The No TV Week Results

Our boys spent a week without TV, and a lovely week it was.  I expected there to be some change in the kids' behavior, but it was more significant than I had imagined.  We don't allow the kids to watch a lot of TV in the first place, so I'm surprised at the impact its removal had on the kids.

I told the boys up front about the plan and they were okay with it.  I explained that it wasn't punishment, but a chance to spend more time together.  Surprisingly, for the entire week, they never whined or begged for TV.  Oliver asked for it a couple of times, but then said, "Oh right, we're not having TV this week."  The absence of whining about wanting to watch TV and disagreements about what to watch was blissful. I think that by simply removing the temptation, the kids' attention naturally turned to other things.

I was ready with a few more activities than usual.  During the hour each day when they would have been watching TV, we made a giant valentine for Daddy, played with play dough, painted and made homemade pizza.  These are things we do anyway, but I was more intentional in planning our time. But what surprised me most was that it wasn't just the activity for "TV time" itself that changed; the boys played better together all week. Emory became really caught up in pretend play for the first time and we had deep sea divers, superheroes and villains running rampant in the halls.  I really enjoyed watching them play "Daddy and Baby".  Seeing your 2 year-old try to carry your 5 year-old around the house is pretty amusing.

I did have to give up that little time for myself that I usually get in the afternoons when the kids are watching TV.  This was a kind of hard and I really didn't get a whole lot done during the week.  But, the kids played so well together that I didn't feel too frazzled.  I think I was a more positive and patient with the boys than I normally am. We must have been feeding off each other's good energy.  Bill says that he could also see a difference in the kids when he came home from work - they were much less whiny and temperamental.

Well, we did let the kids have some TV time again this weekend.  Bill and I have both been sick with the most persistent cold ever, and we really did need the distraction.  Unhappily, as soon as the TV came back, the kids began whining for more when it was time to shut it off...

So, now we have to figure out what role we will allow the TV to have in our home from this point forward.  I think I am okay with the kids watching a little TV in the afternoon, provided the whining and fighting do not escalate again.  But, I also want to have lots of days without TV so that no one begins to rely on it again.  I don't have a problem eliminating it and I think the kids know that now.  All in all, it was a very worthwhile experiment and I feel a just little bit better about my parenting skills as a result.