For the Family
I made a phone call this morning that has been discussed in the Faughn household for a long time. It’s one that others will find stupid or pointless, but one we did for our family.
What was the call?
We cancelled our television service.
We didn’t lower our DirecTV package, or switch to local cable. It’s gone.
After a long conversation last night (which followed many others), we decided that we were addicted to television, and it was time to end the addiction. I want to share why we did it, and what we hope to do with our time.
Why We Ended It
1. Our Spiritual Lives. Please know that we are not “condemning” those who watch TV, so long as it is wholesome TV. However, for us, we have found wholesome stuff to be harder to find, and we also know that each moment we spend in front of the tube is another moment we spend apart from God. I want more time with God, so we are removing an obstacle to that time.
2. Our Marriage. Leah and I like very few of the same TV shows, so, after the kids are in bed, guess what happens? She watched TV downstairs and I watch TV upstairs. That’s sad! Now we will spend more time together doing things we truly enjoy, instead of just mindlessly watching things that don’t really matter. We are planning on reading together, listening to/watching podcasts dealing with spirituality and/or family, gardening, and generally spending quality time together.
3. Our Children. Our kids are way to used to watching television. Also, when we are trying to watch something and they interrupt, we put the television show before our kids. That’s wrong! We are going to spend more time walking, playing outside, reading, listening to music, and doing other things that will help them grow in more areas. Of course, we’ll have some educational movies and TV shows on DVD, so they’ll still get those things, too, but it will not be a constant “fix” of it.
4. Our Finances. No, money isn’t that tight. We could afford the DirecTV package we had, but our checkbook will certainly look better without it. Between the package we had (including discounts I got just for asking!) and the electricity used, we estimate the TV cost us about $80 each month. That’s not the largest expense we have, but now we can do whatever we want with that. We can get out of debt a little faster. We can have a little more “breathing room” in our budget. We can enjoy something else with the money. I’m glad we’ll have that extra cash!
5. Our Health. It can’t be good for us to just “veg out” in front of a TV for hours on end. Without that, we’ll take more walks and work outside more. We’ll probably even eat better, since we will spend more time cooking together and gardening.
What We’ll Do Instead: Our Plan
[Note: The part of the post is updated about 5 years after the original.]
Originally, we tried to plan each night without TV. Instead, we have tried now to build a routine. Here’s what we strive to do:
Monday nights are game nights. We play a game as a family and enjoy the laughter and learning.
Tuesday nights are free night. We try not to plan anything, but just enjoy being around the house.
Wednesday nights, of course, we attend Bible classes at church.
Thursday nights are our “in” our “out” nights. We either have folks “in” our home (showing hospitality), or we go “out” for a date.
Friday nights are movie nights. We pick a kid-friendly movie on Netflix or DVD and enjoy it.
Conclusion
This is not for everyone, but it is certainly for my family. We have a lot of DVDs of favorite shows (The Cosby Show, Little House on the Prairie, etc.), so we’ll still watch things on our television. We are simply removing the temptation to do nothing but watch it constantly.
We are trying something to make sure we are doing all we can for Christ. Maybe it’s something you should try, too.
13 Comments
Wes Hazel
That’s great Adam.
Jenny
We were forced to have no TV for a while because of money issues. It was such a nice time for us. We read, talked, played games. Good for you guys!
Scott
Adam, we did this almost a year ago. What a wonderful change in our lives. Our son (age 11) reads in the evenings or plays his “hour” of allowed video games. I work on lessons/read. My wife gets stuff done for school (she teaches 1st grade)/ reads. We go for walks, ride bikes, work in the yard, play outside together. My son complained when we made the commitment, but after two months admitted he did not miss TV as much as he thought he would and that reading is a lot more enjoyable.
I pray you find similar success.
Jason Jarrett
Join the group, brother. We ditched DirecTV a few months ago for the very same reasons.
I have never been a big TV fan, but found myself flipping channels until close to midnight – never really watching anything – falling asleep to deer hunting. I’m not even a hunter.
I was a big “24” fan and I quit cold turkey before the season started.
Our children were dependent on their “cartoons”, expecting to watch one before bed and while my wife was cooking, etc.
We said no more! However…
Through my work, I got a SkyAngel IPTV box for (eh-hmm) free so I put that in a few weeks ago. It is family friendly television, but can still be addicting if one is not careful. Since putting that in, our favorite show at night is none other than “Happy Days”.
We don’t watch it very often, but when we do, we know it will be something the whole family can watch.
http://www.skyangel.com
John
That’s good, Adam. We just have the antenna with a few local channels.
I’ll tell what the temptation will be: swapping the TV for the internet.
Tim Cantrell (Maywood)
Adam, thats so awesome to hear. I agree that we spend way to much time in front of the tube. The internet is also an addiction, but allbeit a somewhat necessary one…gotta have a way to post these wonderful blogs!!! Love and miss you guys!
Joey
Great to hear, Adam! I can see the benefit of your decision and wouldn't be surprised if we made the same one in the future.
In addition to the things you mentioned, Trent from The Simple Dollar makes a compelling argument that TV's emphasis on commercials and now even product placement in shows themselves has been a big factor at irresponsible financial habits for the past generation or two. Not only will your children grow up with better "passifiers" than TV, but that will be less brainwashed into the "buy now pay later" & "stuff makes you happy" mindsets…
I appreciate your courage in making the decision and for sharing with us here on the blog…
Jaime Nail Lanois
Thanks for sharing, Adam. Great blog!
Faughn Family of Four
Wow. Great comments (this is #9), and some good suggestions as well.
Please pass along the article any way you can (email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), and let’s see if the conversation can grow.
Maybe getting more than 1 comment on a post has me a little nuts, but this obviously is touching a nerve with folks.
B. Beames
Adam, this is a good thing.
We have not paid for TV for about 10 years now. An antenna will get a couple of local stations and we will purchase some of the “good old shows” on DVD to watch on occasion. We do a lot more reading and other activities.
Angie Allen, class of 95 :)
Adam and family, This is a very uplifting thing you guys are doing..I have to admit that I am not a “religious” person..however, I am very spiritual…thank you and your family for making us think “outside the box”.
Heather Wamble
Adam, our family has been tv-free for over 6 years now, and we've loved it! Our kids do watch tv- PBS, and only the ones approved by us. But only 30 minutes a day.
And we do have lots of old Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry DVDS, but we end up watching them as a family. And, (I know you'll LOVE this!), we're introducing them to the wonderful, educational world of Animaniacs! =) Love y'all, Heather
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