Comments (1)

By Mom Unplugged, April 9, 2008 2:55 pm

Yesterday I received a great email from “Mom of 2″ who has no blog, but would like to join our TV-Turnoff Week Blog Challenge. Here are her goals for the week:

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“1) No TV, no DVDs or videos! Yikes! I’ve been relying on it to distract the kiddies so I can get ready for work (hubby’s already left in the wee hours) and he’s using it so he can make dinner in the evening (before I get home). Hubby’s said he’s on board, but I expect I’ll get some grumbling from someone other than the kids before the week is out.

2) No computer for me at home. I’m online all day at work and (obviously, since I’m writing this in the middle of the work day) have some free time to do personal stuff there.

3) No computer for the kids. Shouldn’t be too hard since they rarely use it. Although my 4 y.o. might turn his sights there when he finds out he can’t watch TV…

4) Time rescued from the TV will be spent
- playing with or reading to the kiddies. I hope hubby will join us!
- catching up on my magazines…so many piled up with articles I’d like to read but don’t seem to find time for.
- getting more sleep. Yes, sad to say, I sometimes opt to watch just one more show, even though I know I’ll be more tired and less patient the next day.”

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Thank you to “Mom of 2″ for joining in the Blog Challenge! If any other blogless readers out there are tempted to join, then please just send me an email like “Mom of 2″ did and I’ll publish your thoughts and goals on Unplug Your Kids too!

You can reach me at unplugyourkids “at” gmail “dot” youknowwhat.

Photo thanks to morguefile.com and photographer Clarita.

Comments (62)

By Mom Unplugged, April 3, 2008 10:39 pm

So have you thought about my proposal? TV-Turnoff Week is April 21-27. Can you and your family turn it off for a week? Would you like to try? If so, then sign up for the Unplug Your Kids TV-Turnoff Week Blog Challenge!

Here’s how it works:

Phase 1 -

1) Write a post about the challenge that sets forth your goals, reasons for joining in, etc. The more people we can reach and get to join in, the more fun and educational it will be! Remember, it is not just about giving up TV, what about the “other screens” in your life? The computer is my personal downfall so I will be concentrating on reducing that.

2) Link to your post in Mr. Linky below (leave a comment too in case Mr. Linky goes haywire, as occasionally happens, and I have to take him off).

3) Steal the Blog Challenge badge and put it in your sidebar, linking to Unplug Your Kids. Let me know if you need help with this step.

Two sizes:

Phase 2 -

Do your best to meet your goals from April 21-27. If you aren’t successful, it’s OK. What is important is to try, and to learn something from the experience.

Phase 3 -

1) After TV-Turnoff Week ends (April 27th is the last day), write a post about how it went: the good, the bad, and the ugly! Sharing experiences helps everyone.

2) I will also write a “How it Went” post and I will put up a new Mr. Linky. Put the link to your “How it Went” post in Mr. Linky (plus comment just in case).

3) On Tuesday, May 6th I will draw a random name from among those who completed the challenge (whether you met your goals or not) and put up their final post. That person will win a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

No blog?

You can join in too. Email me your goals, hopes, and dreams before the TV-Turnoff Week begins ,and I will post them on Unplug Your Kids. At the end, email me your “How it Went” information, and I will post it here too. You will then be entered in the drawing for the gift certificate.

My email for questions or entries: unplugyourkids “at” gmail “dot” youknowwhat.

Comments (0)

By Mom Unplugged, April 2, 2008 9:34 am

Be sure to stop by The Toby Show to read Jonah Lisa’s update on how her “7-Step TV Trap Action Plan” is going. Her 7 step program appears to be successful so far, so head over to her site and take notes if you are trying to cut back your children’s TV viewing time too!

(In case you missed it, here is my original post about Jonah Lisa: Cutting Back TV - “OK, But How?”)

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, March 27, 2008 9:06 am

I have been unusually silent this week. We are in Albuquerque for Spring Break and between stomach flu, running errands, and trips to the zoo, the aquarium, and Taos, there has not been much time for blogging!

Of course in Albuquerque there are stores more exciting than our Walmart, and children’s activities more novel than the local playground, but one of the most unusual things (for us) that is in Albuquerque, is television. Amazingly, apart from some early-morning fascination with PBS, the kids don’t seem to care much about watching it. Running around catching bugs in the courtyard is much more in keeping with their usual lifestyle.

I haven’t watched much TV either, however I did happen to catch most of this Today Show segment yesterday morning on “overly-wired” families and the benefits of unplugging. In typical Today Show format it was pretty rapid-fire without a lot of substantive information, but it could be worth a quick look for anyone interested in the subject.

Is Your Family Too Wired?

Comments (12)

By Mom Unplugged, March 25, 2008 11:26 am

First of all, thanks for all the kind comments wishing me well on the last post. I am not 100% right yet, but am definitely on the mend. Now my oldest has it. Ugh.

What a nice Spring Break we are having here in Albuquerque! At least we are staying at our house here and not in a hotel somewhere. It’s even less fun to be sick in a hotel.

Anyhow, today I will try to get back to business with a “real” post:

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It’s hard to believe that my blog is over one year old now (the UPYK Blogiversary was back in February) and it has come a long, long way! There are even now actually a few people besides my sister and my best friend Wishy who seem to read my words from time to time. Amazing!!

Most of you probably weren’t around last spring to take part in, or even read about, my TV Turn-Off Week Blog Challenge. Well, April has been very sneaky this year and has arrived on quiet little mouse feet. I only just realized that it is almost here!

Since National TV Turn-Off Week is just around the corner (April 21-27, 2008), I’d better get going with the Unplug Your Kids TV Turn-Off Blog Challenge!

During TV Turn-Off Week, any interested bloggers, or non-bloggers can join the challenge. Can you turn it off for one whole week? If you have been lurking about here, considering the possibility of unplugging completely or partially, then now is a great time to give it a try. I am getting a lot of Google hits at the moment related to TV Turn-Off Week, so there must some interested people out there.

The way it works is this:

1) You and your family decide if you want to attempt to turn off the TV from April 21-27. Since we don’t have TV, my personal challenge will be to reduce time with that “other” screen and spend less time online (my addiction). I plan to be online just long enough to post a few times and keep the challenge going. So feel free to tailor your Turn-Off challenge to your family’s personal needs.

2) Next week, when I have returned to Arizona, I will put up a post containing a Mr. Linky, a repeat of the instructions, and a button.

2) Once you have decided to join in, write a post about the TV-Turn-Off Week Blog Challenge linking back to Unplug Your Kids. If you want, you can also copy the button and place it in your sidebar with a link back too. The idea is to spread the word so we have as many participants as possible. Once your post is up, put a link to it in Mr.Linky.

3) Turn it off from April 21-27! Try to stick to your plan, but don’t be frustrated or discouraged if things don’t work out perfectly. This is supposed to be a fun, learning experience, not a week of family torture and self-loathing!

4) After the week is over, I’ll put up a final post with a new Mr. Linky. Write a post about your week: how it went, the ups and downs, what you would try differently in the future, etc. That way, we can all learn from each other’s experiences. Link to your final post in Mr. Linky.

5) And if the worthy nature of this endeavor itself is not enough to convince you to try it, please take note that I will be offering the bribe prize of a $10 Amazon gift certificate to a randomly selected participant who completes the challenge and writes a final post.

6) Finally, if you are a blog reader but have no blog yourself, you can still join in via email. I had one person do this last year. I will post your plans beforehand, and then post your final summary at the end too (plus you will also be eligible for the bribe prize!).

So with this post, I have hopefully “planted the seed.” The next step is to think about it all and discuss it with your family. When I get the Mr. Linky post up next week then you can sign up and commit yourself to the challenge!