TV free home???

[faithandhopellove]

Has anyone decided to have a tv free home? If so what prompted your decision? What are the positive or negatives from your experience?

[gingermillie]

I'm not tv free now but went through a period in my late 20s when I lived alone and my tv was still in the house but left unplugged. It was awesome! I used to go out or read every night or chat on the phone instead. I just wasn't interested at all in tv at the time (this went for a year or so). Then I met DH who doesn't so much watch tv shows but loves movies and docos so I got back into watching stuff with him.
I do know someone who doesn't own a tv. She just watches things online if she ever wants to catch a doco or something she's heard about.
I think to go truly tv free (as in not even own one) would be quite liberating. We aren't a tv on in the background kinda house it's only on for specific things and I probably only watch maybe 5 hours a week. I don't feel my life would be deficient in any way if the tv went though. I can't think of any negatives from not having a tv. I'd probably read more but at the moment I'm so flat out on the go all the time that the mind numbing passiveness of watching a bit of tv is welcome to me at the moment.
By tv free do you mean just removing the actual tv but as per my friend still occasionally watching a doco or something on your computer? Or do you mean removing the tv and all visual media completely and never watching anything in any form? They're 2 very different things. And the latter I would find hard, especially giving up all docos!

[Full House]

Nope, I would never do it. We have one tv, it's not on all the time, and our tv time is limited...but we all enjoy a bit of tv. Those I know without one just tend to watch shows off their laptop, and I find that really uncomfortable...espcially if DH and I want to watch a show together.
Each to their own, but I'm really comfortable with the amount of tv we watch and don't feel the need, or have any desire, to get rid of it.

[faithandhopellove]

@gingermillie that's a great insight. We currrently try not to watch just for the sake of watching but just turn it on when there's something of iinterest. I have noticed however there are times when we turn it on and flick through the channels and watch programs we are not really interested in. That seems to happen more now that we have a baby and are just tired in the evenings. I have also noticed a couple of things that worry me. We will have bub on her play gym on the floor and find if the tv is on she will turn her head and watch rather than play. The other thing is that we both get upset with her if we are watching something and she interupts us. If we got rid of it entirely the temptation to watch would be gone but we would also miss out on some things. DH has a lot of work stress and really enjoys watching quiz shows, sport and doco's. I have also popped bub in front of abc kids for awhile when she's cranky or I need to do something and she's not cooperating.
Maybe unplugging it would stop us turning it on for mindless viewing but still keep it for real interests.

[twinklify]

I could never do it.

Firstly, we watch sport. AFL during cooler months and cricket during the warmer months.

There are other shows we watch. We could watch them on the ipad etc but I don't see the difference between watching tv on a tv or a show on a computer/phone/tablet. It is more comfortable on the tv for everyone.

We just have 1 tv. None in bedrooms. It is off when eating dinner unless there is something special going on.

For our house it is not strict. Some days we watch it. Some days we don't. DS doesn't get overly cranky if we turn it off.

DH only gets cranky pants if everyone is loud when he tries to watch the news.

[faithandhopellove]

Thanks @Full House and @twinklify. That has been my initial thought too. DH has a work colleague who did it and said it was great but I am having trouble imagining life without a tv.

[ElizaDoLittle]

We are tv free Monday to Friday (for the kids) and it's works. I still watch at night . No tv in the mornings before EVER and they are free to watch whenever they want weekends. I have actually found that they would still rather go outside and play weekends but it has meant we get a sleep in weekends if we aren't working

[Full House]

OP, I completely understand you not wanting your baby to watch tv. We had our tv in our bedroom when our kids were little (mainly due to us changing the layout of the house and using the closed off loungeroom as our bedroom), and our kids never watched tv. It was out of sight out of mind for them, and we only then watched it when kids were asleep because we weren't goung to leave them unsupervised.

[Mama Mirabelle]

One of my relatives is TV free for religious reasons. She's never had a TV in her home and her kids who are teenagers now have never had a TV. I don't think it's worked out the way she envisioned.

When the kids were younger they were obsessed with TV. When they'd come to our place they'd just take over the TV and they did it at other relatives houses too, they'd cry when it was time to leave as they wanted to stay and watch TV.

As they got older they'd go hang out at neighbours houses who had older kids or older cousins houses. So the kids were being exposed to media that wasn't for their age and then my relative would get upset.

Also her husband loved to watch movies so he'd watch them on his laptop, and then as the kids got older they'd all sit around watching a movie together on the laptop.

I personally think if she would have just got a TV she could have had more control over what her kids were watching and it wouldn't have been such a novelty for them that they would obsess over. Also I can't think of anything more uncomfortable than having the whole family sit around in front of the laptop.

Her son now has is own laptop and is obsessed with really violent video games. I can't understand the logic that it wasn't ok for the kids to watch play school when they were little bit him playing grand theft auto or red alert at 13 is perfectly fine.

I would never go TV free, we're a tv on in the background kind of home. I like the idea of maybe moving it to another room so you have to specifically sit down and watch something, I'd probably try that if I had a space.

[faithandhopellove]

Wow. I never thought about that @Mama Mirabelle. That could really be an issue. Thanks for sharing.