A family relocated in Colorado with their T.V. stuck in the Lone Star State equals a crisis of Texas-size proportions. Panic struck the household for about two weeks, and the kids had nothing to do but punch each other and throw their toys all over the floor. Eventually, their sibling fights became theatrical Kung Fu street fights in homemade dramas and the mess making was replaced by craft creation.
The number of books read in the household tripled and family game night meant playing Uno and Rummikub instead of watching a football game. Family hikes, backyard baseball games and Frisbee throwing occurred many times a week. I started blogging shortly after our television moratorium and wrote roughly 500 to 1000 words daily, spending about as much time writing as I previously spent watching soap operas during the day.
We were one-hundred percent television free for about a year until the discovery of the Hulu. Then, it went to hell for most of the family, except for me who has not watch a television show on a computer or television set since June 17, 2008. (However, there has been a strong case made that I have replaced my television time with Facebook; there might be something to that argument.) With the use of Hulu, the kids just duplicated their old TV watching patterns. A huge, disappointing setback until I figured out a little thing called password protection. I now hold the key or should I say password for their TV watching.
Being a T.V. free family is not easy. As most moms know, television sets are great babysitters even if our pediatricians do not approve. But once screen time is eliminated, family communication, physical activity, and creativity appear more regularly and fully.
