Thanks for all your comments below on what to do when swimming when you're young and young and you get your period! I appreciate the advice, and I'll try to sort through it!
Now, onto today's topic. When I was young I watched a lot of television. Maybe it was because I was an only child, and didn't have anybody to play with, but TV became my friend.
It was a hard habit to break. In high school I occasionally skipped classes if the soap operas were exciting. (they're not. They just seem like they are. I haven't watched one in fifteen years but I still can figure out the plot lines by looking at the covers of magazines. And they haven't changed that much).
And in university I often planned my social life around television programs.
The blessing came when we had to pay for our own cable, and decided against it. And then, when Rebecca was really small, I decided that the television had to go. And I haven't watched it since.
But as a kid I remember the shows I watched. Charlie's Angels. Love Boat. CHIPS. Sure, Little House on the Prairie and The Cosby Show were thrown in there, too, but a lot of the shows I watched had adult themes. And there really was no need for that. It made me think of things far too early.
I don't think we realize the effect that mature themes in television and movies have. I remember watching Charlie's Angels once with a baby-sitter and the "angels" had to pretend to be prostitutes. The baby-sitter asked me if I knew what that was. I think I was 10. I nodded, though I didn't, but I soon figured it out. Why was I watching that?
My girls don't watch things like that because we don't have a television. But most of their friends do, and certainly their cousins do. And I just don't think a 10-year-old should be addicted to How I Met Your Mother. It glorifies drinking and sleeping with strangers. Even the ones in a stable relationship joke about sex all the time. Should our kids really be hearing jokes about sex?
I think in many homes kids watch this stuff because their parents are watching it and it's just easier, because Mom and Dad want to see it. But we need to be really careful about what little eyes see. My nephew has been watching CSI for as long as he can remember. Should a small child be well-versed in semen stains? Should kids really see that many corpses?
We forget the impact this can have on children. It robs them of their childhood and gets them thinking on mature lines far too early. We need to preserve our kids' innocence as long as we can, and that means being careful of what they watch. We're parents, after all. That's our job. Isn't it?
This is very wise advice. Shouldn't we *all* be careful with our eyes? I think your choice to get rid of t.v. altogether is a wonderful example to consider.
I remember watching those shows too. We lived on a farm so we had more then enough to do but we watched in the evening. They show back then aren't anything like now. More detail, if you know what I mean. I have been trying to keep t.v. off. We have been getting movies from the library. The Waltons & Kettles to name a few. My ds2 watches PBS and he is 12. But even Arthur is having programs w/a fortune teller and gay parents in it. I am guilty of CSI and such. I like how they solve the case. I don't like the grosumeness of it though.
So true! We also chose not to pay for cable, so we haven't had streaming tv in our home for years. The shows that we really like, we rent or buy on dvd (hence my overflowing shelf of SG-1...lol). When we had our first baby a little over a year ago, we made a firm decision to NEVER have tv in our home, and to have our internet access in a public area of the house only.
This has also factored into our decision to home school. We want to do everything we can to protect the innocence of our children, and let them experience a lovely and wonderful childhood. But how do you protect your children from what they see in bookstores? Or on movie posters? Or in the checkout line? Or in the advertising posters in the CHILDRENS clothing section?
That's just stupid. Children are never innocent, only ignorant. Keeping them under glass bell will only make it harder for them to face reality when they get older and the bell is lifted and shattered. This world is cruel and your children should get the right informations from you before someone feeds them false ones. The bible as the source of the information is terribly out of date and out of touch with reality of the 21st century. Also, do you like making your daughter feel like idiot? Imagine her talking with other children and not having a clue about what are they talking about 'cause that's exactly what you're doing. Why do you want her to accomplish less in life than you? You were watching TV as a child, why are you not giving the same rights you had? You can control what she's watching, you know. As for home schooling: Why are you not giving her the same starting position that the other children have? Why do you think you know everything and are able to do the job as well as teachers that are trained and paid for it? Are you that proud not to see that you are not doing a favor to her, but to yourself, because ignorant child is easier to control? One day, your daughter will want to go to college and won't make it, because she will not have the same knowledge as the other people and it will be your fault for not providing it. I pray that God will bless you with wisdom to see the errors of your ways, but that's a very thin hope. Best wishes, Jon Snowing.
I wasn't going to comment but the previous poster made me relize that my experience in this area may help.
I was homeschooled and was only allowed very limited amounts of t.v. when I was a child. My friends all enjoyed a lot more freedom in their homes so I really stood out but no one seemed to mind.
When I started college (at 16), I didn't fit in, In a good way. I had strong foundation of faith, and a strong moral foundation. That helped protect ne throughout the college years and gave me many opertunities to live my life as a witness to Christ. We are the "salt" on this earth and the Bible cautions us against losing our flavor. How can we retain our flavor if we behave as the rest of the world behaves.
I would seggest that you keep the lines of communication completly open. As your kids get older the will be interduced to things that you would prefer they not by exposed to. When that happened to me I was able to discuss it openly with my Mom without fear of her punishing me for the actions of others (or in some cases, a bad decision on my part), she would punish me for defience, but not mistakes. My Dad would react differantly. He punishments were severe, even if I had no control over the sitution so I shared almost nothing with Him.
Tonia:Yes, but you were allowed TV time, as limited as it was. Also, I guess that many of punishments you received could have been avoided if you just had correct information's from let go. I just say that she might be making a mistake and being over-protective. Fighting lost battle, because you can't hide the world from your child. (S)He will find out sooner or later about things you were trying to protect him/her from, and then it won't be a pretty sight. Also, I thought very few things can grow on salty land, so I don't think that "salt on earth" is quite a good thing to be. You do not use your flavor if you give your child opportunity to be everything she could be.
I find it quite surprising that anyone would think that TV provides "correct" information. We do not have a TV, because I don't want to waste my time on it. The Bible tells us to think about things that are noble and lovely and pure and true. Very few shows (if any) would fall into that category.
The Bible is 2000 year old book and doesn't say anything about television (or many modern things, including computers). And it's not on us to judge what's "correct" information, or whether our child will need that information later in life or not. Of course you shouldn't let the kid watch gory shows (lot's of nightmares) but that doesn't mean that all the source's of information your kid should get is one book and you.
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
Stumble It!
This is very wise advice. Shouldn't we *all* be careful with our eyes? I think your choice to get rid of t.v. altogether is a wonderful example to consider.