TV in the house?

  • Thread starter Thread starter camerong
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

camerong

Guest
As I mentioned in a previous thread, we’re in the final stages of designing a new house, to be built in the Spring. This has prompted me to wonder about having a TV.

Like many of you, I’m highly suspicious of TVs: television shows are awful, screen time is not good for kids, etc. On the other hand, I can see us watching Disney and Pixar movies and football games, and many well-meaning parents find little choice but using the glowing babysitter at least occasionally.

Where do you put your TV, if you have one? I worry that if we have it too prominently, it will be too easy to turn on. How often does it come on? How do you keep yourselves from watching too much?

I’m a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt, and he grew up devouring every book in sight, wondering all over the woods, etc. I wonder what TR would have been like if he would have spent much of his childhood drooling in front of a glowing box…
 
My husband and I ditched the TV a couple years ago when we moved to a new place, and it’s been awesome. We have more time for things like games, walks, conversations, reading, music…anything you can think of. My problem with the TV is that you turn it on planning to only watch for 30 minutes when you’re tired and then you just get sucked in and end up wasting a bunch of time.

When we really have the itch or the time to watch something we’ll just go to Hulu or Netflix and watch it on the computer (or put a DVD in the computer). (We put our computer in a place where it’s not too hard to pull the couch around and watch if we really want to.)
 
When my husband and I were young and newly-married, we kept our TV in a closet and brought it out only when something was on that we wanted to watch.

After we had babies, the TV came out because I enjoyed watching TV during the late night and middle-of-the-night nursings.

We currently keep the TV in the family room, and we watch only what we want to watch. It’s usually not on all day except during skating and football seasons–then it’s on constantly and the tivo is kept busy!

My daughter (29 years old) hasn’t had a TV for several years. If she really wants to watch something (e.g., Olympic figure skating), she will go to a friend’s house or to a bar, or she’ll watch it on her computer.

I think there is a lot of good stuff on TV, but we really have to pick and choose what we watch or we’ll spend our lives sitting on the sofa. There’s also a lot of good stuff at the bakery, but I can’t eat it all, can I?

One thing that helps us is that we do not have cable and never will have cable as long as I am alive. My husband would probably get cable if I died suddenly. But I think not having cable is a good compromise. With cable, it’s easy to sit down and become totally immersed in a certain channel (for me, it would be HGTV or maybe Bravo), and watch aaaaaalllllll daaaaay long! What a waste! Who really cares what midgets and pitbulls do, anyway? Or what it’s like to be a hoarder? Or who really wants to watch the Golden Girls marathon? (I do, I do!)

I heartily recommend TiVo as a way of controlling your time. You can get rid of all the commercials–awesome.

TV is great if you’re sick or laid up, BTW, so that’s one reason to at least keep a TV around the house somewhere. Being sick often means that it hurts your eyes to read, or you don’t have the strength to sit at a computer. TV is a perfect companion during those long illnesses, surgeries, etc.
 
We did not grow up with a TV, but rather with DVDs and, later, Netflix and Hulu. Why pay for tons of stuff you do not want to watch? Far better to isolate the best TV shows and pay for those.
 
Well, my husband and I have a television set, but no cable or anything like that. We solely use it for watching movies or playing the occasional video game. If you have one, especially with children, make sure it is in a common area where it is easily monitored.
 
Currently, our TV is in an armoire in the living room, and I prefer it closed when not in use. I don’t like the TV to be the centerpiece of the living room.

When we get a new TV, dh wants a large, flat screen we can wall mount (and ditch the armoire).

While I would prefer at TV stay hidden, it’s not the altar I’m willing to die on; I’m sure I’ll go along with a wall mount.

We have friends who have 2 large recliners facing a large TV screen, surrounded by shelves of DVDs. Not my taste at all!
 
Tossed the TV 14 years ago. Go without for awhile and then tune into network or local news programs and you will really be surprised at how unintelligent they think you are.
 
Still have the TV but it is not in the living room, we got rid of cable/dish about 4 years ago. Best decision ever. We now have much more time for the fun things in life together.
 
Some hotels have their TVs in cabinets that can be closed. Perhaps you could use a similar type of cabinet built into a bookcase or similar piece of furniture. (I thought about this when assembling an Ikea entertainment center - if only they had matching doors available for the style we picked out).

:newidea: Maybe I can set up a puppet show curtain. In addition to obscuring the TV in times we aren’t watching, it could give the viewing experience more of an old-time feel. 🍿

I’d recommend skipping cable/satellite altogether and only watch DVDs, those sports programs you can bring in on the airwaves and whatever is worthwhile for streaming (e.g. EWTN and about 1% of YouTube).
 
TrixieMcGee said:
Well, my husband and I have a television set, but no cable or anything like that. We solely use it for watching movies or playing the occasional video game. If you have one, especially with children, make sure it is in a common area where it is easily monitored.
Click to expand...
Same here.

If the OP is building the house, it should be prewired for TV, to make things easier for the next owner, whenever that is. I’ve got a coil of wire in the corner of the living room that isn’t connected at either end. But the cable company would dearly love to connect it.
 
I have my TV and home theater system in the livingroom. I almost never spend time in there unless I am entertaining others- it is a rare sight to see me in there alone. The livingroom is really designated for football games, movies with friends, etc. The kitchen and diningroom is where all my casual conversation takes place at my house.

Ite in pace,
Joshua C.
 
Richard320 said:
Same here.

If the OP is building the house, it should be prewired for TV, to make things easier for the next owner, whenever that is. I’ve got a coil of wire in the corner of the living room that isn’t connected at either end. But the cable company would dearly love to connect it.
Click to expand...
Great idea. My house wasn’t prewired for TV (built in the mid-60s) so I had these ugly wires tracing around the outside when I bought it. Most of them have since been removed and a future owner may have to reestablish them. (though if he does, he’ll have to face the blown-in insulation :D)

My personal preference is to have wall plates that contain coaxial connectors (recessed, if possible) so there isn’t a coil of wire exposed.
 
Our kitchen and family room are in the same room, and that is where the TV, the computers for the kids’ homework, and the printer are.

I found that taped shows were good because there is no time of the day that is set as “TV time”. Even shows that are taken off of network TV or cable are better if they’re taped, because the commercials can be removed.
 
camerong said:
As I mentioned in a previous thread, we’re in the final stages of designing a new house, to be built in the Spring. This has prompted me to wonder about having a TV…
Click to expand...
Got rid of mine. Don’t regret it.
 
We have one in the family room and plan to get a second (for video game purposes) for the basement. Can’t play certain physical games anywhere else.

I’m the only one who watches anything. I’m kinda picky so Netflix and Hulu suit my needs fine.

The only time I found myself *really *wishing we had at least the normal channels was when my mom offered to watch the baby while we went to watch the Superbowl with my in-laws. She had expected she would be able to watch the game after the baby was put to bed… 😊

Fortunately at the last minute it was decided I should bring the baby to *her *house and a week later we all realized that the saved herself from a potentially dull and upsetting evening.
 
We ditched ours 5 years ago and haven’t missed it.

Family is better off without it.
 
TrixieMcGee said:
Well, my husband and I have a television set, but no cable or anything like that. We solely use it for watching movies or playing the occasional video game. If you have one, especially with children, make sure it is in a common area where it is easily monitored.
Click to expand...
just like richard320, we do the same thing. although, at our house, tv is for video games. if we want to watch anything else, we have the internet for that.

as for making sure that the tv is in a common area for easier monitoring, this is true for computers as well. much more true, actually.
Julia_Mae said:
Got rid of mine. Don’t regret it.
Click to expand...
so cool to know that we’re not the only ones! i see a lot of fellow catholics here limiting tv or ditching it altogether! way to go!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top