Exactly 2 weeks ago, we
downsized our cable. When the cable employee
came to take the box away the girls all looked solemn. When Rebecca realized that he was also taking
the remote, there were definite tears. I got some tips on cutting the cable at https://smashcable.com and I decided to bite the bullet and do it.
I was worried that their reaction meant it
was going to be a difficult summer.
Our two youngest girls will
stay glued to the TV all day if it is on.
It’s been a blessing in the past (when I have something to get done) and
a curse others (when I’d like to take them outside).
stay glued to the TV all day if it is on.
It’s been a blessing in the past (when I have something to get done) and
a curse others (when I’d like to take them outside).
I knew it was time to discuss cutting cable when we were trying to cut some of
our bills. We’ve discussed this
countless times in the past but Matt wasn’t having any of it. He was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to
watch the Phillies play.
This time when I brought it
up again, I had some good timing. Matt
is on a huge Dave Ramsey kick right now so he was all for it. We realized we were paying $151 for our home phone, internet, and cable. Is it just
me or is that a ton of money?
up again, I had some good timing. Matt
is on a huge Dave Ramsey kick right now so he was all for it. We realized we were paying $151 for our home phone, internet, and cable. Is it just
me or is that a ton of money?
So we ditched our home phone,
which we haven’t used in the 6 years since Kate was born and downgraded our
internet speed. We originally discussed
cutting cable all together. Instead we
opted for a tiny package that gets few channels,. The girls can basically watch PBS now and that’s about it. We now pay over
$100 less a month for our internet and cable.
I still think we could do without the cable all together but we’re taking it on a
trial basis for the summer. This
way, Matt still gets to see some of the Phillies games.
which we haven’t used in the 6 years since Kate was born and downgraded our
internet speed. We originally discussed
cutting cable all together. Instead we
opted for a tiny package that gets few channels,. The girls can basically watch PBS now and that’s about it. We now pay over
$100 less a month for our internet and cable.
I still think we could do without the cable all together but we’re taking it on a
trial basis for the summer. This
way, Matt still gets to see some of the Phillies games.
You can find a ton of info on the internet about how the television affects young kids, especially toddlers. I touch on it in one of my classes. Things like:
- TV and computer games change brain development
- They shorten attention spans and heighten aggression
- Without tv, kids more flexible, more creative in their play, more in touch with their emotions, more able to entertain themselves
But I still wondered how that would affect us and our kids. Here’s what I’ve noticed now
that our TV is off most of the time:
that our TV is off most of the time:
I’ve noticed they’re actually
playing with the toys we have now.
Before they’d ditch their toys in order to stare at the TV. Now, they’re not only playing with toys that
haven’t seen the light of day in forever, they’re getting more creative with
their play. They’re also getting along
better and that means there’s less fighting.
Don’t get me wrong – they still fight.
There’s just less of it. One of the biggest bonuses
for me is that I don’t have to hear any of the “I wants” coming from them every
time they see a new commercial.
playing with the toys we have now.
Before they’d ditch their toys in order to stare at the TV. Now, they’re not only playing with toys that
haven’t seen the light of day in forever, they’re getting more creative with
their play. They’re also getting along
better and that means there’s less fighting.
Don’t get me wrong – they still fight.
There’s just less of it. One of the biggest bonuses
for me is that I don’t have to hear any of the “I wants” coming from them every
time they see a new commercial.
Doing this as the summer approaches was a bit scary. The girls aren’t doing any camps this summer so it could turn into a LONG summer but I feel pretty confident that we won’t be indoors too much.
Do you have cable? Do your kids watch a lot of TV? What do they like to watch?
xoxo
–k
Kristina Grum is a Certified Parent Educator who has over a decade of experience working with children, including being a classroom teacher. She currently teaches parenting classes in her local area and writes about shifting parenthood from barely surviving to thriving.
We said adios to our cable/phone/internet bill a couple of years ago and I had the same issue with my husband, his beloved baseball. We have this ugly antenna on our roof that gives us PBS and a few other channels and since we have Apple TV now, we watch most things on Hulu and baseball thru the MLB app. The kids watch netflix streaming and since my husband works for an internet company, our bill is $0, but we did have to pay for the modem. I'm happy we ditched the cable and we watch even less tv and honestly, we are better for it.
That is huge. We are not really TV watcher and we only let our son watch a 30 minute show in AM and a 30 minute show in evening. We should probably get rid of cable all together! LOL
This is really great! I would love to do this too, but it kind of scares me at the moment since I have the same situation in my home you had earlier. My son loves his shows, and would just throw a fit without them!
We did this very thing a few years ago!! And the Dave Ramsey thing ROCKS. I've heard such great things about his program. Many of my friends have done it through my church. Good for YOU!
It's so important to limit screen time. Your benefits from doing that are awesome!
My kids watch way too much TV. I know it is important to limit it and I should do a better job. Mine are also older, though, so we really don't need all the cartoon channels and I would definitely be happy for them to watch less Austin & Ally! Something to consider for sure.