Could your family unplug for a week?
It is also known as the Digital Detox Challenge. This is one of the weeks in the year that The Center for Sceen Time Awareness encourages people to unplug. Say good-bye to Twitter and Facebook. Turn off your TV, iPhone and Xbox.
What would happen if we cut our recreational time spent in front of screens?
Studies suggest that we spend eight to nine hours a day in front of a screen. That’s a third of our lives. And the vast majority of that time is spent in front of a television set.
In this interesting NYT’s article, a researcher talks about our tendency to downplay our TV time:
When subjects in the study were asked to recall their behaviors, “people underestimated the amount of time they spent with TV by a substantial amount,” about 25 percent on average.
We don’t like to think we watch too much TV or that our children do, but the reality is probably close to 4.5 hours a day in front of the tube. Last year, I set aside a week where I told the children they could not watch any television. We cheated a bit, especially on weekend mornings, but it did cut our TV time drastically. The problem is, they were constantly clamoring to be on the computer.
Right now, I’m suffering the DVR effect. We recently joined the 21st century and got cable with DVR. The problem? Now that every episode of House - new and syndicated - is recorded automatically, I can waste hours watching something I enjoy until the wee hours of the night.
There are compelling reasons to try this Turnoff experiment:
First, to combat childhood obesity caused by sedentary habits, and
• Establish better routines for leisure and implement healthier life style changes
• Rebuild and help family relationships torn apart by workplace stress, tough financial circumstances, distance, etc. and bond again
• Re-think the role of TV, its impact on us, and the consequences of using TV as an alternative to social interaction
I think I’ll talk and prepare my children for this challenge this week and give it a shot next week. According to CSTA, about 20 million people participated in the event last year.
Would your family survive a week unplugged? Anyone else with kids willing to give this a shot?
Aisha covered education and breaking news for nearly ten years before joining the Lifestyle staff where she writes a "Dirty Laundry" parenting column. She is the home and family editor and wastes too much time on Facebook and political blogs. 
I love TV but to eliminate it for one week? Sure, we can do it. Eliminating it from our house entirely…hmmmm, I’m going to have to think about that. I’m not sure why as we rarely watch TV - combined time at work and commute is nearly 10 hours, plus an extra hour at gym (son visits the gym’s daycare) and we’re home at night around 730pm. It’s a long day for both of us, but we are in the kitchen together fixing dinner, then we play his favorite board game, followed by bath, story time and bed.
I have been successful at eliminating the portable dvd player in the car, so maybe that’s a step in the right direction. I understand why people have them, but it just didn’t work for me. I initially bought it when he was 2 for a long road trip, but then he got used to it and expected to have it play whenever he climbed in the car. Truthfully, or maybe selfishly, I missed my son & our chats. He simply sat watching his movies - not looking out the window, not talking, not really engaged at all except with the current movie. Then one morning, I simply “forgot” the dvd player. Same thing happened the next morning too. After the third morning which was 8 months ago, he’s never asked for it again. We definitely talk more in the car and we manage to squeeze in a little extra quality time.
My house could survive for a week without any electronic gadget (tv, computer, iphone, etc.). But I still find them comforting during times of sickness, inclement weather or just wanting to crash at the end of a long, hard day.
Short answer: no.
It’s very difficult to go from watching a lot of TV to watching no TV. I suggest you set a goal to watch less TV. Small goals are much easier to achieve.