Taming the Media Monster in the Home – Part 2
About 4 years ago, our family made a gutsy move that went against our carnal grain – we ditched our cable! And I’d like to share with you the reasons why we did it and the benefits we’ve experienced since.
First, consider these statistics from Parent’s Television Council:
- 2/3 of children in the U.S. have television sets in their bedrooms.
- Children watch about 28 hours of television a week.
- Children spend more time watching television than time spent in school. (900 hours annually in school vs. 1500 watching television)
- Children spend more time watching television than in any other activity except sleep.
- Television reaches children at a younger age and for more time than any other socializing institution except the family.
- More and more homes have multiple TV’s, meaning children have greater opportunity to view programs without parental consent or supervision.
- By age 18, a U.S. youth will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence.
While approximately 4,000 studies have been done on TV’s potentially negative affects on children, America is still hooked. While the average child spends 1,680 minutes watching television per week, that same child spends only 3.5 minutes in meaningful conversation with their parents each week.
Also, when 4-6 year-olds were asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, 54% preferred the television.
Those statistics are staggering enough to make anyone stop and think. However, how many parents are really stopping to think about this problem at all?
Our family’s decision to cut cable out of our lives was not an easy one for everyone to accept, nor is it necessarily a decision we believe that every family must make (most all of our friends and family have it). We just knew that it was right for us, and here are some reasons why:
1) WE WANTED TO CHANGE OUR PRIORITIES
Over time, it wasn’t hard to tell that when we didn’t have anything specific going on, our natural default was to just turn on the tube to see what was on. And we all know that once you turn on the tube, even if there’s nothing on, it’s very easy just to sit there and veg and watch a whole bunch of the “nothing”.
We decided that we wanted to be more intentional and more in control, and this was a way to help us to do that. We felt that there are things much more noble and worthy of our time and priority as a family. So we changed our default.
2) WE WERE TIRED OF PAYING FOR SOMETHING WE DIDN’T NEED
With TV packages ranging from $30 – $100+, that’s a lot of money for every family in America to be paying Hollywood each month.
For us, with our family’s busy schedule, there were many months of the year that we rarely used the TV any if at all. And at other less busy times, it was nothing more than a time and money waster for us. In that respect, eliminating one more bill was a no-brainer.
3) WE WERE CONCERNED WITH HOW IT WAS AFFECTING OUR CHILDREN
My wife and I grew up in homes without cable television, so we were always at the mercy of twisting the “bunny ears” just the right way to get a few basic free channels. So having cable in our home after marriage was something new and fun.
However, a few years back, we began to realize how much it was affecting the priorities of our kids. It was their default to want to watch TV, and it was very convenient for us just to let them. We decided we wanted family life for us to look different than that.
Those are some of the reasons for our decision, let me share with you some of the benefits:
Ditching cable has allowed us to have:
1) MORE FAMILY TIME
There is definitely a difference between TV time and family time. I’m not at all against families sitting down and watching a movie together, but don’t ever mistake TV time for quality family time.
Not having cable has encouraged us to do the following much more than ever before… playing outside together, sitting down at the kitchen table and playing board games together, engaging in more family conversation time, being more consistent at having daily family devotions, and enjoying the daily routines of living life together. The trade-off for us has been totally worth the ‘sacrifice’.
2) MORE CONTROL OVER THE INFLUENCES IN OUR HOME
We want to be the primary worldview shapers in our home, and cutting cable has enabled us to better do that. And while it’s not impossible to do it with cable in the home, it’s very difficult when parents seem to be competing with the television for the hearts and minds and time of their kids.
3) MORE FOCUS ON WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT
One of the biggest blessings for us has been our ability to re-prioritize our lives as a family on a daily basis. When TV isn’t as much a part of the picture, other more important things can be.
Something we started a few years ago was designating a theme for every day of the week for our family to grow together, serve together, and just have fun together. One of the themed nights is “Family Movie Night”. Our family has loved the new schedule so far. (We call it The Intentional Family Game Plan. You can get it Free by clicking here.)
One of the great benefits of no cable is this, “Out of sight, out of mind.” The fact that we don’t have it provides a sense of freedom that we didn’t have before.
Now, lest you should think that we live in a cave and just aren’t tech savvy, we do have alternatives to cable that allow us to be much more in control of our media diet. We have Apple TV that allows us to watch movies, ect. from my iPhone or iPad. We also love using a streaming service called VidAngel that allows us to filter out any and all objections content out of movies. The cool thing is that these services are a nearly “no-cost” alternative to cable.
So, whether you have cable/dish or not, what are some ways that you monitor your family’s TV diet? I’d love to hear your ideas. Also, if your family has ditched cable as well, I’d love to hear your take on it. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
