Screen Time Crackdown

The average American watches between 4 and 5 hours of television a day.  Think of all the other things we could be doing with our lives and the real people we could be making connections with!  Compared to most people, I don't watch much TV.  I watch 30 minutes 2 nights during the weekdays and 1/1/2 hours on Friday and Saturday nights.  This was until I found the show Parenthood.  I recently started streaming at least one episode a night and have added an extra 6-8 hours a week watching this show alone!!!  So this month couldn't have come at a better time!  I am looking forward to making a clean break and devoting my time to more rewarding endeavors.  

 
I have also decided that I am going to cut down on my computer screen time.  I waste way too much time on Facebook, following blogs, and checking my e-mail.  I am a stay at home mom for crying out loud, I don't need to check my e-mail 20 times a day.  Old Navy's big sale that was the same as last week can wait! 

Initially, my plan was to have the entire family give up TV.  This has since been revised.  I decided that I want to live, so my kids will still get some TV time each day but we plan to cut back.  The kids usually watch less than an hour of TV and get 20 minutes of other screen time each day during the week.  This is less than the 2 hour recommended limit so I feel pretty good about that.We have, however, gotten in the habit of letting them watch one of their shows after dinner every night while we clean up the kitchen.  The plan is to cut out the after dinner show at least two times a week. 

All of this being said, when I was planning this month I failed to take into consideration that the presidential election is next month so I will allow myself to watch one debate and 30 minutes of election coverage each week. As for my husband, he says I am on my own with this one (but he will end up watching less because we often watch shows together). 

So, how do I plan to spend my time??
- Sell jewelry on e-bay (I've been meaning to do this for over a year)
- Make some homemade greeting cards
- Start researching what Christmas gifts we are going to make next month
- Read for fun
- Read at least one of the parenting books I have lying around the house