Posts Tagged ‘full house’

Growing up I don’t remember watching much TV – I don’t ever remember watching cartoons (although I remember that my brother did – mostly Ninja Turtles and Sesame Street).   I’m guessing that’s because I was the oldest and my brother is 3 years younger than me – so my mom had plenty of time to read me books, play games, etc.   I most certainly can say that I was never just plopped down in front of the TV and left on my own.  And the TV was NEVER on during the day (my mom was a stay at home mom) – the TV didn’t go on until after 7.

As the years passed, TV slowly made its way into my activities but it was still something of a rarity.  We had chores to do each week that we earned money for and then we could turn that money in for TV time.  Not much TV time could be earned because the chores didn’t pay that well =) All I really remember watching when I was little was Full House on Tuesday nights and TGIF on Friday nights.  I still remember the excitement on those nights!

We did end up getting cable when I was a sophomore or junior in high school but by then I was too busy to watch TV – sports took up my time and by the time I got home there was usually only time for homework and bed.

I will admit that I love TV now though, when I went to college and had a TV in my room for the first time, I would stay awake until 2 or 3 watching TV Land! It’s something that I work on avoiding now – I try to never just sit and watch TV anymore – if I want to watch it, I do other things during like fold laundry, etc so I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time.

As for the boys, I’ve always made a conscious effort to limit the amount of TV that they watch.   We have one working TV in the house and we don’t have cable.  We only have Netflix for 2 reasons – one it is a hell of a lot cheaper than cable and two, I can control what the boys watch easier.  No longer am I begged to buy the newest toy or sugary treat – because they don’t see ads for them anymore!  Myles is only allowed to watch educational shows like Barney and Reece is allowed about the same (although he loves to sneak Power Rangers in there).  The TV is only on ½ hour a day (if at all), although we do pizza and a movie on Friday nights.

What do the TV rules look like in your house?  Is it on all day?  Do you even own one?  Can the kids watch whatever they want?  Do you watch your “adult” shows when they are in the same room?

Comment with an answer to any of the above questions and you will be entered to win 2 months of free Netflix! You can watch it on your computer, iPad, smart phone, or stream it through a Wii, etc.

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Giveaway ends 8/16/12 at 11:59 p.m. CST!

Congrats to Amy Z. – this week’s winner!

Lately, I’ve noticed many kids not respecting the things that their parents have purchased for them (my kids included).  A new bike gets left out in the rain, a new movie gets scratched, and a new stuffed animal is covered in sticky gunk days after purchasing.  So how do we teach our kids to respect their things?  The last thing that we want is for them to grow up and never learn the value of keeping their things nice.  There are several options obviously but what has really worked with Reece is having him spend his own money on things he really wants, I have noticed that he is much more careful with those items.  He’s less likely to leave them at a friend’s house or outside to weather the elements.

When I was growing up, I don’t remember ever getting an allowance, at least not one that was just given to me for no reason.  When I was Reece’s age – I got $2 a week if I completed all my designated chores.  I could spend that money for TV time (I always spent some of it to watch Full House – I was in loooove with Jesse!), save it, or spend it on something when we went shopping.  My parents also gave me an opportunity to earn more money for doing extra chores.  I don’t really remember ever spending that money weekly except to watch Full House, I think I was born frugal – I loved seeing my piggy bank get full!  The first big purchase that I remember making was when I was 10, I really wanted a mail order Princess Jasmine costume but it was $32 (which even now I think is expensive for a costume, let alone 16+ years ago).  My parents told me that I could have it but I’d have to pay for half of it myself –which I did, and I wore it for several Halloweens after.   I knew how hard I worked to save that money, so I treated the item with respect.  The same goes for the Doc Martens I bought a few years later – my parents thought $110 was a ridiculous amount to spend on a pair of shoes, so they refused to buy them for me.  I wanted them so bad that I bought them for myself and wore them for YEARS (honestly I think I only threw them away a few years ago) – I wanted to get my money’s worth!

Since getting an allowance worked out well for teaching me the value of money, I have been debating giving Reece one. Right now the money that he spends on the things he wants comes from work that he does for me or his grandparents or money that he’s saved from birthdays.  He seems to be grasping the concept of money well based on the statement he made to me the other day, “Mom, I just want to look at the toys, I don’t want you to buy me any.  I don’t want you to have to spend your money because then you’d have to work more to get more and then I wouldn’t get to see you as much.”  So he understands that the only way to get money is by working for it, so do I want to mess with that and start “giving” him an allowance each week (he’d have to complete his chores for it)?

Which brings me to our “Win it Wednesday” – for a chance to win this week, comment below and let me know your thoughts on allowances.  How old are your kids?  Do you give them allowances?  That’s the ONLY thing you have to do to win – if you want extra entries you can do the following (one extra entry for each thing done):

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You can pick your prize this week from a Timmy Time Talking Timmy (ARV $25 - for those who have younger kids) or a Wilson Mini Football (ARV $20 – for those with older kids).  Both would make great additions to any Easter basket!

Giveaway will end March 29^th, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. Winner will be announced on our Facebook page on March 30^th, 2012.