(Updated at end)
I attended many seminars last weekend at the homeschool convention, and one that really stuck with me was titled “Life Transforming Literature and Character.” The speaker was Mark Hamby, who is behind Lamplighter Publishing. This is a company that has found old and rare books which are out of print, and yet tell wonderful character building stories that emphasize faith, forgiveness, and redemption. They then get the rights to these classics and redistribute them, making them accessible to the general public. As a business, I think it’s brilliant. As a mom who wants her children to be inspired by great literature, I’m ecstatic.
One of the things that Mark mentioned in his talk is a program that is being promoted by many churches. He will speaking at length about this in a radio interview that he taped for “Family Life Today,” to be aired in July. It is titled “Turn the light on, and turn the TV off.” August 1st will begin a 30 day challenge in which members are encouraged to turn off the TV, and pick up a good book instead.
Immediately, my palms got sweaty. Couldn’t hold the pencil. I began to think about how much TV we watch in our house. I really think that I could go without watching any TV for 30 days, but that’s only because the season of “Lost” and “24” has wrapped up. But what about my kids? I shamefully admit that the TV is my greatest ally and cheap babysitter when trying to get something accomplished. Or when I need to separate bickering sisters. Or get a 2 year old to stop tearing the house apart. Or I just need a little peace and quiet.
But at what cost? Mark Hamby went on to talk about this generation of children being raised by the television. I had duped myself into believing that because my children were only watching PBS, or carefully selected DVDs, they would not be harmed. But statistics show that our kids are spending too much time in the front of the tube. This is fast becoming a generation of overweight and under stimulated individuals.
Now, I’m no expert. In fact, here’s the vast sum of my knowledge on the subject.
(Cue the crickets.)
Nothing.
I’ve just had my mommy antennae up and have been listening to researchers recently that are telling me what prolonged exposure to television can cause. I am certain that my kids watch too much TV. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been really limiting what they watch. And encouraging more free play, and reading time. And the emphasis is on reading. I’m going to be adding more character building literature into their little library. Right next to “Barbie Meets Ken at the Ice Skating Rink.” My goal is to get to a point, where it is a rare event in our house that the television is on. I know, I’m frightening even myself.
I use to love to read. And somewhere along the line, the titles of the books that grace my night stand all have to do with “How To Be A Mommy And Not Jump Off A Cliff.” Therefore, I’m committed to reading good character building literature as well. My favorite books include the classics, like “Jane Eyre”. As usual, I’m way out of step with the trend. Some of my favorite bloggers, like Callapidder Days and Boomama, have been promoting reading in the last couple of months. And I’m just now getting with the program. I should probably throw out all my old LPs and 45s as well. And those hideous shoulder pads.
I’ll step down off my soap box now, and go find my reading glasses. What is some of your favorite classic literature? (Both children’s and adult books.)
Many times, the reading of a book has made the future of a man.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Update: Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions! I’m making a list. And by the way, tonight we caught Emme up reading (wearing Fiddledaddy’s reading glasses) a chapter book. Now, granted it was “Girls Best Friend: Barbie Gets A Dog”, but still. We might have a little book worm on our hands!)
{ 28 comments }
We heard a sermon about this Sunday. It was titled NOISE and encouraged us to spend more time with God and being quiet.
I enjoyed this post..Have a great day
I’m a closet Shakespeare addict! LOL Romeo and Juliet, Tempest, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and Taming the Shrew are at the top of my list!
I’m addicted to Jane Austen. I wish she had been more prolific, but I even have her unfinished manuscripts. I’ve read all of her work many times & will do so many more!!
My 8-year old daughter is a Harry Potter fanatic (is constantly picking them up to re-read them) and I have to admit that I’ve read them all.
My guilty sin is Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series and my favorite Christian author is Max Lucado. There are so many great books out there, but those are just a few of my favorites!
have you seen “books that build character” by william kilpatrick? i have it in my librarything list or you can check it out on amazon. the “honey for a child’s heart” by Gladys Hunt is great and she has a book for women too, but i’ve never read it.
Hi Fiddledeedee
Love the new look of your blog! Never thought you were a “Pink chick”!
I’m a closet bookworm. By that I mean there are about six or seven decent piles of books balanced on my closet-top awaiting my attention. There’s also a haphazard pile of books on my bedside table that have been threatening to topple over on me in one of my sleepless nights too… Am currently reading four great books. I’m a Bryce Courtenay fan in secular reading and a Max Lucado one in inspirational books. Have bunches of fave authors. But one of my favourites is definitely a certain “FDD” in blogworld. You have me hooked! I’m back everyday for a catchup! Keep blogging. By far one of the best writers I “know”. Haha!
We love Swiss Family Robinson as a read-aloud. Also The Phantom Tollbooth because it has such fun plays on words. Lots of others too but I haven’t had enough coffee yet so my brain is not cooperating
My church has been doing this for years–killing the tv for a month and cultivating beauty, whether it be through reading or gardening or writing or a personal challenge. We do it in April…before I arrived at the church, they used to take sledgehammers to tv’s but then they learned that that was more damaging to the environment so they stopped…:)
)
I am a tv-aholic, and i did cave, but i only watched 3-4 hours that whole month compared to my unknown hours in front of the tube.
it is refreshing….since the challenge, I haven’t watched as much as I used to…and am looking forward to resurrecting old loves and knocking things off my to-do list. it’s amazing how much time there is when you’re not sitting on the couch (though I’m sure you know that being a mom!
As a child I was addicted to the Little House series. I couldn’t wait to have kids so we could read them together. I also love the Anne of Green Gable series as a child or even now. I refuse to grow up!
My kids do enjoy the telly, but most of the time you will find them in their room curled up with a stack of books. They each have been in trouble at school for not doing their school work, but reading instead! I guess it coulda been worse ;o)
Love the pink stripes girl!
The tv was really my friend for a while, too… I had four kids in four and a half yrs and when they were little it really helped us all survive. I think there is some decent kids programming out there- they learned good stuff. And now that they are older (6-10), the only tv they watch is an occassional cooking show or redecorating on HGTV. They don’t even ask for it. They’ll watch a movie once or twice a week, maybe. So my advice-don’t feel guilty if your kids are enjoying a decent show or movie and you are enjoying some sanity! It will lessen as they get older. (The tv, not the sanity.)
Favorite books- we LOVE to read. I just read Angela Hunt and for Christian fiction, it wasn’t too fluffy. I like most of Jodi Picoult’s stuff and Anna Quindlen for modern authors. Don’t think you’d call them classic, though. Anne of Green Gables, Little House, Chronicles of Narnia all great read-alouds. My kids have loved those cheap abridged versions of the real classics. Hobby Lobby always has them here (Moby Dick, Gullivers Travels, Little Women, etc). My ultimate favorites as a kid that my oldest has also liked- Anne Frank, The Westing Game, and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Sorry my comment is so long… books… I could go on FOREVER. So consider yourself lucky I’m stopping now.
I wholeheartedly agree. I have wanted to do this for years. I want to also through out all the video games. However, you must have a hubby with the same mind set or you don’t go far…. Hugs!
Love to read. Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird are on my reading list at least once a year. I love Victorian literature (Thomas Hardy, Brontes, Nathaniel Hawthorne, etc.). I’m reading Charlotte’s Web to my kids right now and am planning on starting the Little House books next.
I used to love reading books. I just dont’ have time for them now between 7 kids, church, and blogging. Reading and housecleaning have had to go. And if it weren’t for the tv, I wouldn’t even get to blog. So the tv stays!
I wish I could get rid of all the video games, but really, they do give me some peaceful times when its raining. Or when its too hot or too cold. Or when I just want peace. They stay too.
I agree with a lot of the other authors & books mentioned, but one I didn’t see mentioned is Madeleine L’engle. She writes some pretty meaningful stuff.
A few of my (adult) favorites:
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
A World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester
Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Persuasion by Jane Austen
A few of my (young adult/childrens) favorites:
Skellig by David Almond
Bloody Jack by LA Meyer
The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Mandy by Julie Edwards
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
i do read a lot and i read to my kids a lot. my kids read and, and we watch a lot of tv. i think his talk would have made me sweat too. i don’t turn the tv on all day (unless my 2 year old wakes up too early and i have to entertain him while i sleep). but when my husband comes home the first thing he does is turn on the tv. it’s then on till bedtime. i watch all my shows (secretly) when everyone is sleeping. which explains why i’m so tired in the morning.
we love anne of green gables. we listened to it on audio in the car. my girls loved it. we also enjoyed frindle and alice in wonderland on audio.
Right now we’re reading Pagoo together. it is a tale of a hermit crab and it is a great book for little ones. It won some award, but I can’t remember which
I hear ya on the TV thing. It is hard to give it up when you’ve become accustomed to it. My kids watch pbs and “good shows” but even the good things are too much sometimes.
It’s so funny you brought this up. Just this weekend we had our satellite tv service suspended for a month and a half – just so we can have some “quiet” in our home. I’m probably the biggest addict in the family so just leaving it turned off wasn’t an option – I’d find any reason to turn it on. But this morning I went to the library and got all kinds of books for the kids and me – new crafts and skills to learn, lots of wonderful books to read. Good luck if you end up doing it. I’m really looking forward to seeing how much more we get done without the tv on all the time!
Oh I understand your pain! I went fo 12 weeks on a “fast” from ER and Law and Order (of ALL varieties!). This included the 3 days I was in the hospital and there was I swear a Law and Order channel where I could have watched it for 3 days straight. Right now, TV’s off. Kids are hanging on my arms while I’m trying to type, but the TV’s off!
Looking forward to a move to 5 acres, lots of room to play and little TV will be allowed! (Me too)
I have been a bookworm my whole life (started reading at age three), so I have lots of faves. I read Anne of Green Gables and Little Women every year. Sometimes I’ll get on a kick where I’ll read every Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte book in the library. I have read all the Harry Potter books twice, though I don’t reccomend them for young kids. We are currently reading Eragon aloud to our five year old, which he loves.
I am guilty of the tv babysitter thing too. I got us into a bad habit of watching the TLC shows while we wake up and eat breakfast, and I really don’t know how to get us out of it. Maybe I’ll try serving breakfast on the screened porch to ween them off their morning shows. It surprises me just how addicted they are to them… scares me too!
You can do this. TV is rare at our house and the boys find plenty of trouble, er, things to do without it. So do I. Hang tough.
First: We moved the tv out of the living room recently as no one was watchin git and it was too big. rachel can’t watch it at all–she has an mp3 player with free books I downloaded from online that she listens to almost 24/7 –it holds 10 hours of books. She likes reading but has a hard time with it because of dyslexia. The other two only watch dvd’s or videos on the werekend and watch youtube versions of their favorites after work is done during the week. (Thomas and Friends is almost all available plus plenty of my old favorites that I saved for them.)
We dropped cable 8 years ago and haven’t looked back since–befoere that I was sadly addicted to old mystery shows (like Matlock). The good news is that the shows everyone watches make it quickly to DVD–meaning that you can give up cable and rent only the shows you want to watch all in a season–which is how I watch Wonderfalls and Firefly and how hubby saw Sopranos. Netflix is a blessing.
Now on to books–the most amazing thing I found when we dropped the cable service was how very much time we had. Time for computer stuff, for games with the kids, for reading. The kids spend a lot of time outside or making messes in their rooms.
And all three enjoy a good book–we read at least a chapter of something and the Bible a day.
In fact, now that you mention it I have several lists of favorite books and authors in my archives:
A recent find not listed is Five Little Peppers and How they Grew, and the rest of the series. And if you find yourself needing entertainment so you can do something else, the library carries a plethora of books on cd and Storynory.com and project gutenburg both have audio versions of classic stories free to download and listen to, and livingbooksfortheears.com has classic radio shows each week that you can download for free. I find that these keep my kids just as entertained as videos, except that they also play while they listen instead of just staring. Oh, and Focus on the Family Radio Theatre has an incredible version of the NArnia stories that my kids own and have listened to till they have the stories memorized.
http://www.gracedbychrist.com/?p=321
http://www.gracedbychrist.com/?p=408
http://www.gracedbychrist.com/?p=356
and if you have a specific genre you prefer let me know–I read classics and quality new books but don’t ask about twaddle–we don’t have any.
Um… can you please tell me where I can get that “How to Be a Mommy and Not Jump Off a Cliff” book? I’m in need of something like that right now.
And I have to admit, as much as I love reading, and as much as I try to make reading a big part of the kids’ lives, I use the television too much as well. It helps me get dinner prepared and do important things like, um, shower. I try to be good and have it OFF for large chunks of the day, but I don’t always succeed.
Some classics I love- Any Jane Austen book, but especially “Persuasion” and “Pride and Prejudice.” I also love Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities.” and the Tolkien Trilogy if you’re looking for a little fantasy. If you’re in the mood for whodunits, then classic mystery novels of Shelock Holmes (by Arthur C. Doyle) and Agatha Christie novels are really good reads. (I love “Murder on the Orient Express” plus “And Then There Were None.”) If you’re in more of a downer mood, “Great Expectations” and “The Count of Monte Cristo” should be right up your ally.
And of course the all time best romance novel, “Gone with the Wind.” by Margaret Mitchell.
Older Children’s classics I cherish are “The Velveteen Rabbit”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “The Wind in the Willows”, “Treasure Island” and “The Chronicles of Narnia”
Wow, great post. I just blogged about the tube today myself. Not nearly as thoughtful and well written as yours, but we’re beginning the TV-free journey in our house.
http://alligirl1104.blogspot.com/2007/05/monster-in-our-living-room.html
i have been thinking about doing this…and actually go long periods in the summer….my parents lake house has no satellite or cable and gets 3 channels on a nice sunny day… so we dont watch much of anything when we go over there except disney movies….
i think i am going to check out some of the old boxcar children books from the library to read to the boys….
i dont see them appreciating my love for little house or GWTW or even are ya there god its me margaret?
superfudge might go over well here and at some point in the future id love to read the hardy boys and the like to them
right now making it thru good nite moon can be a major accomplishment particularly if we make it all the way thru without threats of spanking or pulling my hair out…..
steff
enjoying nosing around your site. Much fun. Great 100 things list. We are a homeschool family with 4 little monkeys and I agree that there are just times when I’ve had enough and the TV is a great little babysitter to peal them off of me for a little break.
Here are a few of my favorites books from various stages of childhood:
The Ordinary Princess
Luvvy and the Girls
The Little House series
Anne of Green Gables series
Little Women
The People of Pineapple Place
The Borrowers
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler
The Indian in the Cupboard
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Sarah, Plain and Tall
The entire Betsy-Tacy Series
All of a Kind Family
Swiss Family Robinson
The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Animal Farm
anything by EB White
B is for Betsy
most things by Roahl Dahl
Reading was my obsession as a little girl and I can’t wait to have a daughter someday, so I can force her to read all my old favorites!
TV viewing is one of those subjects I was very judgemental about BEFORE I became a mother. Now our son (who is only one!) watches Sesame Street every single day, at least once. I feel guilty about it, but I don’t know what I would do without it. I’m taking the summer off from classes, so I’ll be less overwhelmed and I’m thinking of trying to implement a tv-free summer. Or at least a tv-only-as-a-last-resort summer.
I was a total bookworm growing up and joined a book club after law school. Of course I had to drop out b/c who has time to read a novel a month with a full-time job and 2 kids under 3? But I miss it.
Favorites:
Anne of Green Gables
Little Women/Little Men
The Hobbit
The Power of One
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
The Indian In the Cupboard
The “Ramona Quimby” Series
The “Nancy Drew” Series
And not so much “character building” but some of my favorites:
Anything by Paula Danziger
Anything by Judy Blume
Babysitter’s Club Series
Sweet Valley High Series
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