TV Turnoff Week in Review

We had four days of TV turnoff week. This was a great success! I read a book recently called "So, What Can Children Do in the Summertime?" by Lorraine J. Alldredge. She describes how she made summer goals for her children. She wanted to teach them valuable life skills such as cooking and cleaning, but also had other areas such as music, reading, writing, and memorization. Her family had a celebration at the end of summer for everyone who completed their summer goals. It made me want to be a better mother and really spend more time teaching my children. I heard someone recently talking about raising children and not just watching them grow up. I was a little sad that I only have five full weeks of summer before school starts again. We have not officially set goals for our children, but it has definitely helped me think of my role as a mother in a different light.

On Thursday afternoon the kids and I played in our backyard pool. We had a great time splashing around. As I was getting dinner ready Caleb was saying he was bored. I could hear Parker in the other room telling Alyssa a story about a ghost, so I suggested to Caleb that he could also go and listen to Parker's story. The kids also had fun going around the kitchen table with their toy trucks, or singing Pop Goes the Weasel. Caleb also sat down with our backpack of library books and began reading to himself. Wednesday night we went walking with friends and let the kids use their coupon for a free Jr. Frosty.

The biggest difference that I have noticed is within myself. My kids were a little sad to have the TV turned off, but they were excited to do other things. It forced me to be more involved with my children, and I found things that we could do together. I spent nearly an hour every afternoon reading to the boys while Alyssa napped. We got outside more, we created more together, and went to places we might not otherwise have visited. We still have things on our list we made at the beginning of the week that we did not have time to do yet. Every day it seemed the kids were excited to hear what things we would be doing, and get to pick what they wanted to do. It seemed like Caleb and Parker did not fight as much either, and just had fun playing together. I think for me it is too easy to just let the kids watch TV or to let Caleb play Wii, but most of the time they would rather do something with me if given the choice. We have not decided what the limits will be for "screen time", but this four days of no TV has boosted my confidence that my children can get along and entertain themselves without sitting in front of a screen. It seemed that we were enjoying the simple things in life a little bit more. It was good for me to limit my computer time, because I think I often waste time. In fact part of my decision to limit computer time was the fact that I wasted two hours one night reading blogs of people I do not even know! I think I have been a little more patient with my children, and eager to spend time with them instead of being annoyed with them.

Why did I do this in the summertime? I just think that there are so many fun things to do outside in the summertime. My kids are involved in summer reading through the library, we can play in the sprinklers or pool, they can play outside with friends, we can go for walks. I personally love to familiarize myself with as many parks as I can in our area. This really was a great experiment for our family.

TV Turnoff week - Day 2

Necklaces made by the boys for their sister.
Parker made the top and Caleb made the bottom necklace.

Today we ran some errands in the morning and went to the dentist. I go to a family dentist, so he takes care of the kids and I all at one time. The kids all did great, except Alyssa did not want to open her mouth to let the dentist peek inside. She had a good time playing, and loved when the dentist showed her how he could fill up a cup with water and vacuum it up using Mr. Thirsty. After the dentist we stopped to play at the park then briefly at Kitchen Kneads. The kids got certificates for being great patients from the dentist, which included a certificate for a free kids meal at Del Taco. So we stopped and had lunch on our way home. This afternoon we read stories and made necklaces for Alyssa's birthday while she napped. The kids played with neighbors both before and after dinner. I had a camp meeting tonight while the kids were gone playing. We are using Mod Podge to make covers for small photo albums for one of our camp crafts, so tonight I made some with the youth camp leaders and my assistant camp director. It was like a girls night out for me. Thank you neighbor for taking my kids!

TV Turnoff week - Day 1

I decided this week would be TV Turnoff week at my house, but actually it will only be Monday through Thursday. I have been feeling like my kids watch too much TV, and just get to much "screen time." Parker woke up this morning and asked if he could watch Scooby Doo before breakfast. I explained to him that we were not going to watch TV until Friday, and he almost cried. I quickly told him that we would make a list of fun things to do this week instead of watching TV. I also let the boys have 30 minutes of computer time to use how they want. I am also limiting my computer time, since I get sucked in when I sit down to check email.

So today I let the kids run through the sprinkler and eat popsicles with the neighbors. We spent about an hour reading library books. We visited the Kennecott Copper Mine. We played trains, and the boys built with Legos. Although I have been there a couple of times, I am still amazed at how deep it is and the size of the dump trucks. We did watch a short video about the mine, but I do not think that counts as TV.