I know how it all got started. We had the built in excuse of both parents working, rushing out of the house, and a need to occupy our oldest daughter. This dates back a solid four years now. I remember her perched up in our bed, TV on first thing in the morning, with the theme song to Clifford blaring. At the same time, we rushed around the house getting our coffee fix, dressing for work, making lunches, preparing all of the daycare necessities, and my daughter stared at this enormously freaky red dog.
When my second child was born, the morning routine only got more complicated, and again, we rushed, rushed, rushed. The TV seemed like our savior—that beacon of hope that settled the kids down in the morning while we got ourselves and all the needed “stuff” together. We created a habit, nothing more, and nothing less. A habit that involved my children staring at the TV first thing in the morning at the start of every day.
As my kids got a little older, the TV continued in the morning, but some things started to change. For one, they were no longer interested in the innocent PBS shows. Secondly, a battle often ensued as to which child got to watch their show first, how loud it should be, and which episode to watch (thanks to Tivo). While we were not in as much of a rush anymore to get out of our house, we still had stress—created by the battle between Curious George and ICarly.
We finally ripped that Band-Aid right off. We cut out the vice cold turkey. My husband and I had talked about doing it, but we never really talked about how we were going to do it. Then I travelled for a few days for work, and my husband told the kids, “no more TV before school.” I wasn’t around, but he said the reaction was something akin to telling someone the person closest to them had died. We had no idea how it would turn out, but we stuck to it.
As expected, the first few days were pretty rough, but by the third day the word television was not even mentioned in the morning. And once again, we find ourselves amazed at the resiliency and adaptability of kids. So now, instead of our kids staring blankly at the screen in the morning, they are on the floor building train tracks or up on the counter doing cool experiments with food coloring and milk and soap. The house is so much quieter, with the pollution of the TV replaced by the re-telling of dreams from the night before. Laughter and smiles are everywhere.
For those who read me regularly, you know I am a self-described brain geek. And there is a ton of research out there that suggests the detriments of TV watching, in any amount. But I am staying away from the research on this post, and simply saying this: For years, I thought my children enjoyed watching TV in the morning, and although they had grown accustomed to it, it took three days for the entire family to realize how much happier we ALL are with the TV off as we start our day together.
Has anyone else tried to rid themselves of TV? How has it gone?
