We have a beautiful TV that’s connected to the computer via wireless internet, but we have no cable or satellite. We have a Netflix subscription allowing us to stream TV shows and movies. No commercials to tell me how I should feel and what medications I should take to feel that way. No other advertisments I would be embarrassed to watch in mixed company.

For news I read the newspaper and listen to radio. If it is something I feel I need to more about then I look it up on the computer.

We gave up TV completely for a couple of years except for movie rentals. It was one of the best things we did as a family. We spent more time together do things that actually produced tangible results.

I haven’t had tv channels for 2+ years now. I only want to watch like 5 channels & not the other 50 that come with the packages (and because they aren’t all available on ONE package, I would have to get at least 50 other dumb channels). I really don’t miss it at all. I would like to watch the news once in a while, but for the most part, I’m ok with not having it. I have a bunch of movies (DVD & VHS) – my friend says I’m better than a video store! – that I watch & re-watch. I have 3 or 4 tv series on DVD. I don’t miss the dumb commercials, aimed at promoting obesity & medications to fix the “problems”. I don’t like “reality” shows or talk shows. So for me not having tv isn’t such a sacrifice. It really doesn’t bother me.

These are really good questions to be asking yourself too! I did a report for school (2 years ago now) about the effects tv has on children’s behaviour, if any, and you can definitely tell what parents let their children watch by how they act & what they say. It’s terrible. I will have a hard time letting my (future) children watch tv.

We haven’t had T.V since our eldest daughter was born. She will be 29 in April. We lived in the country where we couldn’t get reception but we have also lived in a major city center where it seemed vital to have t.V. I have never missed it except for watching the olympics.
It amazed me how my co-workers would schedule their lunch breaks in order to watch their favourite sitcom. Yikes. They talked about the characters as though they were their best friends. Of course I never knew what they were talking about. One day they asked me what shows I watched. I said none we don’t have T.V. They thought I was strange and wondered what I did with my time. My reply, I don’t have time for T.V., by the time I got home from work, there was dinner to make , laundry to be done , help with the home work . To wind down I read a book or many books, quilted , painted, sewed etc.
My favourite experience around the debate of T.V. came from a sales rep. trying to get me to buy her cable companies offer. When I told her we didn’t watch T.V. she was aghast. She asked if we had kids. I replied that we did. She said well, what to they do? My reply , sports, school, lots of homework, art, read books for pleasure , talking on the phone with their friends and being with their friends. I also explained that I didn’t need to have nor want to have the constant battle of T.V. verse life_ home work , chores , good nights rest etc. She said, well your right and good for you for not having T.V. I hope she wasn’t being monitored by her boss, she would have lost her job. We did have junk night which was movie night and candy when the kids were little. As they got older we watched movies on weekends, usually a Saturday night when they still wanted to be home with us.
Because we didn’t have T.V. to run to dinner became a stimulating time for our family. Everyday we gathered at our round table( it really is round) and had a good simple dinner and disscussed our day. World events ( gained through radio and our journalist brother inlaw), teachers, friends , work , school,philosophy, the environment , everything and anything. Our kids loved to be included in these discussions.
Did it make our kids differrent? Well it did in that they missed those intellectual disscussions when they went out into the world and were establishing their own lives. Their friends didn’t have those kinds of disscusions yet. They had to wait for them to come along. Now looking back I can see how it has helped them to think and evaluted their thoughts and ideas about the their world and the world at large, with out being heavily influenced by T.V.and the sensationalism that comes with that medium.

Miss Mary Jane, you’ve got my vote! Since the day I ‘accidentally’ came across your magazine while waiting for a return flight, I immediately connected with your farm-sense which was not just passed on, but taught, to me by grandparents who raised families during the Great Depression. Although I was a ‘city kid’ because I lived on the edge of town (pop. 210 if counted on a major holiday), my childhood was mostly spent on the farms of my friends or in 4-H meetings. Even now, though my grandparents have passed on and I live near a very large Texas city, I remain inspired by the principals of good stewardship and lending a helping hand that are so beautifully depicted in your magazine. Thank you, Miss Mary Jane!

Thanks Annette! She took it so seriously, singing right along with her teacher. It’s just amazing to watch them learn.