Thursday, February 25, 2010

Family Time

The Man and I have always agreed on no televisions in the bedrooms. I, personally, didn't grow up with a television in the bedroom. Probably because we were too poor and/or didn't have cable or satellite? All I know is that I wasn't influenced badly by the fact. I don't remember when my parents finally got a television in their bedroom but it was long after I moved out and was an adult.

Now, here I go again with my personal opinions. Okay? How I think and feel may not be how you think and feel and guess what? That is perfectly fine.

I personally feel that everyone going to their separate ways to watch television tends to separate the family. If you look at it, time with your children really is fleeting and short. We like to watch television together as a family. Okay, my kids may not agree with that statement all the time, but they do sit with us in the evenings.

We have put a television in the spare room upstairs with the Wii hooked up. The Boy goes up there and has his downtime when he gets home from school. An hour or so of playing one of his games frees his mind and lets him get the wiggles and jiggles out from a long day at school. The Elementary school starts late and gets out late (well, later than what I'm used to). He only has a short time to play before supper, homework, and preparing for the next day.

Because we purchased a new television, we had a "spare" one, The Man and I reluctantly put the spare in our bedroom. I am truly surprised by how little it gets used. The Man irons the next days clothes at night. (Yes, he irons. Twenty years in the military teaches everyone how to iron beautifully and no one is allowed out the house looking toe up.) Most times, he'll turn the television on when he irons to watch news or the Olympics.

Speaking of the Olympics. We have really watched them this season and thoroughly enjoyed the sports. I have a new found love for the snow boarders and think they are just adorable. The kids weren't too thrilled about this at first. We've explained that watching the Olympics is like supporting your country. It is where countries come together to compete and it's just flat out cool. The Winter Olympics really seem to empathize the agony of defeat to me. Each night we've been able to watch, there's been some injury or drama. Even The Boy has gotten into watching a little bit before heading to bed. When we win gold? We put our right hands over our hearts when our anthem is played. I'm also a huge fan of that Apollo guy. To the point where I tend to scream encouragement at the television and almost get up to see if I can help him go just a little bit faster. It's right exhausting for me to watch him compete. It's right embarrassing to Paige when I do.

There are some shows we don't watch anymore because the sexual content is just inappropriate for a kid Makenna's age. We had a favorite show that we always watched and one night, we were just blown away by the sexual innuendo and such. The Man and I decided right then that maybe it wasn't a good idea for the kids to hear such language and talk. Do we censor? Absolutely. I don't condone Paige watching R-rated movies. Why not? Because they're meant for older audiences. She's perfectly able to go see PG-13 movies now and I've told her I can't stop her. She is now her accountable to herself. She hates when I play the moral card. Drives her crazy.

This past Sunday, my husband was watching his beloved car racing. (I'm not mentioning their names because when they sing the national anthem at the beginning, the heathens (okay, some do but alot don't!) won't put their hands over their hearts and most still chat and act like respect is a thing of the past.) Makenna was put out with his choice of viewing and stated her displeasure. I stopped her and said that he adores sports with all his heart and he doesn't ask to watch every football or baseball game that comes on. (For those who know him? I'm shocked, too!) I feel it's fair that if he has one thing that he really likes to watch on the weekend, then he should. Yeah, I pulled the "who do you think goes to work and pays the bills around here?" card. I hated when my parents did it to me so I find it only fair to pass it on. I even offered for her to go to our bedroom, chill out on the bed, and watch what she wanted. Her response? "No thanks, I'll be lonely."

Every once in a while, Paige will go upstairs to watch a show by herself. I have no problem with this because she might do that once a week. Hey, I respect needing some alone time. I don't respect deliberate separation.

So, you can say The Edge is big on family time around here. We eat meals together. We watch television together. We hang out, the five of us. We're cool like that.

6 comments:

Dani said...

I totally agree Miss Hope. Growing up we had at most two TVs ... one in the family room and one in my parents. I recall watching shows in my parents' room on occassion. Now we have two ... one in the family room and one in the nursery. When the little one gets older? Probably won't have a TV in her room. And yes, the Olympics have been pretty much the viewing of choice for the past two weeks in the house. Leads to staying up too late though ;). Looking forward to going back to the three shows that we watch on a weekly basis (one on Mon and two on Tues).

Miss Hope said...

Tell me about it, Dani! We've been staying up entirely too late watching this stuff!

Hermes said...

My family had one tiny b&w tv with no cable service. Only three channels could we get with the little antenna. It was so painful, I never watched it.
I never put my hand over my heart when our national anthem is played. I am now trying to remember if I've ever seen a Canadian do that. But its there in my heart. Know what I mean?

Kristi said...

I agree with this 100%. I think the time we have with our children is precious, and not to waste it with everyone in seperate rooms. Let alone, we need to monitor what our kids are watching, and when they are watching it. Some of the shows that come on late at night after we go to bed are AWFUL!!!

So...kudos to you girl! Besides...it is fun to watch Family Fued and Wheel of Fortune as a family. It's bonding right? :)

Anonymous said...

Darling,
I truly thought you were going to go into the fact that you and I were in the garage when the National Anthem was played for the race and our son opened the door and told us so. And then came to tell us when it was over so that we could take our hands from over our hearts. I found that to be absolutely cool.

I love you!

Roni said...

Good for you! We didnt have more than 1 TV either when our kids were growing up for the same reason. We do now have 3 but none of them are in a bedroom. Dont think it would get much use either.