FROM CAROLINA: Yes, "Throw Away Your Television" happens to be a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers - but no, this is not a blog about current pop culture. And yes, it is funny to imagine your garbage bin out at the curb with your television peeking out the top - and no, it probably won't fit very well. But yes - I am serious. Throwing away our television was the best thing my mother ever did for me.I discovered at a very early age that my family was just a little bit different. When my friends were munching on turkey sandwiches with processed cheese on white bread, I was eating organic cheddar cheese with alfalfa sprouts and pickles on whole grain bread - the kind of bread that looks more like trail mix than bread. My friends ate fruit roll-ups - I ate fruit leather. My friends had cookies - I had "nutrition nuggets" - our affectionate nickname for the cookie-like lumps my dad made out of whole-wheat flour, nuts, raisins and whatever else he could find in our sugar-free, additive-free kitchen cupboards. And that was just the beginning of what made me stand out from my friends at the lunch table...
While my friends were talking about their favorite cartoons, or swooning over the latest TV heart-throb, my sister and I could never figure out what they were talking about. We were raised entirely without television - to the point that we didn't even have a television in the house for watching occasional movies. I still remember how once every few months, we'd go down to our local video store and rent a movie (taking forever to choose something that the whole family would enjoy), and then, while my sister and I happily carried the video to the car, my parents lugged the bulky, brown, rented TV and VCR (circa 1975) behind us.
Looking back, I've realized that what really made us different was how much more time we spent living our lives instead of watching others live make-believe lives on television. We played in our tree fort in the backyard - we choreographed dance performances and forced our parents to buy tickets to our shows - we buried treasure in the backyard and made maps to find it again the next day (and only once couldn't find where we put it...)... We EXPERIENCED life in a way that our friends simply didn't.
Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love a good TV show - there was something wonderful about curling up on the couch to catch up with Friends when I was in college. And yes, there were many years that I resented my mother for keeping me from my cartoons. But I've come to realize that my mom is one of the wisest women I have ever known. She had it figured out - and she helped our brains develop a healthy dose of curiosity by teaching us to explore our world rather than watch it flash on a screen in front of us.
Our Son-Rise Program children with autism or related challenges need extra support to learn how to socialize with people. Natural exploration of social relationships with other people (NOT through the television) is one of the best ways for our children to develop their brains toward more social interaction.
Some of you may not yet be ready to part with your television - thus, Episodes 2 and 3 of this blog will soon follow. For now, let this seed be planted in your brain - the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (not counting computers, video games and texting on cell phones). This adds up to 2 months of sitting in front of the television each year - and if this person lives to be 65, he/she will have spent 9 years of life glued to the television.Is the trash can looking more appealing now?
Thank you Caroline, I'm with you all the way with this xxxx
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Episodes 2 and 3!
ReplyDeleteFunny how, when my husband and I have been talking daily about tv in our life, I thought of the following last night (but needed your blog's encouragement): how much more time we spent living our lives instead of watching others live make-believe lives on television.
ReplyDeleteI have been finding that all the vacation during August has been a perfect starting point, since our dvr got too full anyway. THEN we got so used to swimming, making stuff out of rocks and wood if we weren't swimming and generally finding ways to just talk to each other, the tv shows seemed odd = about others' lives and not ours. I was asking myself last night how it would be to miss biographies, a fav kind of show. What?? A key example of watching others' lives, smile. So thanks so much. It takes some encouragement, but we were ALMOST there, well, cancelling most of our cable channels for a start and then moving into the IDEA most of all that our lives are short, and virtually ANYTHING is more valuable and even enjoyable than watching tv, as far as leisure and family activities. KG from Seattle
P.S. Plus I'm always encouraging my families to make music together, but do I?!
We spent a weekend at a health retreat recently. No TVs or laptops with newspapers and mobiles considered contraband. To me, it was blatently obvious that the withdrawal of the continuous bombardment of information we usually experience in our lives enabled us to finally be able to relax and complete the weekend feeling refreshed and re-invigorated. We came away feeling connected since there was so much more space created for us talk without distraction. I think there is definately a good argument going for ridding ourselves of the "idiot box". I'm with you on this Carolina x
ReplyDeleteHello Carolina,
ReplyDeleteI just read your blog of today about throwing out the TV and I love it!! Due to the moral convictions of our family even in generations gone by, we have never even owned a TV or radio. Our parents were raised that way, Tracy and I were, and so on to our children. We have only just recently gotten a computer in the house and at that we have very limited/controlled internet access.
As a child I often had mixed feelings about whether I was missing something or preserved from something. Now I firmly believe that I was preserved from so many corrupting influences. Assure people that they can survive without it. Even the computer can become such an addiction that it can interrupt family interaction.
Thank you for posting such an honest and straightforward message. I hope that many take heed to it!
Lots of Love and Hugs from both of us!!
David and Tracy