No TV Week

I have been feeling recently that my family spends way too much time in front of a screen. I guess this is a common feeling, because I've been seeing a ton of stuff pop up on facebook about the dangers of too much screen time. In an effort to spend more quality time with my family I decided that this week no one was allowed to watch any TV. At all. The kids didn't watch anything, I didn't watch anything during naptime, and Jordan and I played games instead of our usual evening TV time after the girls went to bed.

It started out great. On Monday I took the girls to a thrift store and spent $12 and got some books and stuffed animals and I got a pair of jeans. Awesome. Then we played. And played. And I started reading a BOOK. For PLEASURE. I haven't read a book for pleasure since The Hunger Games, and that was a couple years ago.

But as the next couple days went on, something happened. I got cranky. The girls wouldn't nap. I started feeling very overwhelmed and stressed and overstimulated. And it rained a lot. I babysat three days this week and while I enjoyed seeing the games the kids came up with without a TV to entertain them, I became in desperate need of "me" time. We read a lot of books and baked cookies and played games and I kept waiting for that feeling. That... supermom feeling. I just kept waiting to feel like I had accomplished greatness. I was waiting for that family closeness that I thought I would feel by turning off the TV. You know, like you see in the movies. ON THE TV.  It just didn't work out that way.

I realized that I really like our movie time. My kids don't watch excessive amounts of television or anything, it was usually two movies a day. One in the morning when they woke up, and one in the afternoon or evening. More than the recommended amount. But they also rarely sit down and watch a whole movie. It's usually in bits and pieces as they run from room to room terrorizing each other. But a lot of times it's a way we reset. It's a way we relax together. That's my snuggle time. Catherine always sits in my lap and snuggles with me when we watch a movie and I didn't get that this week! Jordan said I could read her books and snuggle and I did. We read a ton of books. But it wasn't the same!

I do plan to cut out TV time down. It was great for me, personally. I've enjoyed reading again! But I don't think I will be cutting it out completely. I will look for other forms of entertainment first, perhaps, but I learned that I turn on the TV more for myself than for the girls. Sometimes I need ten minutes to take a shower, or I need to be able to clean up a mess upstairs without worrying that the girls are going to completely destroy the downstairs.

I made my peace with the television. It is not evil. Right now it is my favorite short term babysitter, and I am absolutely okay with that. Now if you will excuse me, I must get back to my book.