Comments (1)

By Mom Unplugged, October 26, 2007 9:34 pm

Here are some more TV-free activity ideas for grownups that were left in the comments of yesterday’s post, TV-Free Activities for Grownups. I repeat them here for all to read and consider:

* From Amanda (The Rowdy Pea) -

- Spend quality/quantity time with partner.

- Podcasts.

- Sewing.

* From Becky (Boys Rule My Life) -

- Play trains (she thinks they need to branch out though!)

* From Wishy (Wishy the Writer) -

- “If you can’t think of at least ONE more activity, you’ve been married TOO long! tee hee!”

* From Woodmouse (Woodmouse Loves Crafts) -

- Volunteer more.

* Andamom (Andamom.com) -

-Visit a museum.

-Go on a hike through a National Park (and get your Passport Book stamped).

-Check out a new gallery.

-Go swimming.

-Go on a boat ride.

-Take a dance or cooking class.

-Practice yoga.

-Unclutter your home, car, and office.

-Photograph your family, community, or another location.

-Paint a picture or your home.

-Take up knitting or crochet.

-Fix things in your home or your clothes that are ripped.

-Take a long drive.

-Join a team (softball, soccer, etc.).

-Take up pottery, glassmaking, or jewelry making.

-Go fruit picking.

-Try a new restaurant.

-Get checked up by the doctor or dentist.

-Go on a hunt for ruins, artifacts, and other old things…

Thanks for all the additional “Unplugged Ideas!”

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer Dawn M. Turner (“xandert”) for this photo! (Her website: The Turner Zoo).

Comments (11)

By Mom Unplugged, October 25, 2007 2:07 pm

I spend a lot of time on this blog writing about TV and kids: What is TV’s effect on children? What are TV-free kids like? Without the “Babysitting Box,” how does one ever cook a meal?

But what about adults? For grown-ups who are in the habit of unwinding at the end of a hard day by channel surfing, or watching a favorite show, the prospect of a long and empty evening without the TV might be somewhat daunting to say the least.

If you are considering eliminating your TV, or at least reducing its use and are worried about how to fill your evenings, then here are some ideas:

- Read a book. (When is the last time you read a book? A recent, well-publicized poll found that 1 in 4 Americans read no book at all last year. If we take the glass half-full point of view, I suppose this statistic means that 75% did read at least one book last year. That has to mean something I guess.)

- Take a relaxing bath.

- Play a board game.

- Do a jigsaw puzzle.

- Take up a new hobby.

- Subscribe to a new magazine…and actually READ it!

- Write a blog.

- Write a novel!

- Write old-fashioned snail-mail letters to friends with whom you are losing, or have lost touch.

- Cook or bake.

- Organize that enormous box of photos that has been sitting there staring at you for years.

- Volunteer.

- Scrapbook.

- Sell all your old stuff on Ebay and make a little money (in addition to all the money you are saving by not having cable anymore!)

- Go for a walk, hike or bike ride.

- Take a class at your local community college.

- Work on a political campaign, or for a cause you believe in.

- Learn a foreign language with some books and tapes.

- Listen to NPR, or a podcast.

- Listen to music.

- Listen to a book on tape.

- Read aloud to your spouse or kids.

- Plant (or plan) a garden.

- Sit and chat.

- Play (or learn to play) a musical instrument.

- Obedience train your dog, or teach him tricks.

- Linger over dinner or dessert.

- Have more dinner parties with friends.

- Start a bookclub.

- Sit on your front porch and chat with the neighbors or simply watch the world go by.

- Plan a vacation.

- Stargaze.

- Call a friend.

- Do a crossword, or a Sudoku puzzle.

- Do the Unplugged Project with us!

Any other ideas?

Thanks to morguefile.com and photographer Jane M. Sawyer for the photo.

Comments (4)

By Mom Unplugged, October 17, 2007 9:17 pm

There is another blogger out there who is trying to turn off the TV for one week, just to see how it goes. Becky of Boys Rule My Life (mom of three boys!) and her family have decided to try going without TV for one week. Becky says:

“Jeff and I have been talking about this for some time and after reading this post on Unplug Your Kids and seeing a tv commercial today showing a child coming home from school and the parents being too “busy” for their kids we’ve decided that it’s time: We are unplugging the tv for a week. ”
-We’re Going Unplugged, October 10th

One thing I think is clever, but perhaps obvious to most besides me, is that Becky actually physically unplugged the TV in order to avoid little fingers turning it on. Of course even the littlest children know how to push buttons and could turn on a TV with no problem. Plus, as Becky says: “…it is truly unplugged, which also means that I have to make a conscious decision to turn it back on.”

Becky is also trying to cut down on the amount of time she spends online. I must admit that the computer is also my weakness. During my TV Turn-Off Week Blog Challenge I cut back too, but it was hard.

Read about Becky’s first unplugged day here. It sounds like it was a pretty good day. Her oldest boy Will (age 5) was thrilled to play more trains, and Nathan (age 2) was a bit perplexed, but all was going fairly smoothly as of the time of her post.

She also posted an update today:

“Mornings have been less hectic. I don’t have to remind Will *quite* so much to get ready, brush teeth, etc. because the tv is not on to distract him. We’ve played trains or read books before school every day this week. The house is quieter. It’s nice.”

They have not been completely TV-free. The family has turned it on for a little while around 3PM, but only for a bit. The reduction in the amount of TV her family has watched seems to have made Becky pretty happy so far. She and her husband Jeff have been able to spend more time as a family, which was their main goal.

Becky’s “unplugged week” continues. Please stop by Boys Rule My Life to follow her family’s progress and wish them well!

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, August 16, 2007 9:24 am

While we were away, we had TV. We were at my father’s house where, like most people, they watch TV. Not all day, but they do watch sometimes.

I am not so obsessed with unplugging my kids that I forbid them TV when we are in a hotel, or at a home where there is TV. However, I check what they watch and I won’t let them sit and channel surf.

Actually, the nice thing is that Unplugged Kids don’t even know what channels are. Since the only thing we ever see at home (and only occasionally) are videos, when encountering a TV, my kids expect to be able to watch programs on demand and see them again whenever they want.

At my Dad’s house my 5 and 6 year-old got seriously into the Animal Planet. In fact, one evening they were watching something about sharks and my 5 year-old boy was so excited that he kept running in to me in the room next door, spewing out all kinds of interesting facts about Tiger Sharks. It was fun to see his excitement.

But the next day, he wanted to watch the “Tiger Shark Program” again. It was hard to make him understand that he couldn’t because it wasn’t on.

I have noticed more frequent requests for videos since we have come home. Before we left, they hadn’t asked for a video in at least 6 months. We got back last week and they have asked 3 or 4 times already.

I have not yet however had the Big Question: “Mama, why don’t we have TV like everyone else does?” I am sure it will come eventually, and I actually thought it might come after this trip. Not yet though. I’ll keep you updated.

Comments (8)

By Mom Unplugged, July 18, 2007 1:21 pm

WE SURVIVED!!! Southwest Airlines will never be the same again. No, seriously, a four hour flight with an 18 month-old (in my opinion-the absolutely worst age for travel!) is never fun, but it could have been much worse.

Yes, she screeched, shrieked, whined and only slept for half an hour out of the four hour flight…but she didn’t actually cry. I felt like I ought to have offered to buy drinks for my neighbors, or perhaps I should have passed out ear plugs. But actually, I was the one who seemed stressed and bothered the most I think.

Pilot trick: when you have a screechy kind of child that you must take on an airplane, sit as close to the engine as possible since that is the noisiest part of the plane. Screechy child=bad, lots of ambient noise to help drown it out=good.

My two oldest kids were fabulous. I would take them around the world without batting an eyelash. Even while travelling, they remain unplugged. Many people nowadays wonder how it is possible to travel with children without hauling along a stash of electronics to rival NASA. Unplugged children don’t have portable DVD players and Gameboys, but there is plenty out there to keep them occupied, and you don’t even have to worry about fresh batteries! Your fellow travellers may actually want to thank you for unplugging your children on public transportation.

Now is the time of year when many family vacations happen. So, how do you travel and keep your kids entertained, yet unplugged?

My two oldest are now 5 and 6. They each pull their own little rolling suitcase packed with their activities, as well as a favorite stuffed animal or two. Note: I supervise the packing of the suitcase, or better yet, pack it for them when they are not there. This avoids us finding a suitcase full of rocks, scraps of paper, bits of string, and other “toys” that simply could not be left behind. I always try to include a few new “surprises.”

Here are some ideas that have worked for us:

Books:
An obvious choice. Try to pack lightweight, paperback books.

Crafts:
- A French knitter (easy for ages 5-6+ to do on their own - makes yarn “snakes” that can be coiled and sewn into various projects)
- Modeling clay (I squish one stick into a plastic Easter Egg which makes a great travel container)
- Wikki Stix (strings coated with wax, like candle wicks, can be bent into many different shapes)

Art Toys:
- Travel-sized erasable drawing board (Magna Doodle for example)
- Pocket Etch-A-Sketch
- Don’t forget the plain old pad of paper and crayons.

Travel Games:
- Are We There Yet
- Haba Story Telling Tin (children make up stories based on the picture cards they choose-very creative!)
- Also look for travel-sized editions of other favorite board games, there are many out there, you just have to search for them. Beware of games with too many small pieces to lose if you have young (or unreliable) children.

Magnetic Playsets:
- Melissa & Doug Magnetic Farm Hide & Seek
- Smethport Magnetic Playboards (some examples are below, but search for “Smethport” at Amazon toys to see all the possibilities).

Toys:
Choose toys that are small, light, and don’t have a lot of pieces to get lost.
- Lacing block
- Zip-lock bag full of hotwheels cars
- Peace Ring
- Piece of string or yarn (for Cat’s Cradle)

Creative Coloring Books:
I like to find coloring books that are not your typical stay within the lines type of activity.
- The Anti-Coloring Book series is wonderful with suggestions for all kinds of imaginative possibilities.
- The Taro Gomi books are also very original but have a lot of pages so may be too big to pack easily.
- Here are also a few other suggestions for coloring books featuring abstract patterns that can be colored in many, many different ways.

Wipe Clean Board Books:
Tip: Stash away an airline cocktail napkin or two for wiping these off.

Find-It Books:
- Our favorite is the Look-Alikes series of books by Joan Steiner. These feature amazing, realistic photos in which the objects are almost always something else (sidewalks made of crackers or wheels made of buttons, etc.). Kids (and grown-ups too) enjoy looking through these books over and over as there is always something new to notice. It is also a fun activity to say to kids “I see a penny” and have them find it. You will tire of that game before they do!
- Of course there are also the well-known Where’s Waldo and I Spy books, but here are also some additional ones we like that are not so common:

Scholarly Pursuits:
Not fun for all kids, but my oldest loves this stuff!
- Workbooks
- Flash cards
- Brain Quest

Learn Some Games Yourself!:
If you are really desperate, buy a book such as Car Games: 100 Games to Avoid “Are We There Yet?”. This book offers suggestions for over 100 fun games to play in the car, airplane, or even while camping or waiting in line for example (not all games rely on spotting license plates or signs). A fun book. Parents could learn a few of these games in order to provide timely distractions at critical moments!

As for travelling by air with 18 month-olds: my best piece of advice is grit your teeth and remember that you will never see any of those people again!

I wish you all happy unplugged travels!

PS. What works for you when your kids travel? Please let me know in your comments. I am always on the lookout for new ideas!