UMR Communications is offering the latest headlines in the RSS format.
Q & A
Q&A: Turning off TV; tuning in to life Mary Jacobs, Nov 8, 2007
PHOTO COURTESY RAINBOWLIGHT STUDIOS
Author Ellen Currey-Wilson decided to give up television when her son Casey, 12, was born.
Before the birth of her son, Ellen Currey-Wilson made a radical decision: Television would no longer be a part of her family’s daily life. She wrote about her experiences in The Big Turnoff: Confessions of a TV-Addicted Mom Trying to Raise a TV-Free Kid. Here are excerpts from a recent conversation with Staff Writer Mary Jacobs.
What made you decide to turn off the TV once your child was born? When I was pregnant, I just thought, here I am watching all this TV. So when the kid comes along, is that what our family time is going to be, sitting around watching TV on the couch instead of having dinner together? I really wanted to make sure we did something different. Also, I was teaching while I was pregnant and I noticed that the kids who were most focused and the brightest and most socialized were the ones who watched the least amount of television. I actually did a little survey. That was really enlightening to me.
What was your “relationship” with TV before your child’s birth? I think I used it as an escape a lot. And it was a habit. I’d say I was going to watch just one show, but after it was over it was difficult to turn it off. So that was the addictive quality of TV. If the average household watches more than eight hours a day, you know we’ve got a problem here.
How’d you cut it back? I had the idea that I didn’t want to have no television whatsoever because there might be something worth watching, and I wanted to have that sense that it’s not a completely forbidden fruit. So we had just one TV in a room above our garage that we don’t use that often. It was out of the way. Now it’s in the guest room. I wanted that sense of having to make a conscious choice to watch, and I wanted to have the television out of the main family space. If the TV is in the family’s main space... it tends to be on longer, so other activities and family interaction don’t happen.
A lot of people take the step of gradually cutting back, or they take the step of not having the television on during school nights. Or they decide to get rid of cable or just watch TV on certain days. Or they set up a “TV-free day.” So you can cut back in lots of ways and come up with whatever the magic number is for your family. Not everyone has to go to my extreme.
How much TV does your family watch now? Typically, we’ll watch a DVD once a week. If there’s something important on TV we might watch it. We watched when Seattle was in the Super Bowl; we watched the Olympics. If there’s something that’s really interesting and newsworthy, we might watch that. If there’s something my son wants to watch, we are open to finding out what it is and possibly watching it.
Your son is 12 now. Does he have an opinion on your “no-TV” policy? When he was younger, I think I just conditioned him thoroughly that there’s always something better to do. I’d ask him, “Do you want to watch TV all day like some kids or do you want to go on a hike or play soccer?” It’s not that TV is evil. I just tried to make it seem like there was something more fun to do. So he had that attitude and it has stuck with him. He really has developed so many interests, and he’s such a busy child.
How were you and your husband affected when you gave up TV? I suffered more than my husband. [Growing up,] his parents didn’t have any TV in the summer. They would hang out at a ranch and read and played games. That was a real gift for him, so he was onboard for this. I was the more neurotic one who wanted to go to extremes. When you’re hooked on something, you don’t tend to give it up easily.
My husband missed sports; that was his biggest adjustment. For me, giving up TV coincided with stopping working when the baby came. That was a difficult time. I think that instead of reaching for the electronic babysitter, we need that whole-village concept. When my baby was 1, my mother moved in with us. She was there for six months at a time. That was great. I think what we need are real people to help us out. That makes it so much easier.
What advice do you have for families who want to cut back or cut out their TV watching? Plan for it ahead of time. Part of the reason National TV Turnoff Week [in April] is successful is because everyone makes a big deal about it and they’re ready for it. So rather than just wake up and decide not to have TV, it’s better to decide to make it a fun transition time. Get together with other families, or get some fun books and games. Suddenly you’ll have all these new habits. It will happen easily and it will be fun. If you get everyone on board, it’s much more likely to be successful then if you cut back or stop altogether.
Someone might ask, “What’s wrong with TV? A lot of shows are informative or entertaining or a part of our cultural conversation.” I’d like to hear how you answer that question.
I’d say there’s nothing wrong with TV, with the possible exception of a few truly appalling shows here and there. My issue is the quantity and the passivity of TV watching. Yes, TV can be an entertaining and highly informative and educational medium. The problem is that people aren’t using it the way they should. You don’t become obese watching one show a week. And we have a phenomenon of obesity now. The average person is watching almost four hours a day.
Did you ever think about this on a spiritual level? When you don’t have television on, you’re with your thoughts more, and you also have a time you can be with God more. If you’re a person who meditates and prays, you open more space to have that happen. If you’re someone who does pray, who does have that connection with a higher power, [giving up TV] is a great way to enhance it.
When we’re watching TV, our brains are in a profoundly stupid state. I think of the passivity of TV-watching as a way of wasting our God-given creativity and intentionality—that which makes us “made in the image of God.” That makes me sad for a lot of children because they’re not reading and they’re not creating or telling their own stories. I never would have written this book if I were still into television. I think we’re called to use our abilities. I don’t think this is God’s intention for us, to stare at a screen passively for hours every day.
PHOTO COURTESY RAINBOWLIGHT STUDIOS
How much TV does your family watch now? 
