I unplugged the tv and removed it

It is done. Finaly I have the balls to do it. Yes I have unplugged the tv. Now..we don't have cable and we rarely watch the thing and it really small. but sometimes I find it on as jsut background noise or having cartoons on (mostly pbs) but even so I know deep down it is jsut an addiction and it's not good for anyones brain here. Most importantly my lil Mason's budding brain. It's like I know better then to let this be the center of the family room. Tv is like a toxin in a house. All the commercial crap trying to be sold to you..target marketing like crazy...you can see it palin as day. And yet we all hav e them in our homes..some people have many of them in muliple rooms with hundreds of stations. TOXIC! Images after images flash before us causing us to "veg out" and not create for ourselves from our brains. It forms our brains for us in a not so great way. I am not going to let this tv industry give my child add/adhd or obesity. And I won't let them sell ideas to my kid eather. Knowledge is power and tv isn't power for you or me. It's power for someone else at yoru expense all the way around. You buy the tv. You buy the commercials. You buy yourself some lazy time. Where does that get you? A few brain cells less? Ok sorry I'm ranting. But this has a ton to do with parenting. I have tried this before and it didn't work out so well but I know my reasons this time and it's clear common sense. I don't let my kid get hurt...I don't let him run in the street and get hit by a car or play with knives and I wont let him get hit with a lifetime of crappy influence that has nothing to do with what I really want him to know or how I really feel the world should be like. How can you have your child take you seriously about what you believe in if you don't advocate the behaviors of healthy living early and often and if you alow him to see things for hours on end that are contredictory to what you are trying to accomplish? He's 2 and a half and already he's addicted some to the thing. So it's time to peal it away.

 

You're very brave. I would like to do that. I've talked about it before, but DH is as addicted as Dakota is. Tonight he screamed for half an hour because he wanted to see the "Mean" which is Dakota for Train. It took major distracting to get the idea out of his head.

Kathii

 

you're inspiring applespark. you have lucky kids

 

i have a question, is this something you plan to lock away forever, or just while your child is young?

 

Check this out please:



http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/media.htm


Let me know what you think. Lots of great articles on the damage of TV!

 

we have a waldorf school near us and when you ask them for info for attending their school they send you all of that info with your packets. It's wonderful. I know he will see tv other places and I can't help it but as long as I can handle it I am going to try to not have it ready to watch. I'm keeping it hiden though so if we want to watch a movie when he gose to bed or something we can.

 

hi hun.

Tonight I was tempted to plug in the TV and watch saturday night live. I realized I was tempted to because my mom came over and her and I used to watch that together when I was growing up.

Instead we had really good conversations about whats going on in each others lives. Played a game of Chess, I won. Then I did dishes and cleaned up the house.

I'm glad I didn't go find it and turn it on tonight.

 

I agree with Blackie on this one

My brother and I have always had TV access, and we are perfectly fine. Just took some responsible parenting until we could figure it out ourselves.

 

Yay Applespark!!!!!!!!!!!! I am proud of you. It takes guts and fortitude to squelch the tube! But you'll be glad you did.


Media scientist Marshal McLuhan said that television would reprogram our brains. For a certain period of time (I believe up till age 5) our childrens brains are forming connections between synapses- decidedng which synapses to wire together and shoot electrical impulses between. They have proven that it is not the same in everyone! Sure, there are definate patterns, some things just need to be connected and usually are. However, other connections vary and they see differing levels of brain activity in different types of people. Someone who is outgoing has more activity in areas controlling social behaviors, someone who is brilliant in math shows other patterns.

I believe that the high levels of ADD and ADHD have to do in part with nutrition and in part with tv. The amount of time an image is on the screen has been getting shorter and shorter. I am a journalism major and had to learn all the communication statistics- don't remember exactly and I'm sure its changed but I think it was a 20th of a second.
I think that adds up to 3600 images every half hour. And we wonder why our little ones can't pay attention.

I honestly believe tv rewires our brains. Thats why the American Society of pediatrics says its not healthy for kids under two. Their brains are wiring too quickly.

Everything tv teaches can be taught at home. My roomate and I have instituted a spanish night where we speak spanish for an evening. We learn and so does Robert. My new boss is Japanese. I take robert to work with me andhe hears coworkers speaking a second foreign language. I count stairs, rocks, windows, everything. We talk about the colors in a ball, a flower, the sky the rug- again anything. I don't need tv to teach him things. I can and so can other people around him.

Yup- its harder to parent without tv. I know he watches it other places but I don't need George Bush to tell my kid what to think in those 14400 images he flashes rapidfire at them in those harmless two hours a day.

(Yup George Bush the government has a very tight rein over which companies survive and thrive based on which kinds of monopolies they choose to accept and which they choose to reject. Ultimately between 11-20 people control EVERYTHING mainstream you see hear and read! These people are all friends with our Government. They wouldn't be getting rich otherwise.)

Sorry for the rant- I meant to go in soft but no tv is something I feel passionate about. My sisters and I had a very different upbringing when it came to the box. My parents became gradually more and more lax about viewing. My sisters watched much more than I watched much more than I by the time they were teens.

I guess I just was shown toomch about not what television tells you but more what it doesn't tell you to respect the institution. I want my son to be able to think for himself before I let him watch it in my house.

I applaud you for making the change apple- it feels alientating sometimes- its incredible how much work culture tends to revolve around tv. But, you made the right choice.
H

 

just buy a dvd player and lots of old movies hehe.... movies are good. Public TV broadcasting is full shit and brain washing.

 

I agree and thanks I totaly know all youa re saying and it's very sad people think you ar ethe bad guy for trying hard to raise a well rounded child without a tv. I'm not doing him any disservice because he can't watch barney or tellitubbies or whatever else is on...He won't miss out on anything in life from actual play and hands on learning. And I won't be the bad goy because he won't know any differernt.

 

I feel this comment may have been for me but I assure you it wasn't I who gave you a bad amrk. I am all for others opinions and I post with all knowing that others will ahve a differnet view. I posted because I'm proud of my own choice. If yours is different so be it. But my child will not miss out on anything from not having a tv.

 

Blackie,

You say you want debate. Bring something to the table other than personal attacks and belittlement for someone else's choices. Your only rebuttle has been extreme sarcasm. You come across having a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance for your own ideas, arrogant.

Step up to the plate and debate. But don't tell me you want to debate and then just take personal attacks at people.

Lets get some serious organized discussion with real data around this topic so we can all make educated decisions.

 

i removed my tv almost a year ago (along with my exboyfriend harhar) and wouldn't have it any other way!

comparing this to censorship of books with "bad words" or getting rid of crayons because they might draw something ugly is ludicrous.

television is not a necessity, you know. it hasn't *gasp* always been around. not having a television is some how "anonymously striking out" ?? nope, it's just NOT HAVING A TELEVISION.

not having a tv is not "running away" from anything it's just not having a tv because you don't want one oh my goodness, someone doing what they think is right.

yay for no tv

 

hahaha thank you lol. Man people really get on it over the tube huh.

 

i know! i just glanced through the other threads going on about tv and man some people are like "give me television or give me death!" hehe

 

I posted about it in the tv forum and peopel are like appauled at the thought. I'm more appauled at the thought of how people are taking it so harshly that I have chosen for my family ( and my husband has also agreed) to shut it down. As I am not choosing for anyone else but sharing my own story. I have not chosen for any other person on here but myself and it's not even a harmfull choice but it has caused some people to get really angry for some reason.

 

I'll start the debate Blackie.

I'd like to start by stating the American Association of Pediatrics recommendation in their official policy statement on "Children, Adolescents, and Television"

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;107/2/423

Now, They don't come out and say TV is the devil and everyone should get rid of it. I agree that monitoring, planning and discussing television with youngsters is definately needed in today's day and age.

However, there is still much to be learned about the effects of television on developing and fully developed brains.

The initial research that has been done points to conclusions that watching television at young ages is linked to things such as increased violent behavior, less developed social skills, impaired imagination, obesity, opposing parental messages/values & shortened attention span.

Why risk your child's development?

That information coupled with my own experiences of watching television has led me to the conclusion that it is not a healthy practice for active brain development and intelligence growth for human beings, young or old. While I agree not all television is bad, I wouldn't count it as necessary at the same time.

Now I agree with you and other parents here on the point that ultimately your child's brain development is your responsibility as a parent, which is why Apple and I chose to remove our television from the environment. Again, I ask, even if you think the data is incoclusive and your skeptical and not really sure of any conclusions, why risk it? Is your child worth it?

There are a lot of parents that were raised by the television themselves as kids, thus not knowing any different than to let their kids watch as much television as they want.

To a certain degree it's important for society to educate us as citizens that participate in the society, so we can make educated decisions that effect the totality of the society in which we live. You follow?

The most common medium available to us in which to communicate new scientific research and good intelligent debate and conversation on a societal scale would be the media, mostly through television. To this end, our current media has failed us miserably.

An industry generated media does not intend to help educate society, an industry generated media's first priority is profit.

So how can parents make educated decisions on what is healthy or not for their kids based on the mass produced information that they receive from our societies main outlet for communication, the "for profit" media.

An example. How many of you knew about the AAPs recommendation to have no TV whatsoever for children under 2?? be honest. Now, the real important question. How many of you that knew that, knew it from watching television?

 

very little is a necessity for people to live. Food and shelter is about it..

 

the problem with what you two are dong is that you can only hide your child from the TV for so long..once he grows up he'll know that you hid it from him which may cause angst. Ontop of that, he might not be able to control his desires for the TV and then become the proverbial couch potato because he has no idea about responsibility. There are better ways to help kids than outright hiding the television. Although i do agree that for young young children(under 3-4ish) there is really no point for them to be watchign TV...but you're going to tell me that your 17 year old kid is going to be harmed by watching 60 minutes? or heck, the sopranos? C'mon, only if you havent raised them well.