Goodbye Cable T.V. Hello life!!!

So this is my small rant about cable, first of all it really chaps my hide that when they say $119 for the bundle which includes phone, internet and cable they really mean it starts there and the cost raises up every 6 months and they don't even let you know!!!  One of my biggest things is the principle, I say it all the time to my husband...  He say's let it go Mel, I say it's the principle...  I don't understand how in this economy and with so many people on fixed incomes, how it seems  appropriate for a cable company to have the right to change the prices so often with out even letting you know!!!  I read this recently and it summed it all up for me:

"There will always be an increase in cable bills," said Miller Tabak & Co. media analyst David Joyce. "Times are changing and providers have to make up losses somewhere, so consumers bear the brunt of it...  

oh Great!!!!!!  

For us by the time we hooked up our new cable in our newest place which cost $40 ummm that is absurd you didn't lug anything here you showed up and ran a cord for a good customer of 5 years...  Why am I paying $40 for me to keep being your customer?  But back to my point $40 to transfer, $119 a month, $10 a box which we had 2 and another $10 for DVR and $10 bones a month for a wireless router rental made keeping our cable almost $200 bucks.  That is an insane amount to pay to be killing your brain. ;) Before getting married I didn't have cable.  Never watched T.V. much.  I wanted to be outside hanging out, I  might watch a movie here and there but my T.V. was a small piece of crap that I had and still have from high school... Enter my husband, who requested upon moving into my  little downtown apartment that he must have cable!  So I called comcast and got the cable ball rolling...  To be honest for a awhile I was hooked.  Especially after having my first daughter and staying home, I loved the food network and all those DIY shows, animal planet, HBO!!!!.   Project runway, and not going to lie I dabbled in a little housewives and rachel zoe.  Oh my, so much!!!!  After being annoyed by the cost and the incovience of the Davis Comcast going down all the time,  I am happy to say I am a recovering housewive watcher and currently I am off the cable wagon. 

 We have decided that  we are going to go a year without cable!  That means some movies and a little internet and lots of learning new things, creating and reading for the Jones family!  But no more T.V.  There was a sweet family I talked to at one of my playgroups that had no T.V.  I remember thinking, holy crap if I didn't have the ability to put the sprout channel on for my 4 year old in the morining until I had my tea I would just die.  But now I have to say it is worth it.   We talk and dance and make breakfast together and I really get to listen...  At night I am noticing that us reading and eating dinner at the dinner table all together is extremely magical as well!!! There is a documentary out right now that I feel everyone should see.  After watching it and just being annoyed at my own dependency as well as the price I am a changed gal!!!  Here is the link for the documentary  /http://www.regeneration-themovie.com/ABOUT-TRAILER/


The waste of cable!!!

 E-waste is a huge problem, both in the United States and in other countries. Discarded e-waste such as electronics are dangerous, primarily because of the toxic substances they contain. Many people simply dump their e-waste items in a landfill without attempting to recycle them.

A few things that parents should know about letting children watch the tube too much:


More than 70 percent of children ages 8 to 18 have TVs in their bedrooms, according to the University of Michigan Health System. (What the Heck!!!!  That is soooo not happening in my household...  Never has and never will...  My Girls can be 16 years old asking for a T.V. in their rooms and I will still say absolutely not!!! 

Children ages 2 to 5 watched TV for more than 32 hours a week.  Now listen I don't know if this is true but you know what?  I sorta feel it is...  Going with my gut on this but I can say that I saw in my years of teaching first hand how many children I asked what they did during the weekend or what they like to do at home and they would all say " I like watching Dora!!!  Not playing outside with my dog, or riding my bike, or perhaps helping my mom around the house ;)

"The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study", the television study focused on the likely triggers of childhood aggression that often lead to problems later in life including juvenile delinquency, violence, and criminal behavior. Second only to music, television was found to be the element young children between birth and three years old are most exposed to during the early, sensitive years.

Parents who are addicted to the television themselves do not interact often enough with their children and are more likely to neglect proper discipline, resulting in increased negative behavior in their children. Children of these types of parents also tend not to read and play outside very much, engaging in far less positive development activities than children whose parents spend time with them and limit or eliminate their exposure to television.

Sheesh!!!  Please consider if not cutting it out completley cutting back a whole bunch!!!  Our children are our future, Whitney was on to something there.....  Books, art, music, science, games, cooking, sports, life!!!  Tread Lightly!!!