Those who know our family probably know that we don't watch television. In fact we don't even have a tv. We made this decision long before we had children because we were concerned about several things. Most of our reasons are probably obvious, but they include concern over wasting time, addiction, and moral value. As a teenager I found that I had better things to do with my time, and gradually stopped watching tv altogether. It had nothing to do with those concerns back then. I simply had more fun that way.
Over the last few years, I've been pleasantly surprised at the good things that have come to our family because of that decision. We eliminated tv because we were concerned about keeping certain things out of our lives, but hadn't anticipated the good things that would enter. When we are home as a family, we automatically spend time together. When my children have down time, they either play or look at books. Even as babies, they would all spend hours looking at books on their own. I've always received comments about what long attention spans my children have and how they are so good at entertaining themselves. I've heard/ read several studies that indicate a correlation between attention span and tv time, and I'm convinced it's true. For a few weeks, we were going to a YMCA that always had a tv on in the child care area. When I asked them to turn it off they said they would, but never did. It was incredibly frustrating because when we returned home each day, Logan and Annie were whiny and couldn't focus as well. There was a very marked difference in their behavior and their attention spans. So we started using a different Y and their behavior and attention spans immediately improved.
In recent experience, I've become very grateful that I don't have a daily battle with my kids over how much screen time is okay. In fact, although we watch movies sometimes, they rarely ask to watch one. I have seen what a big battle that can be and I don't envy those parents in those moments. When we do watch a movie, we really enjoy ourselves. I've noticed in myself as I've watched less and less over the years, that movies become more fun; they are more of a treat I suppose. Interestingly enough, I'm also a lot more sensitive to anything degrading or inapproprate in them. Perhaps being desensitized was bliss, but I wouldn't change that now.
Another huge blessing is one that we hadn't anticipated at all, and why this appears on our school blog. Lack of tv has made homeschool a lot easier! We don't have that distraction in our home making it difficult to keep their attention. I also wonder if they enjoy school so much because they are so able to focus. I'm really grateful for that, and anticipate it will become a bigger deal when they are older. I'm actually realizing that we had unknowingly prepared ourselves for homeschool six years ago when we got rid of the little, three channel tv that we had.
Now I'm not saying that tv is a bad thing or it's bad to own one. This was the best decision for our family, and it has blessed our lives immensely. It probably wouldn't hurt me to watch a show every now and then if I really wanted to. However, I don't actually want to now that I've spent so many years away from it. I know that it is possible to limit screen time and to filter shows if that is important to a family.
So why did I post this? Because it really is an important element in our home education, and it's been so incredibly positive for us. That's all.
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