This past week, Stinger Mama was silent, at least online! In my home, it was NOT so silent! We began No-Screen week with meltdowns. Monday morning was met with cries of hysteria from my children as soon as they woke up (at 6:30am) and discovered the TV was no longer in the prominent position in our living room. After quite a while of talking and calling my mommy, I was already beginning to rethink my decision to go without TV or computer for a week.
But I realized that these very meltdowns are the reason WHY I needed to do this. Our dependency on those things had gotten out of control.
I am going to be sharing a lot about our week throughout this week but I'm going to start out with a Cons list of going without out TV and computer to get started!
CONS of having NO TV or Computer
- NO in-home baby-sitter. This was probably the biggest problem I noticed. When mommy needed to get something done, I would turn on Netflix or a DVD to distract the kids and I would get my job done. So this week even making meals became more of a chore because my kids were all underfoot. Talking with my hubbie after he got home from work was harder because I had to share him with three other little ones!
- I missed it. There were a few times where I was at a loss of what to do. Especially when one evening I was home alone without my hubbie after kids were gone. Especially when I had to stay home last night from church because my son and I got a barking cough.
- Laundry was BORING! I fold 7 loads of laundry all at one time and I usually watch a movie while I am doing it as a "reward" to myself for folding it.
- Less social involvement for this at times lonely mommy.
- No resources - I don't have a picture of Lava to show my children! I don't have access to searching online for phone numbers, recipes, you name it! I don't have ACCESS!
- I had to be creative with ideas for keeping my kids occupied - like teaching my kids the game my sister and I played ALL the time when we were little - "THE FLOOR HAS TURNED TO LAVA!" Hence my need to explain to my kids what lava is. They were confused. The game became "DON'T TOUCH THE FLOOR OR YOU WILL DIE!!!!!"
All in all, the cons were there and I'm being honest with you, it was hard at times and there were two times when I had to have a conversation with myself about NOT lugging the TV upstairs and plugging it back in. Which is why I was glad we decided to move it to the basement instead of just unplugging it. I would have cheated. Oh and by the way, I did cheat with the computer. I had to make a bulletin for our church for Sunday for the hubbie and I checked email once OKAY twice on my tablet. Yea, I know, I was convicted about it. Truly.
Tomorrow I will share the Pros and if you have ever gone without TV or computer before, you probably already know what's coming but I didn't. I THOUGHT I knew what I would learn but I was surprised what really happened!
In HIS Grip,
I'm proud of you! We haven't had television since 1997 and watch movies only on weekends (Friday night is our movie night, except in the summer, when it is weekly bon-fire night). BUT the computer (and smart phone) is an issue. I am planning a one-month fast in April. I'll be looking for that "pro" list tomorrow... :)
ReplyDeleteann, thanks for being so transparent about this.....we have had many conversations about our 'screen time' lately and have tried to make some goals about what the ideal amount of time is or isn't. with a little kiddo now it has become more important for us to ensure that we are setting a good example.....and i personally thrive on my adult interactions through blogging, facebooking, pinteresting, etc.....but do i rely on them too much?!?
ReplyDeletei can't wait to hear more about what you learned!
thanks for sharing!
jenn
What a great commitment to make. I believe it had to be hard at times, but I can also imagine the wonderful pros!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing! my two-year-old has gotten in the habit of running in the living room after breakfast and saying "T!!!" (his word for TV). some mornings it's easier to just turn it on so I can get stuff done, but other mornings i make a real effort to leave it off for awhile and concentrate on just playing with toys with him or coloring or other activities (those mornings we usually end up running errands to get out of the house!!). hoping to establish good habits now so he won't go through life addicted to TV. :o)
ReplyDeleteIf only we were better at only using it only when we NEEDED access. Instead, WANTING access becomes addicting. You did awesome to stick with it!!
ReplyDeleteSO proud of you girl and for sticking through it. We truly do not what all is in the way or our walks with God. When we strip it all away all we can do is take off running to Him!! Big hugs glad to have you back!!
ReplyDelete