As long as I'm in the rant mood after reading Shae's post (I may or may not elaborate on that later, who knows?), I might as well start in on today's peeve, and maybe I'll follow up tomorrow with a suggestion that has nothing to do with it.
So. I've meandered back to the CD community in an attempt to alleviate boredom whilst NAKing and waiting for laundry to finish. Currently I've gotten a little more than jaded by the group, though the cloth diapering itself is by no means stopping because of this.
That last line is pretty much indicative of how I think about a lot of things, actually.
Now that I think I'm done being vague, I'll try to explain:
On the forum, there was a thread started by a mother who banished TV from the house. Or at least, turned it off indefinitely. This post brought in, as threads often do, a number of other mothers who have wanted to do the same thing, or have been doing it for a while now, in a rush of support for the family and its efforts.
Now, Derek and I don't watch TV, really. Those of you who know us better realize that we spend our hobby time playing video games or reading books. And now, playing with baby.
We made the decision (before we were married, actually) to not get cable TV, primarily because we do spend our hobby time playing on the computer, and not watching TV. So, in a sense, we're just like these mothers who desire deeply to banish the TV from their home; at the same time, though, we are not.
Reading the thread, I found that the attitude was that TV inherently was BAD, and not having TV at all was GOOD. In my mind, though, the only reason TV was BAD was because people don't have common sense. Content can be, and should be, regulated by responsible parties in the household, so really, one can't blame bad words and behavior on the TV itself (you can, however, complain all you like to the producers). The TV does not force people to sit down and watch it for hours on end, and I don't know about you, but I would not watch an exercise show merely to watch that one skinny girl in a neon pink leotard do 50 step ups (and I realize there are people who would, but there should be better ways to get your kicks). Who knows, though? Maybe people don't realize that it's meant to be interactive.
The point, though, is that people seemed to make it a big deal, and seeing it from the perspective of a TV/book/gaming/whatever-is-cool-at-the-time junkie, I think that they're missing the main idea: Moderation.
... and now a few words from the resident baby, who got tired of tummy time:
gb jjkRr
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
We don't have a TV. But we watch TV (usually about once a week) at my parents house. And we watch DVDs on the computer. In fact, we just finished watching "Rack, Shack, and Benny"
Perhaps one problem is that the TV adds one more possible outlet for worldly values, and therefore it also adds a greater responsibility to the parent.
Plus, there's always the temptation to watch too much. I know plenty of people who say they don't watch much TV who spend several hours a week watching it.
Bravo on the call for moderation!
This post has really made me think. I don't own a TV (I had one but gave it away about three years ago after not turning it on for several years in a row). And honestly if I had children 3 years old or so I might consider getting one just so they can experience some of the good programming. There is good programming available, and I would rather my children learn how to watch TV critically from rather me than from friends at their houses. For better or for worse it is a huge part of the modern world, and as with any outlet for information it needs to be taken with critical thinking.
Post a Comment