This week’s confession is likely one many of us will admit to- way too much television watching. The thing is that I like television and so does my family. Our DVR is filled with tons of entertainment, mostly mindless programs to just let us relax.
I try so hard to just turn it off sometimes but honestly it seems to get turned back on almost instantly. On the weekends, all the televisions are likely blaring because no one seems to like what the other person is watching. I have watched countless hours of the Disney Channel and History Channel over the years. I have learned to cook more interesting meals because of the Food Network and The Cooking Channel.
I like television but I also like to craft, sew, and read on a regular basis. I am working hard to try to get my kids to understand that it is more fun to play than watch television but it is hard to compete with when it is all so fast paced. The kids can easily identify all those television characters in a heartbeat and well the marketing works.
Growing up, television was at a luxury and honestly we watched what my parents watched. We didn’t have cable for a long time, and you know what that was okay growing up. I read a lot as a kid and many adventures jumped right off the page.
A few years ago when I first started staying home, we got rid of cable which I hoped would have helped with our addiction but with Hulu and most everything easily accessible online, the addiction stayed the same and yes we now have satellite back in the house. It was very easy to fall off that band wagon.
One of my goals this year is to try and turn that television off and try to craft, sew and read more as a family. So far so good for me but the hard part has been getting the five year old to understand that we need to tune out and try different things like being outside more which with the nice weather we did have, was so easy to do.
I really commend people who limit or don’t watch lots of television. It isn’t an easy thing to do when it is simple to turn it on and zone out. Television can be an incredible tool to see the world but like everything, moderation is needed. Let’s see if we can do it.
Bio:
Rebecca Benson is a League City stay at home mom who has lived here since 2003 when her husband took a job on the International Space Station program. She followed soon after working on the same program for nearly six years when she started staying home with the kids. Rebecca loves to craft, scrapbook, sew, and embrace motherhood. Rebecca has a blog called Mommiedom ((http://queenmommiedom.blogspot.com/) where she talks about all the things in her life not just those “confessions”.
