We are having a huge moving sale tomorrow, as long as the rain falls after 12pm!
For sale items include:
2 TVs
1 VCR
all kiddie VHS
My First Leap Pad
Hubby's beloved Playstation, plus games
J's beloved Gameboy, plus games
all electronic/battery-operated kid toys (except "musical" instruments or vehicles)
We're selling lots of other stuff, too, but this decision to sell most of our electronic entertainment things is HUGE!
I really don't want to give up my free babysitters, but I know it's best for my kids...I've known for a while. Don't get me wrong, we've tried many times to wean ourselves off electronics, but it's just too easy to put a video on when I'm getting dinner ready and the kids are bored! I don't think it's bad to have kids watch one or two educational videos daily, but I can't do just one. Incidently, I also can't eat just one potato chip. Curse my sanguine tendencies!
But the decision to get rid of most electronics (we're keeping our portable DVD player and DVDs for the ridiculous drives we make to see family) was finalized when we took J to the psychologist on Tuesday.
Together Hubby and I decided that TV is bad for all kids, but it's worse for kids who (might) have autism or sensory processing issues.
We're going to replace the electronic toys with a nice play kitchen I hope to purchase with the money made at the sale. I'm also scouring our local yard sale website for cheap, creative play toys.
It's best for our kids. It'll work! We'll make it work...
Please pass the Motrin.
3 comments:
Good for you! I know several people who want to get rid of their t.v.'s and such but have not taken that next step to do so.
I always admire people who could live without electronics. I'd prefer to live without electronics, especially the TV. However, my kids are older and we discovered that our kids and their friends won't hang out at our house. So, since our family's ministry is to our neighbors and our kid's friends, we decided to keep the electronics. Our psychologist did point out the benefits of these. For example, the kids who are growing up with them have a better chance at gaining some of the jobs which require hand-eye coordination on computers. For example, my husband is working on UAVs (unmanned aerial Vehicles)which are being used for things from war to weather. The people who maneuver these vehicles well are the kids who grew up playing video games. Also, some professionals think video games are good for learning the unpublished social rules. Autistic children are very weak in picking up social skills and rules. They have to be taught as opposed most of us that just intuitively know them. In video games, kids have to enter a game and figure out who are their friends, who are their enemies, how they have to play the game, and how they have to survive, etc. And all this is through actually playing the game...where they are learning the unpublished rules of the social context.
Again, I really do admire families who don't have electronics. I liked the days when kids read more, entertained themselves for hours or days with simple things like watching cloud formations, playing with simple toys and role-played. I just wanted to let you know about what I've come across the last nine years about why my autistic son would benefit from these games.
Thanks, ladies, for your comments! I agree, Corrie, that there are some benefits to electronics. Judah actually learned how to read through the LeapFrog videos! We kept those for our other kiddies :)
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