As part of our preparations we laid down a new family rule. No television during the week. Did you hear screaming children somewhere in the distance on Monday morning? Sorry. That was my children's reaction to having the television turned off and the remote moved out of reach. I was a little bit surprised they were so upset. Our old t.v. rules were somewhat strict (1 show in the morning, 1 show while I'm making dinner, a movie only if it is raining so hard you can't go outside) by today's standards.
The good news is that the children are starting to recover from their grief. Contrary to what they believed would happen, they did not die. In fact they found lots of things to do. On several occasions they took the time to dig to the bottom of the toy basket to find forgotten favorites. We read a ton of books, built every puzzle in the house, baked cookies (look for our recipe today), built with blocks, etc. You know, the kinds of things kids are suppose to do. We all survived and did not cross the border into Crazyville.
The reason we elected to ban television during the week is pretty simple. We want to foster time management skills. Hannah is only awake about 12 hours a day (7am-7pm). Her morning will be completely taken up with getting dressed, eating, brushing teeth, etc. in order to get to school on time. By the time she gets home from school and does her homework she only has two hours until dinner and starting her bedtime routine. I want her to be able to play, create art projects, hang out with her brother, and just generally jump out her wiggles.
Has anyone dared take away television? What are your back to school rules?
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