This morning I did something that we don't normally do on the weekdays. I let the children watch t.v. We don't watch much cable but since this has been a wacky week I let them watch Animal Planet. I can't even remember the last time they watched cable television.

We usually control everything they watch by using dvd's.

Before I go any further let me state that this is my opinion on television. Please know that I'm talking about my family and our choices. I don't think watching television is a sin . Limiting the T.V. works for us. 

Since the kiddos were young I haven't let them watch too much t.v. I'll admit that at times when they were all 6yrs. and under I did use the T.V. as a babysitter now and then. They would watch an hour of Mr. Rogers or Couliou, Rainbow Reading or Zoom. It gave me a chance to rest.

I do think that because we limit our children's television time that it helps with them not being so materialistic. They don't see all the latest toys and gadgets.  Not everything needs to be entertaining to them. It doesn't have to have lights and animation to be neat.

My children love to watch things like Pilgrims Progress or The Jesus Film. Both these films don't have any action or cool affects. I don't even think when I was young that I would sit and watch them. I probably would have been one of the kids that thought it boring.

I think  because my children don't watch cartoons and other  shows daily that they don't need all this animation in order to watch a good movie. They can sit through the Waltons, Little House and other shows that are considered 'slow' .

We can go weeks without watching something. We do watch a family friendly movie on Friday nights and the children  watch some cartoons or a movie on Saturday but that's basically all we watch. It's great. I love that my children don't need the television to entertain them.

 I remember when we didn't have a television. We had some family over and they noticed right away that there was not a t.v. in our living room. One of their teenage kids asked, "What do you do?" they were shocked that we had no t.v.

Another reason why we don't watch cable is the commercials are awful. When we were watching Animal Planet; a commercial came on. It was suppose to be advertising clothes on sale. Not once but three times it showed young ladies in their skimpy two piece bathing suits. My oldest son gets embarrassed when things like this are shown. I don't make a big deal about it because I don't want to bring attention to the half clothed girls, but some how Joshua notices and covers his eyes because it makes him feel uncomfortable. To help him through this I nonchalantly comment, "Why do they have to show them half clothed?" That's all we say and move on, but I think this helps Joshua to feel a bit better because he sees that I don't agree with all that skin either. (this all happens fast, so it's not like we are dwelling on it )