The only television in my house is used for the viewing of VHS cassettes and DVDs. We don't have cable or sattelite t.v. ... not even an aerial antenna.
My wife and I collect several television series on DVD and, a few nights a week, watch a couple of episodes after the kids are in bed. We also have a fairly large movie collection and on the weekends, our family sometimes watches a movie or two.
Our two older kids (ages 13 and 7) have to earn "points" toward screen time by doing their daily chores, spending time reading, etc.
This way of doing things has really worked well for our family. My wife and I feel good about the fact that our kids (and ourselves!) aren't being constantly bombarded with advertisements for stuff we don't need.
Matt, I'd like to participate in your poll, but need a bit of clarification first. When you ask how much television we watch in a week, do you only mean actual t.v. broadcasts, or does time spent watching non-commercial DVDs, etc., also count?
Either way, 3 days without television wouldn't be too difficult for me. In fact, I've always found that, once people separate themselves from the flickering box, it actually gets easier as time goes by, to the extent that it actually becomes difficult to find time to sit down and stare at the bloody thing!
Great topic!
Poll