We don’t watch a lot of television. The girls may watch a show during the week (they like one called Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman on PBS) but the TV isn’t on during the day. After the girls go to bed, Ty and I put it on, but it’s mostly just background noise as we relax and chat about the day. We do enjoy watching movies, but there isn’t one television program we follow or have to see. We don’t even have a DVR-we did, but never used it, so we got rid of it.
A couple of weeks ago, I had finished up my “evening chores” (kitchen cleaned from dinner, making sure backpacks were packed and uniforms laid out, etc) and decided to sit down in the family room and put on the TV. Ally was in the kitchen coloring, Tori was in her room finishing up some homework and Ty was in the basement playing his guitar. I flipped around the channels and couldn’t find one single show that I could put on and feel comfortable about the girls watching. I was shocked. What happened to family programming? One show my girls do enjoy is “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on ABC Family, but even at times that makes me squirm (really, Tom Burgeron, did you need to go there) and don’t get me started on the commercials that run on that channel.
I don’t think that TV, in moderation, is a bad thing. In fact, it can bring people together, discussing a show or event watched by many. But I do think it could be more appropriate for families (at least in the early hours, while kids are awake).
Posted by Margaret Sarver