I thought it would be a fun experiment to go cold turkey. ONE WEEK people. One week with absolutely NO TV for Hayden! Of course when he goes to bed, it comes on within milliseconds. Hmmm, maybe it might do us some good to keep it off totally for a week and actually talk to EACH OTHER. SHOCKER.

So, we survived Day 1. We went 12 hours without TV. It doesn't sound hard, but TV really comes in handy when you want to get something done without a toddler demanding every ounce of your attention and time. Our day today consisted of a trip to the library (we're gonna need lots of books this week), playing at the park, lunch, a nap, art projects for school, another trip the park, dinner, more art, more reading and bedtime. It was nice. There was still whining, there was still time-outs, there were two toys taken away for talking back- which equals a pretty typical day, TV or not. But, what there wasn't?? No zoning out and ignoring me to the point that I have to stand directly between him and the TV for him to know I am walking on the planet Earth, no sitting motionless at the breakfast/lunch/dinner table forgetting to eat his food while Dora rescues ANOTHER helpless animal, no begging for the Little Einsteins episode that has been gone from On DEMAND for a month but he still BEGS for it. There was none of that, and it was NICE.

So, I am down with this. I can last a week- I think. Of course, this is only Day 1 down. Ask me again tomorrow, when the living room is a disaster area, the laundry STILL isn't put away, work needs to be done for my Wednesday meeting, my email INBOX is packed, and I just need a few minutes of peace and quiet to be alone and collect my thoughts. Maybe then Diego might not seem so bad.

But, really...after this week, we will go back to something reasonable. Something more restricted, but a plan that is more real world. One to two shows in the morning, and then a movie night once a week. That's the plan for now. I'll keep you posted... -- mam