Sneak Invasion

I have come to realize today that a long-time family rival has once again snuck into our home. It has happened slowly, silently, and with no fuss or fanfare...but it has happened none the less. This threat to family, happiness and health has come in the form of a Nintendo DS. Sigh.

We are not an electronic media-free home, but I do try to limit how much screen time we all get. We have a TV for watching movies, but no cable. William has a hand held video game, but until recently it was an older (and less expensive) game boy and was used almost exclusively for long car rides.

But over the past few months, I have noticed the kids spending more and more time in front of a screen. The video game migrated from the car into the house. Daddy recorded a new series of movies / TV shows onto disc for the kid to watch. The TV upstairs, which had been 'broken' for many many months, was suddenly turned on again. And just like that, the hours are adding up - hours that were previously spent playing, drawing, reading, building LEGO (of course!) and living have now become sit-on-your-butt-as-your-brain-turns-to-mush time.

It is time to fight back!!! Time to turn off the tube and turn back on our lives. Time to 'break' the TV again (don't tell the kids it is me - they think it is the result of a bad storm!!) and banish the video game tot he car again. Time to bring out the books, the games and the LEGO. I know that when we are turned-off in this way we are all a whole lot happier. Well, perhaps Daddy is not, the the boys and I sure are! Everyone gets along better, has more energy during the day and sleeps better at night. We feel inspired and excited about life, and have the time and attention to explore the things that we are interested in. All of a sudden there is so much more time - to complete chores, to learn, to relax, to explore, and to just be together. I can't wait.

If you are contemplating getting rid of your TV (or at least shutting off cable) I wholeheartedly encourage you to try. If you need some more encouragement, this article may help...

Trash Your TV