“How much of my life had I wasted being indoctrinated with messages of discontent that could only be salved by buying things I didn’t want and rarely needed? How much of my potential had been squandered watching fictitious depictions of people living life rather than me actually living my own life?”- Breadand money.com
1995 was the year I stopped my TV addiciton. 12 years of my life I have been free. When my now husband and I moved in together 3 years later I let him know, as I now let my kids know “if you want television, live elsewhere”.
The usual response when people discover this part of our lifestyle is shock. “How do you live without it? What do you do?”. My answer is usually “we have a relationship with each other and with our children”.
Some people make the joke, “so that’s why you have so many children”. Three kids is alot these days.
There have been quite a few negative responses ranging from “If you can’t control your TV addiction, why make your kids suffer by depriving them of it” to “You are abusing your children by not giving them television”… Truely.
I have found the last 12 years liberating to say the least. I now can’t believe I spent so much of the previous 12 years in front of the box. I stopped watching because I wanted to achieve more and live more. I can say, that is exactly what the decision has done. What I didn’t expect was the quality of lifestyle it brought me - food, art, music, relationships, self-education which lead to all sorts of riches.
When my children ask me why we don’t have a television I tell them the truth. “I don’t like ads.” This statement is simple enough for them to understand now and when they have more questions about this I will have the answers.
Has anyone else chucked the box?
What do your tell your children when they ask for it?
About the Author...
Richard and Mary Morris saved their own lives by making a decision to nourish their bodies instead of follow another fad diet to lose weight. Incredibly they did lose weight, 200lbs together. More great advice and support for healthy eating lifestyle can be found at Richard and Mary's site breadandmoney.com
Feb 1st, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Blessings Jo!
Congratulations on the site!
As for ditching the TV I have been TV free for just over 12 months and loving it.
Our situation arose when we bought an old cottage that had no aerial. In our previous place we were paying an exhorbitant amount of money for foxtel and not even watching it that much.
Those funds were redirected to sponsoring a child through World Vision and supporting Spiritual Cinema Circle - a film company that only issues films and documentaries with deeper spiritual significance.
Next month for instance, subscribers get Conversations with God - the movie.
We have suddenly been freed of discontent and found a life together that is much richer. We still watch DVDs but are in control of the content and have naturally steered away from horror or violence.
I will say however this machine we are presently communicating by (ie the PC) has the ability to really sneak in and snaffle that time, so we set limits for our child who is allowed multimedia time (PC time or games or Skype). I wish I set the same boundaries for my husband.
I also stay away from women’s magazines in general, however I do allow myself a reasonably good budget for books. I subscribe to the weekend papers but have decided that I will let that lapse because, I feel it’s not ecologically sustainable. If there’s anything important, someone will tell me and I can read up on special interest items on the internet.
Feb 2nd, 2007 at 11:08 pm
My family has not actually given up having a TV, but we have virtually eliminated watching TV.
Several years ago, my wife and I began doing volunteer work for our church. We came to spend more and more time on this volunteer work and it got to the point that there was no longer any time for TV. We eventually moved our TV from our main living area to a room in the basement. We no longer watch broadcast or cable TV (except for the occasional presidential address or the Olympics). We do rent DVDs movies once or twice per month.
Nowadays I spend my time cooking, exercising, reading or playing with the kids, and doing volunteer work for my church. Every once in a while I’ll catch some TV while visiting a friend and wonder why I used to be so entrapped by this device. It holds no power over me anymore. I just can’t imagine wasting my life away in front of a TV.
Feb 8th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I was raised in a home where the TV was used for movies only. We watched one every Friday as part of our “family night” and it was a big treat we looked forward to all week long. When my husband and I got married almost 2 years ago, we agreed that if we had a TV it would be reserved for movies only. We currently watch about one movie a month. I am so thankful we made this resolution, especially when I think of all the time I am able to spend on productive and educational pursuits. What a shame it would be if I were staring at the tube right now instead of reading this fascinating magazine!