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