I am preparing for FHE next week and I want my husband and I to learn more about television and it's effects on children and family. I'm happy to report that he and I and our son have been having most of our meals at the table together instead of in front of the TV! Hooray!! I'm not taking a scientific approach for FHE, at this time I want to find things mainly from church articles and the Ensign. I have heard some say "television is great" and vise-versa "television is evil". Personally, I feel that television is a good thing. I believe it was invented for a good purpose but Satan finds his way into everything and evil influences are everywhere. We just need to avoid the inappropriate things on TV. I found a Great article from the October 1981 Ensign, in the "I have a question" section.
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7d
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I feel much like the author does. Television is neutral. We are the ones that decide if we are going to bring something worthy or unworthy of viewing into our homes. Television is just the messenger. I totally agree with his advice to plan which shows are important to watch and not just watch "whatever is on" because we're "bored". I am not one to stand on a pedestal and tell everyone how, when or what they should watch on TV, I have days that I like to be lazy, but I want to be a good example early on to my kids and show them that there's more entertaining things to do than watch TV all the time. I love watching educational shows on TLC, Discovery Channel or HGTV (woo-hoo for DIY projects!), but I'm really glad that the author mentioned that it's okay to watch TV just to be entertained. There are good shows out there that are just plain fun to watch. I also don't mind letting my son watch cartoons for a few minutes every now and again. We have some Disney DVD's with Mickey cartoons on them that we love watching as a family.
What are your thoughts about television?
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10 comments:
My TV is never on during the day. I don't need it for background noise, I listen to pretty music for that. Daytime television just makes me feel lazy and blah. My husband and I usually turn on the TV in the evening to unwind, although I personally only turn it on for a few select shows that I look forward to watching (my husband's not quite as good about that! :)) We actually don't even pay for cable. We have a good old antennae that allows us to get all the main channels, and I love it! We get the regular sitcoms and shows, and beyond that...I don't need more tv in my house! Plus it's free!
As far as TV and my children, I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to handle that. I definitely plan to limit it. Right now I use videos while I cook dinner, or need to distract her. She watches less than than an hour a day though, and I always make it something somewhat educational. When I see a good family movie that is entertaining for both adults and children, I try to add it to my collection. I just have to wonder if they'll even make clean movies like that for much longer!
p.s. I will say I still have some work to do as far as being a good example to my children on only watching wholesome shows. For the most part I find a lot of tv shows offensive and I don't even want them on in my house. But I have a weakness for a couple of shows like Friends, which isn't always appropriate...I figure perfecting ourselves is a process though right??? :)
We also don't have cable, and I love not having it. I find enough things to watch without having more than 5 channels! We've recently stopped watching TV while we eat... good for the waistline, and its nice to have that time to talk. I have a bad habit of watching TV, or at least having it on in the background once Scott leaves for work... not a great thing, but its something I'm working on. I'm attempting to learn to enjoy the silence of being home alone at night! And I'm honestly getting better about it!
As far as TV and Cecelia... this is so, so sad, but the Friends theme song actually soothes my baby. If she is having a hard time relaxing I put the theme song on and she calms down. That was my sign that we watch too many Friends reruns!! She's literally heard that song close to daily since conception!! When I realized this, I started putting on Disney movies when I need to get something done and she needs a distraction, but its not something I do often. For the most part, Cecelia is content to play by herself while I clean house or pay bills, etc.
Ha ha, Stephanie, I totally agree! It is a process! But what amazes me is how movies/TV shows I would watch 4 years ago and love, I now can't get past the opening scenes. It's wonderful how the Lord teaches us line upon line and then allows us the opportunity to see how far we've come (And how much further we have yet to go!!!)
We are anti- TV. Very anti. We don't watch it at all (with the exception of PG movies... which sometimes aren't all that PG). I think it all started with no time and money. We don't have time to watch tv, and no money to buy cable, etc., so we went without. After going without, when we'd go to my parent's house and watch it we realized how AWFUL it is!!! It was quite a shock to realize I was desensitized to the tube. Not only do I not like the shows, but I can NOT stand the commercials! Sometimes they are even worse. And you really don't have much of a say on what type of commercials you watch (you can mute etc. but sometimes it's not enough).
I really know nothing about children's shows, but from what I have watched I was sorely disappointed at how bad they are. Not necessarily in sex/violence/offensive language, but in grammar and everyday etiquette, which I still highly value... especially for the mind of a developing child. I'd rather have her learn the "right way" then digress from there than never learn proper grammer etc., in the first place. Hopefully I'm not too much of a prude by not watching TV. I have my other weaknesses (internet), but I'd much rather have my kids play outside, read a book or go on a treasure hunt than watch TV. I always joked that I was going to buy the entire series of Little House on the Prairie and I Love Lucy on DVD, so when our kids wanted to watch tv, I'd pop in an episode :) You are probably all thinking I'm totally nuts over this, I agree. I am. But it's all a matter of personal preference (which is the great thing about the gospel! We are taught principles and not rules which allows two people to make different choices for the same problem).
I'm so glad you wrote about this... I have been feeling so guilty lately will all the tv I let my little boy watch. I'm a total tv girl. That is not a good thing. And now i'm passing it on to him. I know there are things he would rather do, but when its soo cold outside I have a hard time finding things to do with him all day long. Any suggestions??? You girls are all so great to not be such tv watchers... I have alot to work on!
This is where I come out of hiding to admit that I get sucked into daytime soaps and hope you all still love me! One of the best things we ever did was put the TV in the basement den so it's not on all day but during the little one's nap, I retreat to the basement so I don't wake her up. I do projects, laundry, blog, etc. but usually with General Hospital and Dr. Phil on in the background! In the evening, we go through phases of TV watching (lots vs. little) but once again, the little one goes to bed at seven so she gets very little TV. In fact, her attention span for TV and movies is very short and I don't mind that too much. We never really did the baby einstein thing.
I have to admit, we've gotten rid of some movies lately when we realized we didn't want PG-13 movies with the F word in them. I used to not mind but I don't want to set that example for my kids. I have also found the same thing as Steph. During the day, we listen to a lot of music and it keeps me company, especially when M was littler and didn't talk yet!
You see, my problem is that I use the TV just to hear the sound of another adult's voice. And Claire, don't feel bad. For the longest time my baby called Steve Carell (from The Office) "Dad." Oops.
The worst time of the day for me use to be nap time. But over the past few months I've been reading a few different book series.
I'm with Jen. We don't have cable or any other way to get tv except the internet. I've been sucked into Chuck on NBC and Samantha Who on ABC. I have watched a few other shows from time to time. I'm a total sucker for tv if I don't watch myself and so it is just easier not to have it. I usually listen to NPR or podcasts of BYU devotionals to hear another human voice. I love being able to stream KUER and KBYU - it helps me still feel connected to Utah.
My babe rarely watches tv when I'm around - I've put in family videos of her cousins and stuff before but that is about it - but when she gets babysat it seems I often come home to one of the Disney movies. She is like me ... gets totally sucked in.
Ok maybe I am a bad mom, but I let my kids watch tv. They are 4 and 2 and they have shows tivoed for them. My kids love watching Yo Gabba Gabba, they dance and sing along to the songs which are about good things like saying excuse me, please, thank you, and that winning is fun but it is ok to lose. When my kids were younger we rarely watched tv, but now they watch selected shows when they are having a hard time fighting with each other or I am trying to get dinner made. I make sure to watch the shows too and reinforce the good messages being taught through song. I think shows can be a positive resource for parents. Things I am trying to teach my children are being reinforce, and lets face it my kids have a great ability already of not being able to hear my voice, but come to me wanting to talk about saying excuse me when one of the Yo Gabba Gabba charaters says it is important.
Chantel, you are so not a bad mom! I agree that it's a resource like Bethany said in her original post. I can see relying on TV more as my little one and future little ones get older-I'm sure I'll be doing the same thing!
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