Way back before BabyE was born, (that seems like almost another lifetime) we watched quite a bit of TV. I must confess, I was usually the instigator of turning it on and leaving it on at all times. I'd listen to it in the morning while I was getting ready for work. As soon as I came home from work, I'd turn it on and watch every national and local news cast. It's important to stay informed right? Then it would stay on through Jeopardy. It is educational. It would stay on through whichever syndicated comedy was on at the time while I waited for prime time to start. It wasn't until bedtime that we'd finally turn off the TV.
It wasn't that I was necessarily sitting in front of the screen all this time, or even really paying attention to it. Often it was just background noise. It was most definitely a bad habit. It's shocking to me now that I ever watched five hours a day of television. However, this is the norm for Americans. As a nation, we watch an average of four hours and 39 minutes every single day.
With the transition to becoming a stay-at-home-mom imminent, I knew that I had to make a change. I didn't want to let the trend continue and end up letting all that precious time with my new baby be drowned out with a rambling television in the background.
Here's the thing though: babies sleep a lot in the beginning. BabyE slept less than most, but still he slept. When he fell asleep in my arms in the evenings, DH and I would quietly stare in awe at Baby for a while. Then, wouldn't you know it, we would turn on the TV to pass the time or fill the quiet.
At only two months old, Baby started waking up and craning his head around to watch the television. I knew I didn't want my little one watching TV, but I had no idea we'd have to worry about it so soon!
There was one Thursday night when episode after episode played in our living room. One was a favorite, but then they just kept coming. One sitcom we really didn't like, but we went right on watching anyway. By the end, DH and I both felt disgusted.
We didn't turn the TV on for a long time after that. That night was the turning point for us. I'm happy to say we have a much healthier relationship with our television now. We typically watch an episode on Netflix together on Friday evenings and DH watches one prime time program during the week. There is sometimes a movie thrown in. That's about it. Now we watch on our terms and not out of habit.
It wasn't that I was necessarily sitting in front of the screen all this time, or even really paying attention to it. Often it was just background noise. It was most definitely a bad habit. It's shocking to me now that I ever watched five hours a day of television. However, this is the norm for Americans. As a nation, we watch an average of four hours and 39 minutes every single day.
With the transition to becoming a stay-at-home-mom imminent, I knew that I had to make a change. I didn't want to let the trend continue and end up letting all that precious time with my new baby be drowned out with a rambling television in the background.
Here's the thing though: babies sleep a lot in the beginning. BabyE slept less than most, but still he slept. When he fell asleep in my arms in the evenings, DH and I would quietly stare in awe at Baby for a while. Then, wouldn't you know it, we would turn on the TV to pass the time or fill the quiet.
At only two months old, Baby started waking up and craning his head around to watch the television. I knew I didn't want my little one watching TV, but I had no idea we'd have to worry about it so soon!
There was one Thursday night when episode after episode played in our living room. One was a favorite, but then they just kept coming. One sitcom we really didn't like, but we went right on watching anyway. By the end, DH and I both felt disgusted.
We didn't turn the TV on for a long time after that. That night was the turning point for us. I'm happy to say we have a much healthier relationship with our television now. We typically watch an episode on Netflix together on Friday evenings and DH watches one prime time program during the week. There is sometimes a movie thrown in. That's about it. Now we watch on our terms and not out of habit.
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