Patch Blog: Surviving Turn off the TV Week

We made it through Turn Off the TV Week (TOTW). I had intended that my first blog entry would be about the garden, but it just didn’t turn out that way. This was my kindergartener’s first TOTW, which is the grammar school equivalent of Hell Week at a major university. No TV. No computer time.

I remember the first time I encountered this—almost 20 years ago. My son came home toting a length of bright-yellow crime-scene tape that was thoughfully supplied by his school. It was to be affixed across the television warning all of the dangers of viewing. I thought, “Cool, this sounds like a fun challenge!” When kid No. 2 was introduced to this event a few years later, I thought, “Well, OK, we’ve done this before.” This time when kid No. 3 arrived home with the notice, I thought, “Aaaaugh! Not again!!” And I still have another kid who hasn’t started school yet. I’m doomed.

Sophie started out strong going cold turkey. She was confident telling me, “I can do this!” I, however, had a sense of foreboding.  She did fine for the first few days, but then the shakes and cravings began. “Just one video! Just one. I can stop anytime I want!” One day she passed the computer while her little sister was watching "Strawberry Shortcake." She clapped her hands over her eyes in a moment of panic and shrieked as though she had been struck blind. “I didn’t see anything! I promise I didn’t see anything!” I assured her that she had not negated her contract and that all would be well. And it was—until Friday.

Friday afternoon, Sophie returned from school tired out from the Spring Sing. Tired kindergartners are volatile beings, and she promptly dissolved in a pool of hysteria—a complete nervous breakdown.

“I really want to watch TV!!!”

I calmly replied, “So watch it.”

“But I really want the prize!”

“You do realize that the prize is just a pencil or a little cheesy toy, right?”

“I know!” she wailed. “But I really want to see what it is! Waaaahhhhh!”

At this point I realized she was over the edge, and that she would hate herself in the morning if she gave in. So I did what any rational parent would do—I bribed her with ice cream. It worked, and she made it through the weekend without watching. She spent time playing with friends, reading, playing with the puppy and hanging out with me in the garden—all stuff she does anyway.

I have to wonder if this exercise is worth it. Going cold turkey didn’t make her want to get rid of the TV. It actually made her want to watch more. Nothing is as tempting to the human psyche as something that we can’t have. TV became the holy grail: the most fabulous thing in the world and something she must have simply because she couldn’t have it. But she’s stronger because she achieved her goal, right? I don’t think so. I want her to learn moderation in all things but not to be obsessive. Turn Off the TV Week is like a bad diet dooming the participant to failure. It’s up to parents to help their children make good choices, and I’m going to go help mine choose a video. Maybe that will stop the cold sweats…