Previous entry: 
Next entry:
The big dis-connect, Turning off Television and tuning into family
We did what any parent must eventually do – we cut the cord.
Only in this case, we canceled the cable service for television. It’s very liberating - we aren’t tethered to it anymore.
Admittedly, it’s more of an adjustment for us rather than The Kid. We adults had become lay-a-bouts. We’d be the ones to mostly say, “wait, after this show I’ll [fill in the blank: help you with your homework; cook dinner; clean the house; put out the fire, etc.]
The Kid does lots of other things already. His withdrawal symptoms will be much less than ours. He plays video and board games, card games; he reads and practices Tae Kwon Do; hangs out with his friends and does his homework.
But I think us big people will survive too. This week, one of us focused more on graduate course homework and the other did more housecleaning.
Though the true catalyst for disconnecting from pay television and switching to rabbit ears was driven by cutting expenses, we’ll gain so much more than loose change. We already have, we’re re-connecting with each other.
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
Joy Oglesby has an infant daughter and a sister 13 years her junior, whom she babies to the now-adult...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s...
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters...
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters...
Anne Vasquez loves to worry, or so her husband says...
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces...
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 13, and Lily, 6, and is married...
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of three blonde, blue-eyed kids all under six years old.
Comments
I looove tv, and so does my son. If we lost our jobs, Direct TV would be our best value for entertainment.
My son and I watch American Idol and iCarly; in both cases, it gives us something to talk about that he's on the same footing as me(and he stalls when I watch the Heat games, which end around bedtime).
That said, most of our conflicts at home involve getting him to turn the thing off.
But I'm probably no better, and likely worse.
Posted by: Nick Sortal | March 20, 2009 1:16 PM
i thought i was the only one without cable-took a 2000 dollar a month pay cut after I was out of work for 8 or so weeks, cable bill got up to $350.00 and just don't have it-kids play out more-i spend time on computer but at least the tv isnt blaring in the background 24/7-it was the center of our life and it was on even when we weren't watching it.
Posted by: victoria | March 21, 2009 8:25 PM
You know, if you end up having to lose your cable or sat service, you're not toally cut off. Many shows are now being loaded from cable networks on sites like Fancast and Hulu. I'm sure whatever you were mssing will evetually turn up there along with some other things you haven't seen in years.
Posted by: Donald | March 21, 2009 10:10 PM
I haven't had cable in over ten 10 years. I'll wait months for the movies/tv shows to come out on dvd and then I go to the public library. They have the most up to date movies and dvds you ever find anywhere. FREE FREE
Posted by: Irene | March 22, 2009 11:38 AM
TV time can be great but it can easily lead to an unhealthy sedentary habit. As parents, it's important that we find a balance. By the way, there are systems out now that will allow parents to control the amount of TV and video time their child/children get.
Posted by: Mike Heppert | June 23, 2009 10:14 AM