I learned in church today

[FMCoug]

My initial skepticism was whether these media fasts are genuine over extended periods of time. I pointed out that the stated goal is admirable. The time frame mentioned today was one year. DevilDog said that they initiated a media fast basically 8 weeks ago and already the kids have their cell phones and stereos back and that when they really want to watch TV, they drive somewhere to watch it. That isn't anywhere near the 1 year that the woman in my ward was talking about today.

So my observation was accurate. People profess media fasts but rarely stick to them. It is almost impossible.

I don't care if people watch or don't watch. That isn't what my post was about.

Did DD use the term "media fast" indicating total abstinence?

[TripletDaddy]

Did DD use the term "media fast" indicating total abstinence?

I posted that a family was getting rid of all of it for a year.

What is the first line of DevilDog's post?

[FMCoug]

I posted that a family was getting rid of all of it for a year.

What is the first line of DevilDog's post?

I keep forgetting the time-honored CUF tradition of parsing the hell out of everybody's words. I was taking the post in its entirety. Although in that same first line he did say they hadn't decided on a time frame. But I guess you're right, the "doing the same thing" obviously overrides everything else he wrote.

[TripletDaddy]

I keep forgetting the time-honored CUF tradition of parsing the hell out of everybody's words. I was taking the post in its entirety. Although in that same first line he did say they hadn't decided on a time frame. But I guess you're right, the "doing the same thing" obviously overrides everything else he wrote.

Agreed.

Overall, I read his post as saying "we are trying to cut back on watching so much TV." I can get behind that goal. It is a good goal.

What spurred my curiosity is the demographic that completely eradicates it from their home and lives. My hypothesis is that they really don't and that it is likely that family members cheat or punt sooner rather than later.

Again, no problem with those that do. I just dont think it is a realistic goal anymore. We use our TV/Internet for much more than sitting around watching shows. Media connectivity is as vital as telephone access nowadays.

[UtahDan]

Seems like a good goal in principle (reduce TV and video game consumption, increase reading time, etc) but with an impractical execution....in this age itnis very radical to eliminate media from our lives. Even the Church uses tech to disseminate info to its members.

I disagree. I think it is a bad idea from any perspective even in principle. One day the children will be grown and will have to interact with the real world. You do them no favors by not preparing them for life. I think it is always better to teach children how to interact with new ideas, challenge them and evaluate them rather than teaching them that you just have to completely avoid them in order to be safe.

I'm not talking about age appropriateness of strong sexual, violent, etc., content. I'm talking about the sort of cloistering that seems to be what you are describing. I haven't known many people who have done that, maybe just a few. I think even most really orthodox LDS avoid this approach for good reason.

[Jeff Lebowski]

We know a few families that don't allow their kids to eat sugar. They go nuts when they come to our house; foraging through the fridge and cupboards, etc., devouring all sweets they can find.

[FMCoug]

I disagree. I think it is a bad idea from any perspective even in principle. One day the children will be grown and will have to interact with the real world. You do them no favors by not preparing them for life. I think it is always better to teach children how to interact with new ideas, challenge them and evaluate them rather than teaching them that you just have to completely avoid them in order to be safe.

I'm not talking about age appropriateness of strong sexual, violent, etc., content. I'm talking about the sort of cloistering that seems to be what you are describing. I haven't known many people who have done that, maybe just a few. I think even most really orthodox LDS avoid this approach for good reason.

One of the observations my wife has made about around here is how much more over-protective parents are on stuff like this, yet she sees lots more kids on laps in cars, not in the right car seats, young kids riding in the front seat, etc.

[UtahDan]

And to be clear I have no problem with what DD did to try to regain control at his house. I'm focused on this as an approach to life.

[UtahDan]

One of the observations my wife has made about around here is how much more over-protective parents are on stuff like this, yet she sees lots more kids on laps in cars, not in the right car seats, young kids riding in the front seat, etc.

Yeah not to open too big a can of worms but there is a correlation between these types and other skepticism of what most of us view as the blessings of modernity (modern medicine being one example, education being another).

[Levin]

We don't have cable or any connection to the networks. But we watch plenty of Netflix, movies, etc. For cable, I can't stand the blather, channel surfing, endless talking heads, idiotic dumb shows, wasted time, etc.

When we sit down as a family to watch something, we know what we're going to watch and it's a reasonable time increments.

I agree with SU and Cardiac. It's not the TV that's bad; it's the quantity and the crap content. By not having cable/network TV, we sharply reduce the quantity and are able to hand select the content.

[hello]

We know a few families that don't allow their kids to eat sugar. They go nuts when they come to our house; foraging through the fridge and cupboards, etc., devouring all sweets they can find.

I have noticed this with TV restrictions. Parents won't let their kids watch TV at their house so they come to ours and want to do nothing but watch TV!

[TripletDaddy]

I disagree. I think it is a bad idea from any perspective even in principle. One day the children will be grown and will have to interact with the real world. You do them no favors by not preparing them for life. I think it is always better to teach children how to interact with new ideas, challenge them and evaluate them rather than teaching them that you just have to completely avoid them in order to be safe.

I'm not talking about age appropriateness of strong sexual, violent, etc., content. I'm talking about the sort of cloistering that seems to be what you are describing. I haven't known many people who have done that, maybe just a few. I think even most really orthodox LDS avoid this approach for good reason.

I defined the goal in my parenthetical, although you did not highlight it. You disagree with reduction of TV and video game consumption or your disagree with removing all TV from the home?

[Katy Lied]

I like DD's approach. We didn't have tv growing up.

[TripletDaddy]

I like DD's approach. We didn't have tv growing up.

Do you have TV now? If so, then you don't really like DevilDog's approach.

[Devildog]

Yeah, just to be clear... I never intended killing the TV to be a media fast.

My kids spent too much time watching it instead of doing the things they should have been doing (like homework, chores, taking responsibility for their own rooms and gear, and practicing the fundamentals of the sports they play).

They were also in trouble for other bad decisions involving girls and friends.

We have no choice but to believe in our children, place our trust in them, and to help them to learn to live as responsible people as they grow into adults. Part of that for me was allowing them to know the standard and have the chance to earn back their privileges, by living up to those standards on a consistent basis. With success, they were able to earn back one privilege at a time while maintaining the expectations.

We might have to keep starting back at square one, but eventually they will understand the balance and realize that in order to live like they prefer... there are certain expectations that must be met.

Teaching these kids how to live and grow has been difficult. I keep changing tactics... so who knows... maybe I'll have a new approach in six months... like full scale beatdown.