Kill Your Television

I should start by saying that we don’t watch nearly as much bad television as most people I know. This fact is quite interesting to many because of the fact that we own a TIVO. People need to understand that TIVO actually helps you watch less television. Many people turn on the TV and just watch “whatever is on.” However if you have TIVO (and use it correctly) you only watch the things you want to see, and you never get stuck watching garbage (like reality TV, the local news, etc). The second important feature of TIVO is the ability to skip commercials. We never watch live television, which means we never see commercials. Ever. So basically, compared to the average person, we don’t watch too much TV.

Anyway, recent studies have linked television watching with ADHD in young children, and I believe it. Some children seem to have no ability to focus in a classroom, but sit them in front of a TV and they are hypnotized.  The other day I even followed an SUV taking a child to day care, and the kid was watching TV from the back seat. Apparently the youngster couldn’t live without television for 10 minutes.

So, when our baby arrives, we are imposing a policy of no-television before age 2. This means we need to start cutting back our TV habits even more, starting now…. This isn't going to be easy - I will let you know how it goes!  Maybe I'll try to start flossing my teeth while I'm at it.