TV Free

Raising children is full of charged issues. Everyone's got an opinion, and a lot of people feel the need to foist them on you. Fortunately, I don't have friends and family who foist things on me. Because I do not do well with foisting.

Recently, I read this post over at DotMoms. Even though the author begins by talking about how they are doing things that work for their family, you can definitely sense the negative view of television. I read through quite a few comments and there's a lot of disapproval in the tone of those comments, many references to using 'television as a babysitter'.

I like TV. I'm particularly into HGTV and The Learning Channel. My husband likes TV - The Simpsons is an obsession with him. This Wednesday (TWO DAYS! SO EXCITED!) we are getting DVR so that we can record the shows we want to and be able to watch them because with Luke we simply can't watch a full hour.

Luke has three or four Baby Einstein videos, and some other tapes I've picked up at garage sales. He doesn't watch the shows we watch, but put on one of those and he's enthralled. When he gets older, I'm sure he'll be watching Sesame Street. After all, my brother was a Sesame Street junkie and now he's a doctor. So obviously watching Sesame Street is directly linked to doctorness!

TV is a cultural touching stone. I fondly remember camping out in front of the TV on Saturday mornings. Top conversations to get to know your dorm mates in college: childhood TV. Best way to get to know new coworkers: Do you watch Survivor? Why do shows make us laugh? Because we've been there. In college my life paralleled a Friends story arc.

All that said, I want Luke to develop a healthy relationship with the TV. I feel like my childhood was well mixed - I certainly spent a lot of time playing with my friends, reading, and imagining. I don't feel as though I'm well mixed now. I have turned on the TV for background too often.

So tonight, since it's just Luke and I, and there's nothing I particularly want to see, we're going to go TV free.