Turn off the TV week conclusion

I thought since I posted I was doing this last week, I should post an update. Compared to all my daily posts last time we did this, it's a pretty boring update :) It wasn't too hard, really. The only time we missed it was naptime for E. I usually let Noah have a show. But, we did other things. Things better than sitting in front of the TV, like reading :) We were also outside all the time. Daily bikerides are a must now that he's proficient on the bike. We go to the park and also on errands like going to the grocery store. He's doing awesome!

Even I stuck to it. Here Oprah is in her LAST season with great shows on every day. I've heard parts of them replayed on XM radio. I have them all DVR'd though and hopefully will catch up sometime :)

Turn off the TV week (AGAIN!)

If you remember, we participated in National Turn Off the TV Week back in April. I saw yesterday afternoon, that it was this week again. DOH! I had already let Noah watch some silly Thomas the Train video when E was napping. But, we turned it off. And we're going to keep it off for the week again. Do it with me. You'll be surprised at how it changes your week. If nothing else you can DVR your favorite shows and catch up on them later ;)

The weather is beautiful. Noah just learned to ride his bike. I think this week will be a cake-walk.

A week without TV - recap

Well we did it! It wasn't bad at all. In fact, we had a great week. Noah really behaved better. I think the fact we had a lot of one on one time while Elliot napped and I was more engaging was good for us both. Instead of turning on Noggin, I set up his paints and easel and turned on the christian radio station for him when I went to put E down. Then when I came downstairs we just had time together. It was fun, but I didn't get as much done around the house either.

I have decided to definitely keep some of this going. I'm going to continue more one-on-one time with Noah when E naps, but if he asks to watch a show, I'll let him watch one a day I think for now. And then use that time wisely to get stuff done around the house. I may increase it to 2 a day. And when kids are sick, all bets are off.

No TV week was good for us! I would highly recommend trying it for yourself :)

Day 3 & 4

I was too tired to post last night, but we are still going strong on the NO TV thing. Yesterday was a good day. And today has been good too, but the most challenging as we only had about an hour and a half outdoors before the rain came in. I didn't take them to do anything special. We went to the grocery store, but just have been home. Noah is keeping busy right now building a puzzle with the rubber mats (he dragged them ALL out of the attic).

I just told Noah that it was STILL raining outside. He was all optimistic and smiles as he replied "But, Mommy, maybe God will make a RAINBOW!"

Day 2 of no TV

Went well. Noah didn't miss it. I also didn't miss it because while E was napping, Noah went to play at a friend's house, so I used that time to get dinner ready. Score! I love my neighbors. This meant I only spent about 5 minutes getting dinner ready for the oven during dinner hour. And Noah had good behavior all day.

This morning we had a playdate at a friend's house, then some playtime at home along with lunch, then Noah went to his friend's while E napped. The afternoon we played around the hood with friends, rode bikes, played in the yard and went to the grocery store for a few items. Fed & walked the dog and then stayed inside the rest of the evening. The kids were already out of the bath when Paul got home with his new car and of course we had to put in seats quickly so the boys could take a ride around the hood. Noah think it's "really awesome!"

Now the boys are in bed and I think I'll follow. I'm so tired!

Project No TV day 1

I figured I'd post my days the next week while doing this to keep myself accountable:

-Spent morning getting ready, eating breakfast and letting the boys have some free play in the house
-Went to the park from 9:30-11:30. Met up with the BMA coffee club crowd (they go out for coffee then to a park every Monday. I skip the coffee part and just go to the park. Chasing my kids around coffee shops+spending money=what is the point?)
-11:30-picnic lunch in the backyard and let the kids play for awhile in the yard
-12:00 set up art project for Noah & went to put E down. E wouldn't go down (this is very unusual. My boy likes his naps. Had a fever of 99.6. Has had a fever for a few weeks off and on. This is getting old. His ear infection is cleared up, so I have no clue what is up).
-Let both boys play in the backyard until 1pm and then decided to pull an old trick I used to do to Noah and drive E to sleep.
-1pm put the boys in their carseats and E starts belly laughing (slap happy?) for NO reason. this sends Noah into hysterics as well.
-5 minutes later Elliot is passed out and I drive back home and put him in his crib
-1:00-3:00 Noah & I play with bubbles in the front yard, pick weeds, he blows "wishes" (dandelions), play golf with Hudson a bit
-3:00 E joins us for about 15 minutes when we decide we need ice cream and head to BR. Call to invite Hudson & Addison to join us
-4:00-5:00 Noah, Elliot & Hudson play in the backyard a combo of "waterworld" (a game N&H made up last week where they basically shoot water everywhere with squirt guns and spray bottles and yell "WATERWORLD" over and over) and throw big pieces of dirt at the fence (we had our lawn aerated last week). At one point Noah found a huge piece of dirt and yelled "MAZELTOV!" as he threw it. Yes, I make religious diversity education a priority. Ok, Ok, he learned it from a Black Eyed Peas song. But, I did explain what it meant when he asked.
-5:00-6:00 fed and walked Wally, then hung out inside until Paul came home

After that we had dinner and I don't know what else, because I did the usual zombie walk upstairs to escape into a hot shower when Paul got home :)

We had a good day. That is actually a pretty typical day except the 1-3pm time. We might spend half of that time outside playing in the backyard, but a lot is spent doing quiet activities in the house (playing blocks, etc with the TV on). I think tomorrow, during E's nap I'm going to shoot for some quiet play so we aren't so worn down by the end. I wanted to keep him active so he wouldn't ask for TV, but it's not like I can't just say no, right?

National turn off your TV week

So this morning I found out that this is National Turn off your TV week. I had just turned on Jack's Big Music Show for Noah and was about to head upstairs to get ready and decided, what the heck. I turned it off and had him & Elliot come upstairs with me to play while I got ready. We don't watch a lot of TV anyway, but I definitely take advantage of it when I want to occupy Noah so I can get ready, cook or clean up. The only time I consistently let him watch every day is when I put Elliot down for his nap. I usually don't have it on at all until then, so he's more likely to sit quietly while I put E down. Depending on my mood and how active our morning was I might let him watch for awhile or turn it off and do something together after I put E down.

So today I just set him up with his easel and paint to do an art project right before I went to put E down instead. Noah never missed it. The time I missed it, was about 5pm We had been outside and active all day (both of us). No sitting down while E napped. No sitting down ever. He was an angel all day until around 4pm when I think he just finally got tired. By about 5pm on that active of a day I'd have felt no guilt to let him watch Noggin (all educational preschool TV with no commericals) while I cooked dinner. And trust me, it would have been nice today.

I don't think TV is evil or really even that bad for kids when done in moderation, with age appropriate programming and properly monitored. Noah has actually learned a lot from the shows I allow him to watch. Heck, he knows more about wildlife than I do (shout out to Diego). One of his first words was "octagon" (thank you Moose & Z). He even speaks some basic Chinese (HOLLA Kai Lan!). But, I'm up for the experiment. I'm interested to see how it changes our life for one week.