TV or No TV, That is the Question

Hi, I'm Shari and I'm a TV addict. In this age of anti-TV sentiments, it's sometimes hard to admit to people that our family watches TV and enjoys it, together, as a family. Some families make the decision to totally eliminate TV from their homes, and that's great, if that works for your family. We made the choice to not have cable even before we had kids (plus it saves a lot of money). While we may watch quite a bit of TV, we are very careful about what our children watch. We have it off during dinner, so we can have some time to talk to each other, and actually hear what the others are saying. We don't watch the news while they are awake, because there are too many things going on that we're not ready to explain to our kids, who are only five and two.

I grew up in a home that had the TV on from the minute we woke up until we were in bed. We had the big three, ABC, CBS, and NBC, and the two local PBS stations and one other local independent station. That was it, until a few years later, when a few more local stations started. My parents still can't get cable where they live anyway-they have more cows per mile than people. (They did break down and by a satellite dish a few years ago, but it needs repaired now after getting hit by lightning.)

But, we also did other things (like Mom teaching me to sew and cook), because a lot of times we didn't even pay attention to what was on the TV. I could sit in the living room and be completely engrossed in my latest Nancy Drew book, occasionally glancing up to see what was going on with Bugs Bunny. Right now, as I write this, our daughter is doing the same thing; she's reading a book, and occasionally looking up to see what's happening on Between the Lions.

Dad was always reading something (almost always a science fiction novel, which became my other addiction) and Mom would always read to us at until we outgrew bedtime stories. She read everything from Bible stories to Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. By the time I was in 4th grade, I was using my Dad's library card to get books from the adult side of the library so I could get more science fiction. I was tired of the books on the children's side. Before long, the library was tired of my using Dad's card and they gave me my adult card early.

Since I'm teaching our daughter at home, we have a great flexibility in our schedule. While I'm teaching her, her little brother can watch Sesame Street and other PBS Kids shows. Am I a bad parent? No, I do what works for us. She's reading like a champ, and while still only a kindergarten student, she's already completed her language arts and phonics work for kindergarten and is halfway through her 1^st grade material. She also started 1^st grade math at the beginning of the year, finished it, and has been working through 2^nd grade math for a couple of months now. Little brother is starting to "read", too, as he tries to copy big sister.

We have made it a habit to go to the library once a week (and when it's nice, we walk), where they are allowed to choose videos from the library. This allows them (and Mom and Dad) some variety in what they watch at home. Our library has a wonderful selection of quality videos, from Veggie Tales (although we already have most of what the library has) to the Nick Jr shows like Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer. They have Bob the Builder, The Wiggles and delightful kid movies, like Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, Stuart Little and much more. But, once our daughter was reading on her own (and reading to her brother), we started the rule that for every movie she got, she had to pick one book that she would use for her free reading time.

One thing we enjoy doing is watching something like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and then reading it together. Then we find the differences between the book and the movie. It makes both so much more enjoyable and helps improve her observational skills.

Another favorite thing to watch together is Animaniacs. It was one of the best cartoons on TV in recent years, so when it was finally available on DVD, I had to get it. It's full of music, fun and pure silliness, reminiscent of the classic Bugs Bunny days. Occasionally, they even toss in things like a song listing all fifty states and the capitals (shhh, don't tell them it's educational).

While TV itself isn't evil, as parents we need to know what our children are watching. The best way to do that is to watch together. Most of the time, we end up ignoring the TV; the kids are dancing around, singing, playing and being kids. So, pop in a movie and curl up with a good book and see what fun you can have together as a family. The kids are more fun to watch than what's on anyway.