No TV. What do your kids do.

Rubber Ducky

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 9:01 am

My sons grew up before the iPad era. They did a lot of reading and still do. Also Legos, science stuff, crafts like origami, games such as chess, and imaginative play/puppets. My older son taught himself computer programming. My younger son learned to play a musical instrument.

sitting

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 11:14 am

Forgot. .ine love playkmg "spies"!! Whats up with that. They creep and crawl round the house...hiding behind furniture and doors so no one sees them and spy on us going about our regular business
..hilarious.

MagentaYenta

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 11:28 am

My children were raised before the computer era and it really wasn't difficult to live without tv. They had homework and chores then free play. Free play could be sports, street hockey, riding bikes etc. After dinner they could read play games,knit, sew paint, work on crafts, listen to sports on the radio. Every winter the family voted on a book to be read out loud.

amother

Lemon

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 11:39 am

We do have a TV and tablets and all that, but our kids don't have much screen time. During the week, there's homework, instrument practice, the general evening routine, plus free play that does NOT include a screen, when you add all that together, there isn't much time to use screens anyway, maybe half an hour (enough for one episode of something). Then of course no TV on Shabbos. That leaves Sunday and days off from school. I'm not averse to screen time so long as all obligations have been met (homework, instrument practice, chores, and yes, reading/playing without a screen for at least x amount of time counts as an obligation), so I'm ok with them indulging a bit on a Sunday or a day off. I'm sharing this just to show that if you really want to make it zero, you don't actually have all that much time to fill. Put that way, it's a much easier task, and other posters here already gave good ideas.

amother

Natural

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 11:44 am

My kids read. And they are very creative. They do arts and crafts, they do pretend play/dress-up, they make up plays for us, they invent businesses, and they also play sports at the park with their friends. They ride bikes, they do rollerblading, they talk on the phone with their friends, they play board games with the neighbors (sadly, board games don't last long in my house - the same intense creativity leads them to not clean up the games and/or repurpose them). They range in age from 4-11. Sometimes I am so pleased with how creatively they play that I wish I could go back in time and be one of them (I was bored all the time as a kid/teen/young adult).

keym

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 11:46 am

In the summer biking, blading, sports. Books. In the winter lego, board games, crafts, baking, imaginative activities, collections (stamps, coins, cards).
Just be prepared there will be a bit of mess and clutter especially in the winter but imho totally worth it as your kids develop skills or knowledge.

amother

Aubergine

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 1:19 pm

my 7 year old is allowed 1/2 hr of computer games a week unless she loses the priveledge. She usually does in Sunday. She didn't do it yesterday so she asked me if she could today and then she said you know what I don't want to and went to play outside instead. Show them life and while it might take time after a while life will hopefully be more exciting.

thunderstorm

Mon, Oct 02 2017, 4:01 pm

Teenage Boys: read, read and read
Play musical instruments, basketball, yard work

DS age 11 reads (too much) , draws, plays with mini legos, basketball, board games, bike riding , listens to Wonderwords hotline

DS age 7 plays a lot of imaginary games, dress up, Playmobile, Magna Tiles, Duplo Legos, matchbox cars, bike riding, coloring, arts and crafts

LovesHashem

Tue, Oct 03 2017, 12:24 am

amother wrote:

How about ideas for kids in the 11-17 age range..boys? Girls? Thanx.

That's even easier! But harder if they are used to tv.

Girls
Go out with friends
Shop
Volunteer
Babysit and earn money
Jewelry making
They are old enough to find hobbies
Art
Photography
Instrument
Singing
After school activities

Don't they have homework and helping out to do? Girls can be busy with friends...

Boys are usually in yeshivos til late. But a lot like sports and a lot make money putting up sukkas around this time

abound

Tue, Oct 03 2017, 3:16 am

board games
reading.......lots of books

In the beginning you may have to extend yourself and take them out a lot so they should not be upset. Malls, zoos, arcades, bowling, paintball

amother

Floralwhite

Tue, Oct 03 2017, 8:25 pm

Thank you so much to teh OP of this post and all commenters.

This thread inspired me to tell my kids yesterday, "computer time? what for? we dont need that every day! we have so much else to do!"
Surprisingly they didnt complain too much after the initial surprise/disappointment. They busied themselves with legos, clics, magnatiles etc, and chatted to me in the kitchen while I prepared supper.
We will do that more often! somehow, daily computer time slipped in when we had a newborn and it was the easiest way to keep everybody calm while I nursed and looked after the baby...

amother

Burgundy

Wed, Oct 04 2017, 7:07 am

I'm the OP. As it is now, just yesterday, my DD, age 13, was complaining how unfair it is she gets only 1.5 hours of TV per day and she is so bored.

There aren't enough kids in our neighborhood like when I was growing up to entertain for the afternoon.

I have one child who is very inflexible. He has a sort of addiction. He has a certain time to watch TV and if something interferes, he has a fit. Same thing with very limited video games. There is a process that his brain goes through. Definitely it's different compared to my other kids.

I don't know how to break that.

ra_mom

Wed, Oct 04 2017, 7:42 am

We allow videos on Sundays and Fridays (as well as days off).
How much time do the kids have after school that they want screen time? Between dinner, homework, showers there isn't much time here. Even if they ask I don't allow it and eventually they end up playing, drawing, reading, sometimes spending time with other kids too but not usually. I find that once they start watching it goes downhill from there and it's all they want to do so I find it healthier to just give a firm no.

MagentaYenta

Wed, Oct 04 2017, 9:39 am

amother wrote:

Your DD is 13 yo she should be able to entertain herself without a screen in front of her.

Is this a new rule in your house? It would make sense that kids would be resistant if suddenly the rules change.

My kids were raised before computers but knew they didn't get tv until the weekend and after their chores and responsibilities were fulfilled.

amother

Burgundy

Wed, Oct 04 2017, 11:18 am

ra_mom wrote:

I find that once they start watching it goes downhill from there and it's all they want to do so I find it healthier to just give a firm no.

I agree! My DH gets home before I do from work and he has lots of things he wants to get done with some semblance of peace and quiet. Or even just a little noise is allowable. He's the first one to cave though when it comes to caving on the rules. We have both had discussions about how this is not a good pattern and leads to failure on our part to have any sort of credibility when it comes to setting the rules. But it still happens. Very frustrating.

Zehava

Wed, Oct 04 2017, 11:41 am

I find that most of the time I let them watch for my own conveniences usually it's when there's no school and I need to get the house in order or get something done and they're bothering me.
Honestly op if it ever got to a point where my kids were addicted or couldn't live without daily watching I would take the whole thing out of the house, eliminate the option until they learnt to live without it. Harsh I know, but in my book if something is more trouble than the accessions benefits then it's time for it to go. At least temporarily.

Teomima

Thu, Oct 05 2017, 1:59 pm

We have no tv. Kids are eight and under. The children have no free access to any sort of technology. When homework is done and rooms are clean I don't mind putting a movie on my iPad for them, but they so rarely care enough to bother cleaning their room for it. It also comes out as a distraction when I need to lice comb (rarely, thankfully) or once in a blue moon when I just need them out of my hair.

Other than that, they read, they play, they do art projects, they do homework, they help me shop and cook and clean, they play card games and board games and Legos, they play with friends, play dress up, play at the park, sing, dance...they're kids, doing kids stuff. TV and devices have just never been part of their daily life and I intend on keeping it that way as long as possible.