…”Elijah and Zeke…come down from there!” hollered the Macleod boys.
Hmmmm, thought I, maybe I should go investigate…
In the tree (obviously): Elijah, a couple of feet above Zeke. From left to right: Noah Horsman, Andrew, Isaac and Dominic Macleod.
We had an amazing TV-Turn Off Week, thanks, in part, to some perfect, week-long, play-outside-weather. Lots of trees were climbed, trenches dug in the sand at the park, and al fresco (I like saying “al fresco” – it makes me feel like Anne of Green Gables) snacks eaten. The only time Elijah and Zeke had anything negative to say, were the few times that we asked them how they thought TV-Turn Off Week was going. Of course, then they said, “We don’t like it!” but they weren’t able to give any reasons besides the classic, “Just because!”
I have to confess that I was very tempted to turn the TV on for Noah (Zeke was at preschool) on Friday morning, when I was busy baking his birthday cake. But, I held firm, brought him to the kitchen with me, and let him empty my can cupboard of all it’s cans, all the while fearing for the safety of my toes, as he built towers with them, and then knocked them over. After those were put away, he pulled all my baking “stuff” out, and, well…this is what his little brain thought of doing with a muffin tin…
Cute. What else would go in a muffin tin besides dinky-cars?
So, once again, TV-Turn Off Week was a really good experience for us. We had a little family meeting on Sunday night, and agreed on three simple “TV Rules” (and I share these here on our blog, simply because I believe it will help to keep us “on track”)…
1. TV stays off untill 5 PM on weekdays. An easy agreement to come to…this is when their favorite show – Cyberchase - is on. (And I like this one too…I really prefer to have the kitchen to myself while I’m preparing dinner!) This one will definitely be different on weekends
2. Only 1 and 1/2 hours of TV each day. This one was a compromise. Dave and I suggested one hour, and they seemed to think three hours was more reasonable, so we finally settled on an hour and a half, in exchange for a little extra GameCube during their GameCube time on Saturday.
3. The first Monday to Friday of each month is going to be the “Horsman Family TV-Turn Off Week.” This one was not very popular. We talked about the reasons why it is a good thing, but still, the scowls remained. So, I guess I’ll just have to enforce this one, and hope they thank me for it in 20 years!
P.S. I wish smells were transportable over the internet! We’re having some very fragrant spring showers this evening as I sit here and write this. We have all our windows open, and it smells like heaven!
mel
May 1, 2007 at 6:36 am
Glad to hear you had a good TV Turn Off Week together! It was beautiful weather here, too… lots of time for the park and bike rides and whatnot.
It’s very cool that all of you made choices together about your family’s media consumption. I’ll be interested in hearing how your monthly TV Turn Off goes… it sounds like an idea that would create more opportunites for other activities, but I can see how it might be a struggle!
Erin Constable
May 1, 2007 at 8:43 am
Hey Janet,
Welcome back! Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoy reading your blog. Makes me think for those times ahead when we do finally have kids. Keep up the good work!
Janet
May 1, 2007 at 10:06 am
Yeah…the monthly TV turn off is pretty aggressive, eh? A family who lived here on campus a couple of years ago did this, and I’ve always wanted to give it a shot! I was really encouraged with how last week went, so I thought maybe now would be a good time to try it. We’ll see how it goes.
I find it interesting how you really feel “free” from TV for the week. Elijah spent a lot of his “freetime” making comics, (you know, drawing pictures with speech bubbles…he’s really into that these days), Zeke spent pretty much every spare moment outside (getting disgustinlgy, filthy, dirty I might add!), and Noah has never really been interested in TV. And like I said, there was really no complaining about the TV being off limits for the week…untill I asked them about it! TV is such an easy babysitter, and often times I think it is I – not my kids – who depend on it and enjoy it so much!
bethany
May 2, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I love that you call “hotwheels” “dinky cars”. I get funny looks when I do. I actually had a hard time explaining to Paul what they were the first time I said it since I had never heard them called “hotwheels” before.