No TV??? Living Outside the Box - Book Review & Giveaway
Have you ever thought of getting rid of the t.v.? For many this sounds like a scary and even radical decision. In fact, if you were to ditch the television, there’s a good chance some of your friends and family would think it was downright child neglect. But what if you did it anyway and discovered your family had added extra hours to their day to enjoy each other, take up new hobbies, and just plain relax? This is the purpose of Barbara Brock’s book Living Outside the Box - TV-Free Families Share Their Secrets.
Barbara Brock has spent years researching the effects of television on families, and her information is thorough and fascinating. In 1999, Barbara set out to survey t.v.-free families to see how living without the television had affected their lives. She put out some small ads in national magazines and was flooded with responses. Over 500 families wished to fill out her extensive survey, happy to share their personal stories. Later, hundreds more families agreed to turn off their t.v.’s and relay their experiences. The result is this powerful book
What Barbara discovered were hundreds of families enjoying themselves, relaxing, taking up worthwhile pursuits. Their children had higher grades and weren’t pressured into wanting all the latest toys and video games. They spent more time outside, were healthier, talked to each other more than ever. And what’s more, the children simply were not interested in television and even complained after visiting their friends who wanted to sit in front of the box for hours.
We have a television, but funny thing is, no one really watches it. I can tell you from personal experience that not watching television has been one of our best decisions ever. When I was pregnant and about ready to have my son, I suddenly was repulsed by things I was seeing on television and didn’t want to watch. Call it nesting, hormones, whatever. But when we made our beautiful new bookshelves the focus of the living room and moved the television to the basement, no one was sorry to see it banished. We do watch occasional DVDs and plan on having a select collection for viewing every now and then with our son, but television no longer plays a role in our daily lives. Because of this, we do spend a lot of time talking, reading and blogging about it, taking walks, and just plain living. I could only nod my head in agreement throughout my reading of Living Outside the Box. Barbara Brock certainly has a noble cause in helping families go t.v. free, and I can do nothing but applaud her.
Each April, National TV-Turnoff Week comes around, and this year it’s April 21 - 27. Want to give it a go?
To help you prepare, I have one free copy of Living Outside the Box to give away. There are three ways you can enter. 1.) Subscribe to this blog to be automatically entered into this and all future giveaways here at dkMommy Spot. 2.) Leave a comment telling me about your family’s television watching habits and what you’d like to change. 3.) Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. OR you can do all three and have three entries! I’ll draw a winner at random on April 2, 2008, 12noon EST.
An interesting blog: While doing research for this post, I came across a great blog called Unplug Your Kids. Hop on over and take a look to see how this mom keeps her kids busy without the t.v.!
March 29th, 2008 at 9:49 am
[...] admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThis is the purpose of Barbara Brock’s book Living Outside the Box - TV-Free Families Share Their Secrets. Barbara Brock has spent years researching the effects of television on families, and her information is thorough and fascinating. … [...]
March 29th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I would like to read this and then pass it along for my 5-year-old grandson and his mother. He is permitted to spend way to much time zoned out in front of the TV. I would like to see him spend more time playing outside, doing art work (for which he has a talent) and reading.
March 29th, 2008 at 10:22 am
we have 4 tvs everybody goes to their own to watch what they want.i would like to spend more time together as a family
March 29th, 2008 at 10:30 am
oh how i would love to live out side the box thanks jenny9675309*Y@H**d$T(om
March 29th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Nice prize.
March 29th, 2008 at 11:14 am
we do not have a tv and it is great! we have so much more time to spend together and get things done around our home.
March 29th, 2008 at 11:46 am
TV in our house is pretty reasonable, but it’s hard to find things keep everyone amused when they’re not watching it.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I stopped watching TV over two years ago and just started watching DVD movies once a month. My husband just keeps the TV on in the background.
March 29th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Hi Diane, Great post! I would LOVE to be an unplugged family - at least mostly unplugged. We only have one TV, but it varies day to day how much the kids watch - some days it’s all they want to do, and some days they just aren’t interested. I am looking forward to the turn your tv off week so we can try experimenting with just videos, or something. I really dislike all the marketing aimed at kids during the kids shows, and I also worry about the amount of tv my two younger children are going to be exposed to - my oldest didn’t really watch until he was at least 3 or so!
March 29th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
We watch way too much tv here and I would like to change that.
March 29th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
The thing that bothers me the most is rather selfish! It bugs me when my husband falls asleep on the couch and a used car infomercial comes on full blast. I figure he is getting brainwashed in his sleep!
March 29th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
When my kids were little they were not allowed to watch TV Monday-Thursday so now I only watch TV maybe once a week (TIVO)
March 29th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
We mostly watch sports and quiz shows on tv
March 29th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
[...] Where: dkMommy Spot [...]
March 29th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
We limit tv to 4 hours a day, but I would really like to cut it out completely.
March 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
We try to limit the television as much as we can, especially since our girls are still quite young (ages 2 &3). They watch about an 40 minutes to an hour in the morning (two shows) and sometimes another 30 minutes in the afternoon. That’s it for them! My husband and I do not watch television that much anymore, but will turn it on once the girls are asleep.
Great post!
March 29th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
PLEASE enter me in this contest! I was very interested in your post. I’ve thought of this many times and know it would greatly benefit my children. I know it sounds terrible and selfish…but I enjoy TV A LOT! I grew up always having it on — even if we weren’t watching it the tv would be on as background noice. That is essentially the way it has continued into my adult life…on from morning until night. I’ll often have a cable news channel on if the kids aren’t around…but something is almost always on and I can’t imagine it, honestly, not being like that. I think it would be a harder habit for me than anyone…and would love to read this to help me cut it out, and get the tv to not be the same kind of force for my daughters. The shows they watch are all appropriate to their age…but they simply know too many of them and spend too much time with it event though I do limit it. Please count me in…hoping to do everything I can to make a change here. This topic really impacted me and gave me more to think about on this topic once again!
March 29th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
we watch way too much tv
March 29th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
We have 5 rooms with 5 televisions.everyone watches their preferred channel.I will not judge if this is right or wrong.Who knows?For certain.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I would like to see us limit our tv viewing time
March 29th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I would like to get this book and leave it with my dad…on the TV table.
March 29th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I would love to read this
March 29th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
We’ve turned the TV off for periods of time and we were all much happier and did more interactive things together. I’m hoping to talk my hubby into it again soon. Maybe this time it can stay off.
March 29th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Happy Saturday! I have heard of the no tv day. Thanks for letting me know the date this year. Actually, both of my sons are heavily into baseball and don’t watch television. I think the tv has been taken over by Sirius Radio and video games. Once my boys are finished with baseball practices/games, there is homework to do. I belong to your feed and would love to be entered in your book drawing. My niece needs to read it because her two young children are constantly watching tv and dvds. Thanks, Cindi
March 29th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
we watch way too much tv, especially weekday evenings, and would love to find a way to stop
March 29th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
This is a great idea… when my kids aren’t allowed to watch tv they get along better, are less manic, and all over much happier kids… I need to have our tv removed the house to keep it this way. I highly suggest the book Last Child in the Woods (I don’t remember the author’s name) but it is incredible and is a fabulous reminder why we need to unplug the tv and send the kids outside to play in their free time.
Thanks for a great giveaway!!
Marissa
March 29th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Our problem is simply TOO much TV> It’s on even when no one is really watching.
March 29th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
we’ve turned off the cable - now how do I get them off the computer?
March 29th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
I watch too much TV but when my first husband and I separated, he took our only TV and I never missed it…….
Please enter me in the drawing. Thanks!
Ginnie
March 29th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I am a self-confessed TV addict. Ever since we got DVR it has gotten worse. I usually look forward to the summer break but since the writer’s strike I fear that my habit will be a year round one.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to get rid of our TV entirely, or at least downscale it and move it to a less prominent spot in our house. But I don’t know how to handle the fallout from my family; they’re only happy if it constantly drones.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Our watching habits. Well I think my wife and I do Ok. The kids to ok, they really do not watch much TV, if any, at all. And that it not all good. I would like to see them watch the news and informative talk shows by journalist. This way it would help them keep up with current events and what is going on in the world and their own environment.
March 29th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
we watch way to late and way too long
March 30th, 2008 at 12:22 am
too much but too good
March 30th, 2008 at 12:42 am
we probably watch to much t.v.
March 30th, 2008 at 6:48 am
I see from other posts that I’m not the only “guilty mom” here. It’s just my son and I, but I have to admit that the TV is usually on more for MY use than his. I’d love to try and change that a bit. and would be interesting in giving it a read.
Now, if I could find something to get my son away from in front of the computer so much!
March 30th, 2008 at 6:54 am
We use TV as a time filler…we need to do other more productive things…exercise, help others, read–and for the kids–help mom around the house a bit more
Thanks for great contest
March 30th, 2008 at 6:58 am
trying to cut back, but it is so addictive
March 30th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Count me in…and I’ll link to you since my readers probably share your disdain for TV. I am pretty sure my family could survive without all TV EXCEPT sports.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Sounds like a great book. I think that my box is the computer monitor.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:16 am
sounds great
March 30th, 2008 at 9:52 am
We have two tv’s and rarely watch either of them.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Just say no to the cathode ray
March 30th, 2008 at 11:47 am
We watch far too much television for our own good - this book should be helpful!
March 30th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I think I watch more “traditional” TV than anyone else in my household—but my husband watches movies on his portable DVD player, and my 12-year-old spends much of his time on the computer, playing games over the internet with his friends. So “no TV” in my house wouldn’t get my son away from his flickering lights. Maybe “screen time” is more to the point here…..
March 30th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I use the TV as a “babysitter” when I have to get dinner cooked and the kids are too crazy. We don’t watch much, but I’d love to be able to find something just as calming that they could all do while I’m busy.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
We watch entirely too much tv at our house.
March 30th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
My kids love to watch TV, I would love to get them away from it more and doing other things. During the summer it’s easy because our condo has a pool which they love, but during the winter, it seems to be the only thing they do. I would really love some fun ideas for winter fun!
March 30th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
We don’t get any TV reception, which makes it easy to limit viewing. But we watch quite a few DVD’s on the weekend and sometimes a couple TV shows online.
March 30th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
We watch very little tv. I’d love this book!
March 30th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
When I was growing up I watched a lot of television, but we did have “no-TV weeks” that my parents set up. Those gave us a chance to play outside and do activities with each other. I watch a lot of television now, but I don’t have kids to think about. I am very curious about strategies that families have for tv-free households, and what effect that has on childhood literacy, and would love to win this book.
March 30th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
We probably watch more tv than we should. I would love to read this book!
March 30th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Everyone in my family watches something different. But the only shows that we all watch together are quiz shows and hockey games.
March 30th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I dont watch that much tv.. other than bones and ocassionally csi!
I blogged your contest to prizeatron!
http://www.prizeatron.com
March 30th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Unfortunately, we watch way too much TV. We need to change.
March 30th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
This looks like a really interesting book, we also watch way too much television and it would be great to read about about another family’s experiences without it. Thanks for the chance!
March 30th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Did no TV for 2 years and it was wonderful for my daughter - she developed many talents and interests during this time which has developed her character!
March 30th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
We have gone without cable in our house during the summers to encourage our kids to play outside, but I would love to take it one step further and go completely TV free.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
my son recites commercials. help!
March 30th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
My husband and I have a young daughter and we are used to automatically turning on the tv when we are home. So, it is always on! We have noticed our daughter watching tv and getting upset when we block it even though she is too young to understand what they are saying. Off and on we have talked about getting rid of the tv because we knew a couple that raised their children without one and we like the idea. But, it never gets done! I don’t want a tv addicted vegetable for a daughter! This might help! Thanks!
March 30th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Wow!! Count me in! I’m always looking for new and creative ideas to occupy my daughter. I think we watch too much TV, but compared to other families we know it’s not as bad as I think. I actually spend a lot of time painting, drawing, coloring, and sculpting with my daughter. It’s a lot easier to get away from the TV in the spring when we can go outside and play.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Living outside the box. This book sounds unique. Thanks for the giveaway.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I wish we didn’t watch so much. I would prefer the TV not to be in my step-daughters’ room. If we had this book I may be able to tear them away.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:31 am
Our family constantly just listens to it for background noise. And when we’re bored, it’s the net or TV.
I’d like to make more time for our family to spend time together without the boobtube or boobnet.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:07 am
we watch way too much tv
March 31st, 2008 at 10:48 am
we got rid of our tv for about 5 years and it was great - too bad it didn’t stay that way…
March 31st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Our tv is on constantly. Would love to break the habit…
March 31st, 2008 at 6:08 pm
not how much you watch what you watch
March 31st, 2008 at 6:08 pm
you control the tv
March 31st, 2008 at 6:09 pm
TV has done wonders for our communitations
March 31st, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I can live with it or without it
March 31st, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Count us in! We’ve been living without tv for about 4 years now, but could always use more ideas of what to do!
March 31st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I would like us to watch less TV and what we do watch I would prefer it be shows we could watch as a family.
April 1st, 2008 at 6:40 am
Watching tv is a bad habit of mine and my 3 yr old is catching on. I need some guidelines to make changes. Help me.
Thanks
April 1st, 2008 at 9:15 am
I recently got rid of satellite TV about four months ago, mainly to save money. Now all I can get only four stations with the “rabbit ears.” I really don’t miss it that much. I certainly can use the extra money I used to spend on satellite.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I’m subscribing, I’m posting a link to your contest in today’s update at http://www.powersweepstaking.com/BrowseSweepstakes/onetimeentry/, and about our television habits, well it’s usually everyone gathers around every night for one movie, kinda nice having movie night every night with the family. Wouldn’t change a thing!
April 1st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
The tv is always on when the kids are home. Sometimes they watch it, but mostly the just like the noise coming out of the box! I would nice to spend some time with them playing board games, but it is almost impossible to get them away from the tube!
April 1st, 2008 at 3:38 pm
tv is ok for me .
April 1st, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Great contest, great concept.
My family has a love/hate relationship with the tv. We have actually gone tv free before for months, and then we’d plug back in for awhile. This is an ongoing cycle. Actually, I just recently put the tv back on after months without it. Luckily I don’t watch it as much as I used to, but my kids are another story, lol. I would love to hear about how other parents handle having a tv free lifestyle long term, as I have only been able to unplug for a few months at a time before going back. Great blog article.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:29 pm
We do not watch television.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I’m addicted to reality tv. I watch it every single day. I’d like to be able to go without tv but I would have to have a game plan to fill those hours of the evening when I’m decompressing in front of the tv.
PS. I subscribed to your newsletter.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I would love to cut back on tv time at our house!
April 1st, 2008 at 9:36 pm
We have a bad habit of always having the TV on in the background while doing other things like working, etc. Hoping to change that this summer!
April 1st, 2008 at 11:01 pm
WOW your site rocks!!!
April 1st, 2008 at 11:13 pm
[...] the book Living Outside the Box: TV-Free Families Share Their Secrets by Barbara Brock. Please read Diane’s review of this very interesting-sounding book, which is based on a 1999 study of over 500 TV-free [...]
April 1st, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Hi Diane,
I am so behind from having been away, but I wanted to write a post about your giveaway - so it is up now (better late than never, right?). Thanks for your mention of Unplug Your Kids. Your blog is great and I just added you to my blogroll!
(You don’t have to enter me in your contest, I just wanted to comment to let you know about my very late post!!)
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:01 am
This book sounds great! I would love to win a copy. Definitely subscribing also!
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:11 am
Ahhh t.v. we have one but it’s not plugged in most of the time. It’s only used 1-2 a month for a movie night with the kids. I do wish I could be a bit more free of my computer… but the kids don’t play. We love our life to much to waste it!
Thanks for doing a give away!
:0)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:28 am
I have a reality tv habit, and my daughter can watch a whole marathon of Hannah Montana. I could really use some clarity and perspective.
I’d love to read this book and try modifying my behavior.
It would be refreshing to go to the beach instead of watching people go to the beach on TV.
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 am
We used to be pretty much TV free. My kids would watch PBS once in a while and certain VHS movies back then. Somehow, once my husband got cable…it seems like everybody wants their turn at watching TV. It is funny you bring up this subject, because just a couple of weeks ago…I started limiting hours on TV, Gaming, and computers again. Each child has a timer with their name on it. They get 30 minutes and then time to pull out the legos, k’nex, etc and find something better to do. Even my teens start doing a lot more creative pursuits when limited to the computer. I would LOVE to read this book and find out how to implement this more effectively into our lives. Thank you so much and blessings to you, Julianne
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:00 am
What a neat book! We generally don’t turn our television on until the evening and then the kids are allowed to watch animal or national geographic kids programs for about an hour. This is usually in the wintertime but with the days getting longer and warmer we are spending more time outdoors so quite often we don’t watch at all. I would love to get rid of the tv all together but my husband still has a minor attachment to it *grin*
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:22 am
My family likes to watch a lot of reality tv and sports, and I wish they would watch more educational shows.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:06 am
I am really interested in reading this! I am working on un-plugging my family.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:30 am
What a wonderful giveaway; for those who even want to get outsde of the box before the initiation of living outside of the walls of the box
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 am
please enter me i watch too much tv
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:00 am
I’m a teacher who watches TV as I correct papers. The males in the house limit most of their time to watching sports and ESPN.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
My 5 yo is SO entertained by animated movies that he’d love to watch them all day, every day. We don’t watch that much actual TV but the DVDs are taking over!
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:31 am
Thanks for the chance! Maybe this will be the boost I need to finally cut down (or out) my children’s tv watching!
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:00 am
HI! This is just what I’m looking for! I’ve recently cut nearly all the television out of my family’s lives and I need some ideas on how to keep them busy…and happy. You can only clean your room so many times:)
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:53 am
I would love to get rid of the tv all together my children watch it way too much
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:15 pm
We are almost TV free. At about nine every night my husband bounces channels looking for something to watch. He ends up watching part of this and part of that. At ten he turns it off. The book sounds great!
April 2nd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I would like to read this and then pass it along .
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I think this is a great cause. Last year my library sponsored events for Turn off the TV week, and we decided in our house to watch less tv. The results are great- my children are doing well in school, they suffer from less “gimmes” and our house doesn’t have the extra racket in the background. I wish every family would give this a try. Now, if every parent could teach their child to love learning…
April 2nd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
books rule
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:55 pm
We have 3 tv’s for a family of 4. Husband and kids watch their own programs and I prefer to be on the internet. I often have wondered if this is how it is gonna be. Growing up we had 1 tv and it wasn’t even that important. Now we can’t live without all this information, but I long for those carefree days, when we didn’t know about drugs, pedophiles and violence. Also as a mother of a 10 year old, I am so overwhelmed with the amount of sex and sexual talk on tv. It doesn’t matter if it’s The Simpsons or reruns of Raymond you can’t get away from it no matter how much you monitor it. What a great idea, I will make an effort to turn off the TV.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:09 am
When my youngest of four sons was in 1st grade the teacher asked me how I got such smart kids. I said “they watch a lot of TV” At 29,27,23 and 16 they are 1)working in Intelligence in the U.S. military fluent in Chinese, 2) valedictorian of his high school class, graduated magna cum laude from an Ivy League school and a stockbroker, 3) Dean’s list at a top 50 university and working on the Magnificant mile in advertising in Chicago and the 4) straight A’ in an all Honors program at a private school and scores in the 99% on everything. Planning on being an attorney. I watch TV. It helps me know what is going on inthe world good and bad. We also read alot, work out, make faith and friends and family important. I LOVE watching American idol
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:59 am
I have a tv, but I don’t watch it much. There are alot of negative influences on tv. I am limiting more and more how much tv the kids watch, and I have always been selective about what they watch.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:35 am
It sounds like a great book. We’ve been married 12 years and have been tv free for 10 of them. I can’t imagine going back to that time waster. The thing that bothers me is that instead of disliking TV my kids watch it every chance they get when they are at other people’s houses. Hopefully they will appreciate what we’ve done for them when they’re older. Since we home school they spend many hours a day reading and playing outside. I can’t imagine a better childhood.
April 19th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Reading more and watching less television; what a concept! I always thought I could live without mine.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Well, it sounds really exciting for me!
July 20th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Hello. I think you are eactly thinking like Sukrat. I really loved the post.