By Andrew Cengiz
In February 2011 Gina and I decided to get rid of our TV. Why? Gina wasn’t a minimalist yet so that’s not it. It was because in January of 2011 our first child, Belle, was born. We quickly realized that there were many precious moments that we were missing because every evening our attention was hypnotically fixed on the TV. Because this was our first child and she was so new we had an Aerosmith-esque, new parent, “Don't wanna miss a thing” thing going on. So we did the same thing that most people do when their first child is born: we got rid of our TV. And it was depressing.
Right when we got rid of the TV I felt a huge void in my soul. What were we thinking?! This was insane! For about two weeks I was slightly depressed and even more bored. I wanted to watch my evening shows when I got off work. I wanted to play my videos games, especially my retro console that let me play all the Nintendo classics like Mario 3 and Contra. I wanted to unwind! But then something started to happen. I’d get home from work and Gina and I would sit together in our living room with our two-month old, Belle, and we would spend time together. Lots of time. Sure at first it was not exactly exciting. There’s only so much a two-month old can do in terms of mobility and communication. Plus she’d sleep a lot so a lot of the time it was just me and Gina taking turns holding a sleeping baby. We’d sit and just watch Belle. We’d interact with her more. Pretty soon this filled the void that was left by my precious TV. Pretty soon my life started to have more meaning. And as Belle started to grow and was able to do more things I was more prepared to see them and appreciate them.
And that has been our story ever since. We sit in our living room in the evening and enjoy each others company. Yes, there’s been school, apartment fires, vacations to or even a video or photo we HAD to capture and post to Instagram which interrupted our regularly scheduled program, but for the most part it has been the rule.
Now that’s not to say we don’t watch any shows, we do. We’ve completely embraced the digital age. We have our iPhones, our iPads, and our iMac. When Belle is asleep Gina and I will read scriptures and pray together and talk about the day but then we’ll watch an episode or two (or 5) of whatever show we happen to be in the middle of binge watching. We check our emails and social media accounts occasionally throughout the day. Saturdays are even Belle’s “show day” - when she gets to watch all her favorite shows (some of which are my least favorite shows such as anything that has to do with Tinkerbell) But during the evenings, about 4pm and 8pm, is sacred family time.
Here’s the challenge: Go one week where you don’t watch any tv or play with any digital devices between 4pm and 8pm. Listening to music together is fine. We often play records and have “dance parties”. When you’re done, let everyone know how it went. Or, if this is already what you do in your family, what things do you do together; what has been your experience?
In February 2011 Gina and I decided to get rid of our TV. Why? Gina wasn’t a minimalist yet so that’s not it. It was because in January of 2011 our first child, Belle, was born. We quickly realized that there were many precious moments that we were missing because every evening our attention was hypnotically fixed on the TV. Because this was our first child and she was so new we had an Aerosmith-esque, new parent, “Don't wanna miss a thing” thing going on. So we did the same thing that most people do when their first child is born: we got rid of our TV. And it was depressing.
Right when we got rid of the TV I felt a huge void in my soul. What were we thinking?! This was insane! For about two weeks I was slightly depressed and even more bored. I wanted to watch my evening shows when I got off work. I wanted to play my videos games, especially my retro console that let me play all the Nintendo classics like Mario 3 and Contra. I wanted to unwind! But then something started to happen. I’d get home from work and Gina and I would sit together in our living room with our two-month old, Belle, and we would spend time together. Lots of time. Sure at first it was not exactly exciting. There’s only so much a two-month old can do in terms of mobility and communication. Plus she’d sleep a lot so a lot of the time it was just me and Gina taking turns holding a sleeping baby. We’d sit and just watch Belle. We’d interact with her more. Pretty soon this filled the void that was left by my precious TV. Pretty soon my life started to have more meaning. And as Belle started to grow and was able to do more things I was more prepared to see them and appreciate them.
And that has been our story ever since. We sit in our living room in the evening and enjoy each others company. Yes, there’s been school, apartment fires, vacations to or even a video or photo we HAD to capture and post to Instagram which interrupted our regularly scheduled program, but for the most part it has been the rule.
Now that’s not to say we don’t watch any shows, we do. We’ve completely embraced the digital age. We have our iPhones, our iPads, and our iMac. When Belle is asleep Gina and I will read scriptures and pray together and talk about the day but then we’ll watch an episode or two (or 5) of whatever show we happen to be in the middle of binge watching. We check our emails and social media accounts occasionally throughout the day. Saturdays are even Belle’s “show day” - when she gets to watch all her favorite shows (some of which are my least favorite shows such as anything that has to do with Tinkerbell) But during the evenings, about 4pm and 8pm, is sacred family time.
Here’s the challenge: Go one week where you don’t watch any tv or play with any digital devices between 4pm and 8pm. Listening to music together is fine. We often play records and have “dance parties”. When you’re done, let everyone know how it went. Or, if this is already what you do in your family, what things do you do together; what has been your experience?