Our Family Accidentally Quit Tv… This Is How It’s going….
We accidentally quit TV and it was one of the best things that could have happened.
For the past 6 weeks we have had snow storms. Our TV is internet powered, and our internet is solar powered. So we have been without tv for over 6 weeks.
We didn't initially have any longterm plans to quit tv. We’ve had conversations about it, but it always found its back into our lives before we new it.
For the first couple of days our kids would ask when the internet was coming on.
Wondering when they would be able to watch their favorite cartoons again.
After the first week they stopped asking.
Instead of watching tv they started finding things to do.
Read books, color, play with the dogs, puzzle, go outside and so on.
And one of the most interesting things is they stopped complaining that they were bored
We saw such a huge difference in the first few days - our home was more peaceful.
The Impact Of TV and Brain Health
We all "know" in the backs of our minds that tv is probably not the greatest thing for kids. But, I started to wonder impact regular tv watching was having on their developing minds.
Studies are showing that excessive TV watching can affect brain health. Specifically affecting brain structor, function, verbal and emotions. Emotions was defiantly an area we saw a difference in right away.
Scientists were able to see significant anatomical differences in the brains of children who watched more TV.
They saw the most difference in areas involved with aggression, vision, and emotional responses.
These changes also are correlated with lower verbal IQ scores.
After reading the science it seems like a no-brainer to limit how much TV our kids watch. To be honest I thought it would be more "work" for us as parents.
This ended up being a non-issue. They find things to do.
How to transition your children with out needing a blizzard to get started.
The best way is to go cold-turkey. In the past we had tried to do less and less tv. Limit it to one hour per day or just for family movies. But before we knew it more and more TV would creep into our day, especially on weekends.
Not having it as an option has made it so much easier to just live without it and find other things to do.
I highly recommend quitting TV. It has been one of the healthiest lifestyle changes our family has made.