My opinion is basically this: tv and movies are of the devil. Just kidding (kind of).

In the Hanks’ household we do not watch TV. We did watch a couple shows for awhile, but now our TV exists only for one football game a week for my husband and for me to do my exercise videos. It was not always this way. Before Kevin and I were married, we were both addicted to the TV. This pretty much ended after a 40 day entertainment fast before the last presidential elections.  Our wedding fell in between that fast. If you’ve never done an entertainment fast, I encourage you to do one. If you watch TV at all, it will change your life. Seriously. It radically changed ours.

Our kids both love to read. They don’t know much else. They’ve never seen Sesame Street or any cartoons. Hadessah does see Veggie Tales movies when she’s at CEC (something I’m not crazy about, but it’s not worth getting offended about it), but that’s about the extent of it. We do watch the cross scene of the Gospel of John or Matthew the Visual Bible once in awhile (like once a month or every two months). I broke down and let my Aunt get her a Baby Noah DVD (Baby Einstein) but she’s only watched it 3 times. It’s a once a month thing as well. So, I guess we’re kind of strict when it comes to TV/movie watching. Here’s why…

I want our children to be able to sit before God, meditate on who He is and what He’s done for them, and listen for that small still voice. Movies, even Christian ones, have scenes that flash back and forth at a rapid pace. The lighting switches erratically. All because we have to keep these kids entertained or we’ll lose their interest.  Well, I don’t want my kids to be entertained. I want them to be fascinated with Jesus and nothing less. I don’t want idols of Clifford, or even Bob the Tomatoe to surface in their hearts. I feel like in some way we are creating this ADD culture through media. Not entirely of course. But it certainly is not helping. When you watch it a lot, you become desensitized to it. If you’re used to being entertained, it’s very hard to sit quietly before the Lord. It’s hard to hear His voice. I want to make a way for my kids not to struggle through that.

Will I ever allow them to watch TV or movies? Yes. Will it be part of their daily routine? Not likely. I understand moms who just need a shower. They pop in a movie because for goodness sakes, they need just a couple minutes of a break. Understandable. I need a break sometimes too. I just don’t take it by popping in a movie. When  my kids get older, I will allow an occasional movie, but we’ve decided to be strict about that too. Watching a movie will mean writing a short report for mom and dad about what values that movie was portraying and how they line up with the Word of God. Verses included. That probably sounds way over the top, but I want my children to not be dubbed into believing what the culture is telling them with out a second thought. Even Disney movies are selling something contrary to the Word of God in many cases.

Even Veggie Tales? I won’t let my kids watch Veggie Tales? Hey, I love Veggie Tales. I like watching them. I have many of them memorized from back in the day. In College I even dressed up as Larry for a variety show thing. I have a Jr. doll. I love them! But if my kids watch an episode of them, I would need to sit down with them and go over what the Bible actually says in that story, as they are dumbed down and injected with humor for the sake of…. ENTERTAINMENT.  Also, I want to be careful with them as, with the emphasis on fun, the fear of the Lord is lost in many of the stories. Take Jonah and the Big Fish… that’s a serious story with serious implications. Jesus referred to his resurrection as the sign of Jonah. The story is about Him as well. When we teach kids to laugh about it with out backing it up with true Bible, we’re robbing them of the fear of the Lord and the true knowledge of God.

What I’m saying is not to never let your kids watch any tv or movies, but to evaluate everything -EVERYTHING- by the Word of God. If they do watch something, talk to them about the values it portrays and how they line up with The Word.  You are your child’s first teacher, not the TV. Not the media.

As for the Hanks’ household, we’re sticking with books for now.