Well, that was fast!
John started his new job today. This morning his old job (at the local cable company) called and ran down with me what services we wanted to keep and what we wanted to drop. To her shock (and the shock of everyone he worked with), we're keeping internet and phone and dropping TV. And to MY shock, when the kids went downstairs and turned on Discovery Kids, the cable was off!
That was fast!
And so the experiment begins.
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No Tv
Hi Lynn,
My name is Ilse and I have been living with out TV for the last 1 1/2. And I like it. Now let me clarify we do in fact have a televison in the house and we can play movies on it. I miss not having it for news events like the London bombing, Tsunamie, and weather alerts. I get most of my news and info from the internet now. Now I get to chose what goes in my head. I get online every morning and read the news. I stay up to date on all the newest science news. And all the odd stuff. 90% of what is on TV is crap and the rest of it I have already seen.
I have found that I sew more, am outside more, listen to the radio more, am happier and not as worried. YOu kids will have a great time learning to be outside, discovering frogs and bug, and will probable read more too. I know I do. I am also proud of the fact that bordem has made me start reading my bible more. I am half way through the old testiment now. Something I don't think I could have done if I was not devoid of TV.
Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. FYI Bett Middler was raised with no tv.
About to join you
We're going to cut off cable next week. Partly because we are trying to save $$, but a lot because we find ourselves sitting around flipping channels for hours, whether or not anything's on, on too many evenings.
I will miss some of the channels dreadfully, but it probably won't be too difficult to get used to. DD is starting preschool and has to take off early enough in the a.m. that the morning shows wouldn't be an option anyway.
Good luck!
$aving
We've been without a TV for a year now. I just did a quick calculation - we've saved almost $900 by no longer having digital cable. I can't even calculate how much money we've saved because I no longer see commercials for such-and-such fantastic indespensible product. (And I didn't even watch infomercials or the shopping networks! Just regular commercials!)
$$
The calculation for the package that we wanted (without which we didn't see the point) came out to more than $1000 a year. We thought about all the other things we could do with that $$ and said, eh. No TV. The girls are now allowed an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon on the local PBS affiliate and that's worked out fine. That sounds like a lot but usually when the TV's on they run in and out of the room a lot so it's rare they spend an entire hour watching. I use that time to work and Josie's getting some good reading and math reinforcement from "Between the Lions" (which I love, it's hysterical) and "Cyberchase."
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Goodness!!! Expensive cable
Goodness!!! Expensive cable you got there!!! I figure we spend $600/year ($50/month) with our sat. package, and that includes renting PPV movies. I don't do Netflix.
My boys love Cyberchase!
That is one they will sit for and I see them talking about it later.
They aren't big TV kids. I mean they will watch it and have some shows they love but it is easy to redirect them. We pay about $40 a month for our sat and only recently turned it back on. We go through bits where we turn it off and then have it reconnected after awhile.
They also, love "myth busters" on the Discovery Channel.
We are a "can do with it, can do without it" family, which is good but there are many times where I could do WITHOUT ALL THE ADVERTISING!!!!!!!
Jana
Antenna Power
We have never had cable or sattellite. At first it was because cable doesn't come out this far, then it was because we couldn't afford a dish, now it's because DH and I just don't want it. We get the local CBS and NBC affiliates with our plain old antenna, and if it's pointed in the right direction, CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Company), which has some wonderful historical movies and arts programming. I do wish we could get PBS, but we're blocked by a mountain. I find we already watch enough TV with only 3 channels on a good day.
I did an experiment a couple of years ago and put on the radio every morning. I found that no one turned on the TV when it was playing. I think sometimes it's just a reflex to turn it on for background noise.
I get my news mainly from newspapers, and even they are very into sensationalizing everything.
We do have a DVD player and VCR, and we have a lot of movies, but I really try to limit those for bad weather days.
When this TV dies, I'm following Rose's example!
-Jo
Ugh, advertising!
Hear hear!
The ads targeting children are the worst. They reinforce very traditional gender stereotypes, encourage disrespect for authority (particularly parents and teachers), and play on children's desire for acceptance among their peers (you're not cool unless you have x product) to sell. And, of course, encourage children to buy buy buy! Forget the cartoons (well, most of them), it's the ads I wouldn't want them to see.
Disney Channel
Which is why Disney Channel (reg. disney, not Toon Disney)is GREAT because the only ads they show is for other disney shows!! Same with PBS Kids. I usually just leave the TV on these shows, as DS2almost3 is just running in and out all the time (yes, I have turned it off, but he runs in and turns it on, watches 5 minutes, then runs out again).
For him, As long as I have PBS, Toy Story, Dukes of Hazzard, and instructional/promotional tapes of various farm equipment, he is happy. LOL!
But for me, I gotta have my Braves baseball. And HGTV if I'm in the mood. Or just a good movie.
The girls love their DiscoveryKids channel stuff and evening Disney shows.
And DH loves to just flip thru and stay for 5 minutes on various channels (usually Military Channel, FoxNews, Weather Channel, and Discovery Channel, any war or T&A movie, and Howard Stern
)
Way off topic! Whoops!!
As for it being fast (effort to get back on topic!!), I've noticed that if I changed a programming package online, it's almost instantly changed on the TV. Amazing!!
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