by Starla Ross

Created on: July 29, 2010   Last Updated: May 26, 2011

Television-watching seems to have expanded in our home over the years.  First, there was Sesame Street and Arthur.  Then Cartoon Network made an appearance.  As our three daughters grew, the Disney Channel and (sometimes MTV) became a part of our lives.  Because we seem to accumulate all the hand-me downs in our extended family, family members seemed delighted to pass on their old clunky televisions for the newest flat screen models, leaving us with a total of three televisions, sometimes on at the same time and turned to different channels to accommodate every family member.

Our family has made a commitment to implement a radical new rule in our home - no television on school nights.  This may seem controversial to some, but to our family, it will be a welcome relief from the constant noise and disruption.

We did a trial run of the no-television rule last week.  As you can imagine, the restriction met resistance from all family members under five-foot tall.  After the whining stopped and the tv had been turned off for a week, funny things began to happen in our house.

First and foremost, the quality of homework increased dramatically.  Homework was getting done before, but our daughters were rushing through it, in a hurry to watch their favorite television shows.  Next we noticed the girls actually spending more time enjoying each other.  There were several Monopoly tournaments, and more than a fair number of card tournaments.  

As the week progressed, we noticed the girls doing more productive things without being asked - baking, practicing the piano, and (gasp!) reading books.  In addition, they played outside more often, and our oldest daughter took more walks and stopped snacking in front of the tv.

Lastly, and most surprisingly, my husband and I noticed a small change in the "I want" syndrome.  Apparently because they weren't watching all of those commercials, our girls forgot to ask for all the new stuff they saw on tv.

Television has become so much a part of the American lifestyle that its difficult to envision a life completely without tv.  I'll be the first to admit I enjoy keeping up with current events on cable news and the luxury of watching my favorite cooking shows on Saturday afternoons.

We may relax the tv rules a little over the summer months, but during the school year, our family is committing to some time together  - without television.

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