Do you think that the television should be a part of your child’s bedroom furniture?
I remember a number of years ago sitting at the dining table with my children when the topic of televisions came up. It would seem like a number of their peers in grade school had televisions in their bedrooms. My children made it known that they wished we “had enough money” that they could have tvs in their rooms also. I made it very clear that “even if I owned 1 million dollars” that they would still not be allowed to have televisions or telephones in their rooms. Wow what a wake up call that was!
Call me old fashioned….. I don’t want my children hidden away in their rooms for hours at a time. I want to hear who they are talking to and for how long. I want to know what they are watching and how much time they are spending in front of the TV.
I think if an alien space ship landed today in America that they very well might come to the conclusion that the TV is our god. We lay in front of it. We have it on continually. We have one in each and every room. Some are as big as whole walls!
Now I don’t have any real gripe with TVs or movies for that matter. I have a concern about how much time we are letting them suck up of our lives and what they are teaching to our children while we are not paying attention.
Have you ever heard of good music, conversations, board or card games??? Did you know there is a world to be explored in books? Let the television and movies be a treat and not the norm. Try it you may like it!
PS We took a year when the kids were small and put the TV away. It was not a punishment but a discipline. It took a little getting used to but turned out to be very good in many different ways. One thing I can tell you for sure is it will sensitize you again. When we watched again for the first time in a long time I was startled by the commercials ( both stupid and crude) plus the loudness and visual clutter that it brought into the room. Try an experiment and turn it (them) off for a week or month and then bring it (them) back into your life ON YOUR TERMS!
Life is good.
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