I just submitted my weekly newspaper column. For those of you that don’t know, I also write a weekly outdoors column for the Kennett Paper in Kennett Square, PA. For the upcoming column, I focused on National Turn Off Your TV week, which is April 16-23 this year. I first heard about this week over ten years ago, and my husband and I have been doing it every year since then. Of course, you won’t hear about this event on TV, lol.
Smart spending isn’t just about money, it’s about how you spend your time. Here are some facts about television in America:
Don’t get me wrong, my kids watch Sesame Street every morning and sometimes at night they are with us in bed watching it. But for the most part, I am pretty militant about not letting them watch it mindlessly for hours on end. And I am pretty strict about our “dinner together every night at the table” rule. I know that on the whole, I watch much, much less tv than many of my friends and acquaintances, because they post (on facebook) about watching more tv in a day than I do in a week.
I like this no-tv-week in April, because it really jars my system out of the winter doldrums. Certainly by the time February and March roll around, I am watching more tv than I was in September. This event really helps me snap out of it and not get sucked in any further.
So now I’m thinking of some extra things I want to get accomplished next week. One is that I have a new website that is being launched. Two, I want to get back on track with my deal-posting schedule on here. And now that it’s light later in the day, I want to do outdoor play every day from 3-4:30 with my boys.
Will you take the no-tv challenge? And what would you like to accomplish?
Lisa I agree with you. I think it’s a great idea. My kids watch tv before nap from 12-12:30 and that is pretty much it on most days. I myself am not much of a tv watcher and usually fall asleep when I sit down on the couch…haha. Thanks for posting it’s a great idea! The weather is finally nice for you and the boys to enjoy your new swingset!!