Watch out, I'm being judge-y on this one, and i know it.
My kids school wass doing a screen free week. I was making chitchat with a guardian of a kindergartner. This guardian said wiith a huffy attitude and some serious tone, That her child would not participate because -taking away the TV was that child's punishment and the guardian did not by any means want to confuse the child.
what i WANTED to say was B*&^S^&*( it wasn't a matter of confusing the child but of you having to spend some time with her!
My kids watch TV, they probably watch TOO much TV/Screen, But for one week, we can manage to find activites to do as an alternative. It's actually kind of fun to do some family stuff. Is it work Sure, but these are my most precious babies. ANd it is ONE WEEK, not even mandatory that you do the entire week.
Obligatory Question-- Were you able to participate? and do you really think that would confuse a child to say, tonight we are going for a walk, or playing a board game or drawing pictures or baking cookies instead of watching TV?
If it matters, this child is 6 yo and obsese, as in her stomach is larger than her hip/bum or her shoulders/chest. I"ve heard other kids ask her why her stomach sticks out. Her answer is because she likes icecream.
In the last 4 years or so, my kids preschools and elem schools have designated a week in May where they challenge the kids to UNPLUG. It is optional, And any amount of time that you would usually watch tv you can subsitute with other activites.
It just hurts me to see this beautiful girl, who is 6 being set up to have health problems. And don't tell me that a 85 lib kindergartener who has a beer gut to rival a long haul trucker is healthy. And I do think we are beyond doubting that inactivity in front of the TV IN PART contributes to obsesity.
If she had said, oh this was a bad week for us. or yeah i might try that someother time, I probably wouldn't be so hot. but to imply that sitting on the couch is this girls RIGHT and not an earned privelidge is still garbage to me.
Be careful not to dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back.
I agree with Bug on this one. If moderation is practiced there is no need for restriction. It's a good challenge for some families, but won't work for everyone. You shouldn't assume you know this child's situation. Maybe she has a hard time with changes in routine, or maybe her caregiver is lazy. Either way, its not your place to judge.
Most of the time we're too busy for tv so a week without it would not be a problem.
There are days when the computer does not get turned on either unless it is needed for school work.
We read a lot.
There's a lot to do in the yard (the blue berries are 6 weeks ahead of schedule this year so we'll be picking those every few days then eating/cooking with them).
Our garage needs cleaning out - that could take several weeks right there.
We're planting a tree this in the yard this Mother's Day weekend.
One week without screen time is not that hard to do.
We did it again this year. When we lived out in the boonies for about 6 months a few years ago, the only 'screen' we had was the computer (but no internet)...I can recall probably on 1 hand how many movies we watched. We thought we would miss it more than we did (which was not at all...). We did so much more 'living' (for lack of a better word). Now we often talk about how much we miss not having a TV :p. (We did move the TV up to my husband and I's attic bedroom...and watch ~ 1 movie a week for a movie night...because we really missed not having that 'temptation'...so to speak :p). That is totally just us...I know lots of awesome people that watch way more TV...to each his own!
(nice long winded way of saying yes, we did it, and no, I don't think it would confuse a child)
Is screen-free week a national observance or something? I was not even aware, so we didn't have an opportunity to participate. It would have been interesting to try it, I'll be honest though. I'm sure my kids would hate it (at least one of mine would). Every school night from 6:30-8:00 is screen free time at my house. Other times we limit on an as needed basis. We just try to have other opportunities plentiful instead of outright banning the screens.
I do Screen Free Wednesdays and the kids are not confused at all...in fact...we love it!
My daughter is two and is only allowed to watch 15 minutes of Elmo per day. Outside of that, the TV "needs a rest" and we use our imagination. We spend most of our time out of the house so the TV is not the main focus. Yes, I am exhausted but I think it's worth it.
No, we didn't participate.
I am at home with my son. We spend a ton of time outside gardening, using our imagination, reading books, playing, hanging out as a family, etc. We already practice moderation, so I didn't feel it was necessary. I don't think he'd be confused, since we don't need the TV. I just don't see the point, as a family who is already very active over watching the TV.
I do think it's pretty rude to assume someone just doesn't want to spend time with the child. You aren't in her home, so you have no idea what goes on there. Her reasoning should be no concern to you, in my opinion.
