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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?

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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:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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!

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!