Around Here

Several years ago we decided to go "no TV" just to see what it was like. We LOVED it and have never looked back. Currently, we do have a TV set, which my husband turns on every once in a while to watch sports. We also use Netflix/Redbox for movies.
The impact of no TV on my kids' day to day life has been a wonderful experience for our family. (I know it's not for everyone, though.)
My children asked about our decision (why no TV?) for about a week...and in the years since that time they have NEVER EVER asked for TV here at home again. They are 7 and 9 now and really don't know the difference.
They do enjoy TV when we're at a hotel or visiting grandparents.
Anyway, I hope that your family has a good experience this summer as you investigate what it's like to remove tv for a season.
I'd love it if you'd post your observations towards the end of the summer.
Good luck, and have a great summer!

Adorable purple tutu, btw. :-)

Great post! We've moved our TV to the garage (a converted living space), so you REALLY have to want to watch. :)

Early on last summer, my kids were horrible! So I decided they would get to experience my life as a child -- in 1969. No computers, 4 TV channels (none of them of any interest to them), no CDs, and LOTS of chores. After the initial meltdowns, they were so much happier. At the end of the summer, they both told me that they actually enjoyed it. Maybe not the chores part so much, but they did what they were expected to do, then went outside to make their own fun instead of sitting in front of a TV or computer.

We have 3 girls (ages 10, 8, and 5) and we got rid of tv completely over a year ago. We homeschool and I was finding it to be a temptation for them during the day. I thought it would be difficult for them, but it wasn't a big deal at all. It has been one of the best things we have done as parents. Something we have always done after dinner is High/Low. One person starts and says the High of the day and their Low of the day. Then they pick the next person. Once everyone has gone, we sometimes go back and talk more in depth about certain ones. It is a great way to connect as a family and opens up opportunities for encouragement, praise, teachable moments, etc. Hope you have a great tv-free summer.

This is awesome! I have one day a week with no computer. It would be more but I am attending online college :) but its nice to put away the technology and enjoy the family around us!!

A big girl bed???? Surely not???? She was only born just a few short months ago wasn't she? I am loving the "around here" prompts... thanks for sharing your life and cleverness with us. ;)

Love the no TV rule. I also love Anna's new comforter. I've been looking for a white one with little flowers for my little girls room. I stumbled upon a duvet at Target but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. I was curious where you found yours. Thanks!

Thanks for posting about that book. We are currently working with a ABA therapist to help with mealtime routines and this book might come in handy. Pulling our intensely focused child off of the computer at mealtimes without a meltdown is our goal :) We recently cut waaay back on TV because of the transition issues we were having. Crossing our fingers this helps!

My Husband and I got rid of cable this summer as well. We want to be outside as much as possible!!!! Reading books,going for bike rides walks!!!! etc. Summer for sure needs to be lived:)

So, excited for yesterday and today being a e-book! loved that workshop and can't wait to revisit it!!!!

Hooray for Family Dinner! My husband travels a LOT (last year was 40 weeks gone) and it *IS* hard to do the family dinner every single night without feeling a little put out from time to time. I've found that when I approached dinner a little differently, it became the best part of the day.

We play the question game during dinner. Each person asks a question and each person answers every question. The only rule? It has to be an open ended question - no yes or no answers allowed. Sometimes the questions are easy (what is your favorite color/food/movie/toy) and sometimes more intense (how do you feel about rainy days/friends moving/end of school), but it's been a wonderful way to learn more about my kids and to have them learn more about me too.

Good luck Ali!

yay! So glad you are enjoying the Family Dinner book! I've been loving mine too...need to dig into it a bit more and implement some of the stuff! :) Anna reminds me of Arden with her girly pink and purple ruffles! so cute!

Love these posts Ali, I hope you and your family have a wonderful summer. Go you for making it TV free.
I love Anna's big girl bed, and there is nothing wrong with pink and purple, together or alone, they are princess colors and she is a princess.

Ali - Love, love, love that you are taking the reigns on controlling the TV. Such a huge undertaking, one that I've thought about, but have never been able to commit. I also love that you are looking at the family dinner book. I need to put that one on my list. And I love that Miss Anna has a big girl bed. We have an almost 3 year old and she has been in hers for a couple of months now and absolutely loves it. The pink walls are beautiful with the white bed linens. What color is that?

Good luck to you in your adventure without TV!

The end of 3rd grade & a big girl bed. They grow up so fast, don't they?

during summer break between 5th and 6th grade my mom took the television cords, put them in her handbag and took them to work. She had enough of the fighting over the clicker...and we didn't even have cable so we were fighting over maybe ten channels:) She did it almost every summer thereafter and we never cared. These days I actually like tv...but the peace I feel when I shut it off reminds me of suumertime.

Don't you just love the change in routines that summer brings? Lovely post and it sounds like you have a great summer ahead of you!

Anna and her big girl bed reminds me of when my daughter made that transition years and years ago. Makes me kind of misty!!

Thanks for sharing.

I love reading your blog. Anna is just more adorable each time I see her and I read Simon's stories with nostalgic fondness for my son's childhood days. He was a huge Lego fan also! He is now a 16 year old learning how to drive, has a girl friend of 1 and 1/2 years, who I must remind to: shave, put on more deodorant after gym, shlep to lacrosse practice. He is a great kid, but I do miss the simpler days when I ran the schedule and he wanted to marry me, before he decided he wanted to marry his cousin Emma, who just graduated from high school last night! I revisit those days in my memories when I page through my scrapbooks. Time really does fly. I wish all mother's of young children joy in your time with these angels this summer!

I think as the weather warms, we'll be leaning toward this- we're already cutting drastically back, as we've noticed the same trend of grumpiness associated with the TV. Thank you for the book reccomendation- I put it on hold before I finished reading the post!

Love the big girl bed story. My niece was so excited when she moved into hers that she ended up being in the local newspaper in Vermont. She accompanied her parents to Town Meeting and when the moderator asked, at the end of the meeting, if there was any other important news that needed to be brought up, my niece piped right up and announced that she was in a big girl bed. The photographer covering the event got a great photo of her!!!

Along the lines of no TV, I just read this today. I think it says something for all children. And definitely has me thinking about exposure to all things "electronic". Thanks Ali.

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2011/06/Minority-kids-spend-most-of-their-waking-hours-plugged-in-/48172486/1