A Day without TV

You read that right. We went a whole day with out TV. This may not be much to some people, but it's a big step for us. We watch a lot of TV. We don't necessarily sit down and watch it all day long, but we pretty much have it on most of the day, playing in the background.

I decided to do this, because I was thinking about how much I enjoyed the peace and quiet during Sadie's nap time. I rarely turn the TV on during her nap time. I use this time to get as much done as possible: cleaning, couponing, blogging, etc. I love the peace and quiet. Sometimes I even turn Sadie's monitor on silent so that I can't hear the white noise playing in her room. Our house is small enough that I can hear her through the walls when she wakes.

Sadie "watches" a lot of cartoons. When I say watch, I mean she plays while glancing up at the TV periodically. But put Mickey Mouse or Dora the Explorer on TV and you have her undivided attention. She watches cartoons when she first wakes up in the morning while drinking her milk and while I am getting ready after Breakfast. I also have cartoons playing the car. Sadie used to HATE riding in the car and this was the only way I could get from point A to point B without a meltdown. She also watched Dora from our Amazon Prime Account in the late afternoons while I am cooking dinner. This adds up.

So last week, when Sadie woke up. We didn't turn on the TV. Instead, she drank her milk in silence and then began to play. While I got breakfast ready, she came into the kitchen and played. She ate and played so more. I was so surprised that she did not fuss for Mickey Mouse at all.

When we got in the car to go to our Stroller Strong class, she started to ask "Dore" "Dore" for Dora. Instead of turning on the show, I handed her a Dora book. We didn't have one cry the entire 20 minute drive. After class was a tricky one. The TV is usually what keeps her occupied and awake on the way home. Instead, we sang songs. It was a tough one and I was tempted, but with some feet tickles, I was able to keep her awake.

When we got home, Sadie had her normal lunch, sippy cup of milk, and then it was nap time. She went down at 1:00pm.... and slept for two hours! Now I know some of you Mama's have babies that take three hour naps. Not Sadie. She used to be a 30 minute napper. It was a long hard road to get her to take even an hour and a half nap. The two hours were amazing!

When she woke up, she was as happy as can be. We played some more. Ran out to the grocery store. Came back and played outside. Once dinner rolled around, it was dinner, bath, milk and bed. We did read a few extra books that night and dishes had to wait until she was asleep. Steve actually got home late that day and got to see Sadie right before she went to bed.

Once Sadie was down, I had planned on catching up on some Hulu+, but I actually started working on a couple of things (including this blog) and never turned on the TV. It was quite nice actually.

Now, a week later, we have cut back on the TV. She still gets to watch a cartoon after breakfast(usually Mickey Mouse) while I am getting ready. But then we are out the door and not home again until Lunch time. After that follows a nap, which has been 2 hours on most days:-) In the afternoon we typically run errands or play outside. She gets to watch another show while I am cooking dinner. All in all, I think we have found a nice balance. I do keep the TV on in the car if we are driving more than 15 minutes. Otherwise, I turn up the music and sing with Sadie.

Have any other Momma's tried a day without TV? Who doesn't watch it at all?