Time for Fun?

Being the mother of a three and four year old can be…well, let’s just say it OVERWHELMING sometimes. A constant barrage of who needs what can leave you with an eye twitch and a bulging vein on your forehead. And so I turned inevitably to the babysitter to take some of the pressure off (of the vein of course)…you know, that free babysitter, the good ole’ telly.

It didn’t start out that way. But after a sever bout of stomach flu I began using it to contain the puking area.

And so the MONSTER WAS BORN!!!

The begging ensued. It’s as easy as that. Who likes to hear PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE till Big Momma starts breathing fire? Yah…my kids do!

 But on April 19^th our family participated in the National No TV Week.

What…you say??? NO TV? As in NONE???

That’s right, Ladies and Gentlemen…NONE!!!

And let me tell you those first couple of days were no picnic. I had gotten very use to switching my little ‘Go to Friend’ on when I needed a moment of relief. So I had to get creative…very creative.

Step 1: Go outside

We dug in the dirt and blew bubbles. We played in the sprinkler and took walks, and painted water colors on the back patio. We played hide and seek!

Oh, and for the first two days we complained about no TV in between each of those things.

We cut and pasted and went to the library and read books. We played dress up and had dance parties. You name it, we did it!

Within two days the coolest thing happened, no one was asking for the TV anymore. We were having way too much fun! We really didn’t have time to miss it. We were too busy finding bugs and catching fireflies, fishing in the pond and being a family.

So now, it’s not that the TV is never on. Maybe once or twice a week the kids will watch a show. And sometimes we have special movie nights. We pop popcorn and snuggle up.

But the thing is…it’s conscious. It’s a decision…not a habit of zoning out of letting one show slide into the next.

Our little experiment has led to the coolest side effect. The kids play differently. Being in front of the Boob Tube, it’s like they forgot how to play, how to be creative, how to entertain themselves. I was the entertainer; which only drove me to wielding the remote that much more. I think you see the super fun cycle I was creating for our family.

With a loss of the TV, they remembered…how to be a kid, how to play, how to create. There is no place their amazing imaginations won’t take them.

So here’s a gentle shove (sometimes we need those) to put the ole’ boob tube away, go outside, be a kid, be creative, be a family.

Give it shot just for a week! Let me know how it goes!

Don’t be scared! Those shows can wait. You might just find you’ve been missing the greatest thing of all!

Love,

Big Momma Payne