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Blog Entry 1 of 2 Margie's Musings
You might find a movie or book review here, or a life event. You might find out how a wife, mother, or teacher thinks. You might also find a restaurant tip or a trip summary. The sky's the limit.

Blog Url: http://buffalo.yourhub.com/~MargiesBrain

TV-Totin' SUVs
Contributed by: Margie Herberger   on 11/29/2006

Made the 11-hour trip from Buffalo to Charlotte this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with my daughter, now married and in her new home. From here to there, the roads provided continuous reminders of how many New Yorkers are moving to North Carolina--NY licenses everywhere. More evidence of our local economic reality. But I don't want to discuss that topic. It's been done and re-done.
I want to talk about TVs-in cars, that is. We passed several SUVs with TV-watching children in the back seats. I am repulsed by these. Mind you, I raised my children back in the 1980s. There were no TV-toting cars in those days. We entertained our children using our wits. And while I don't suppose we were as thrilling as "Happy Feet", our kids somehow made do. We sang together, looked for out-of-state licenses, shared snacks, looked out the windows, and held actual conversations.
"Tell me a story, Mommy," was an oft-heard request to spend the rest of the trip riding backward, facing a child, (risking nausea) or curled up in the back seat, paging through the tower of books we had brought along, with a child getting comfy in the crook of my arm.
Oh my, did I really refer to such non-activities? Non-programmed, no HD-TV or Surround-Sound? How would the children of today cope?
Well, let's see. They would see (instead of miss) the following: planes, which then lead to wondering about where they're headed; the sky, which leads to questions about clouds and weather, or just imagining about the shapes and colors occurring. They'd see homes of all shapes, sizes, colors, filled with obvious care or neglect, yards littered with old machines or neatly pruned with flowerbeds. Who lives there? How are their lives different? How do people in the country get used to the long distances between them and the nearest grocery store? Where do they work, or go to school?
There are trees to be categorized, Virginia creeper to regard with amazement, choking out all other growth, mountains lending their shades of purple to the horizon. And what about those sunsets? Are those actual stars out there-there's Orion's belt! Is that the Big Dipper?
Why ignore the potential for learning, just outside the window? And why trade those thought-provoking views for an electronic feed that may satisfy like junk food, but contains no real nourishment? Our TV'd children are losing their imaginations to Hollywood's formulated messages. They're being programmed.
There's a whole, real world out there. Don't let your kids miss it.


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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
Submitted By: Nancy Eckerson
posted on 12/1/2006 @ 11:36:18 AM
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...and I remember playing "ownership" with my older brother as we traveled by car to Massachusetts for holidays. Whatever was out your window, you owned! He was very smart, though, and always claimed the right side--the Beech-Nut Life Savers and Gum side.
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Submitted By: Amy Frontuto
posted on 11/30/2006 @ 5:42:55 PM
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I think that on short trips, TVs are inappropriate, but I think that if you're making a long drive - 10 hours or more - it takes the stress off of parents who are trying to concentrate on driving, especially single parents. I went on trips with my parents as a child, and while my brother and I could entertain ourselves for awhile, by the third hour or so, we needed a break from each other. I don't think that eliminating TVs entirely is the way to go. Maybe just limit how long kids watch them.
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Submitted By: Benjamin Kirst
posted on 11/30/2006 @ 8:18:12 AM
Rated Blog Entry
i remember i had a little sticker book that let you paste the license of a state into a little box when you spotted it on the highway...i think my brother and sister and i got up to 37 of the 50 states. i think it is sad that kids are losing that kind of bonding - the kind that comes when you are forced to share the backseat of a ford escort on a four-hour road trip and you have to learn to get along somehow.
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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
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CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Margie Herberger

williamsville , NY

Margie Herberger has posted 2 blog entries and 1 comment since joining on 11/27/2006. Margie Herberger 's average blog rating is 5.
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