thank goodness for no TV

With the holidays just around the corner, I feel blessed to have given up television over two years ago. I remember how thick they lay on the advertisements as soon as Thanksgiving ends. I have no doubt in my mind that my kids would be constantly nagging me about all of the new toys that they would want if they were seeing them on TV every 30 seconds - the iPods, cellphones, Pixar movies, animatronic plush animals or concert tickets for some moronic Puffi Ami Yumi or Hannah Montana tour.

So many parents whine and moan that they have no choice but to spoil their children, but I don't buy that. Simply eliminating the influence of the media on your children as much as possible can help. I'm sure that as my children get older, they'll still be roped into watching television at their friends' homes, but at least for now I don't have to worry about my kids feeling like they are being short-changed because they don't have their own cellphone by the age of ten.