It’s been a little over three weeks since we instituted our tv-free policy and I just wanted to report on our progress. First the good news. My girls (both 12) took it in stride and haven’t complained one iota. I know that a lot of kids would revolt against such a policy so I’m thankful that I haven’t had to fight that battle. My house is a lot cleaner, mostly because none of us are spending hours camped out in front of the TVs. Third, there’s a lot more reading going on. Fourth, homework and music are getting done. Fifth,we’re spending more time together as a family just talking.

To be candid we haven’t gone completely tv free. We did watch the finale’s of Dancing With the Stars (both my girls are dancers) and American Idol and we will be watching So You Think You Can Dance this summer. But our TV time has been very measured and done as a family activity. We have also placed a few light restrictions on computer use by implementing time limits and parental controls. But I also believe that the computer offers more to, and demands more from the user which is good for the development of critical thinking skills when used purposefully.

As for me, I’ve adapted remarkably well too. It’s interesting how something as passive as television can become such a dominant influence on us. TV is not inherently bad (although there is a lot of bad TV)  but there’s something unnerving about the mesmerizing passivity it evokes in us, the habitual viewing for viewings sake and not for any specific purpose. I’ve found that I really don’t miss television at all. I’m spending more time working on my “hunny do” list, rediscovering my guitar, gardening and, of course, blogging.

Now for the bad news, uhhh…there isn’t any!

I’ll admit it, I’m a couch potato and I LOVE my big screen TV. But today our family went TV-FREE. The reaons are complicated but it mostly boiled down to having two smart 12-year-old girls with very active lives in and out of school but who are not living up to their grade potential. The only way I could think of to add quality time to our days and reduce distractions was to ditch the TVs and severely limit computer time. I posed it to the kids as an either /or argument: we need to make changes that will help us do better in school, you can either drop your dance activities or we drop the TV. The kids chose to drop the TV. Ironically, I think I may be the one who gains the most from this experiment because I will no longer have a reason to plop on the couch with a beer for a few hours every night. I’m looking forward to losing weight and getting my blog whipped into shape. Who knows how much I can accomplish with a couple extra hours every night but I’ll keep posting about it.