Thursday, March 5, 2009

We Heart PBS

(Mr. Steve with my kiddos... and me because, well, C. just wasn't too sure about climbing on his lap!)

Our kids do not watch much television. I don't think it's evil or anything... I just also don't think it's necessary. And I think it is very unwise when parents choose to watch the shows THEY might enjoy while their children are still up and about (shows like CSI, ER, House, etc... good shows... just not kid shows).

What little TV our children do watch is limited solely to PBS. With a couple notable exceptions (Caillou comes to mind), the kids' programming on PBS is excellent and appropriate. There are no commercials so I needn't worry about my kids getting the "wantsies" about all kinds of junk food or inappropriate toys. Quite frankly, I trust PBS.

Not only do my children enjoy the occasional half hour of PBS, but my husband and I also find ourselves frequently immersed in a Nature program. Or Antiques Roadshow. Or some other interesting presentation that totally sucks us in and gives us something to talk about afterward too.

I'm also impressed with the fact that PBS offers family-friendly local events free of charge. We recently took advantage of one such event here in Indiana. Our preschoolers were able to attend story hour, do crafts, and see Mr. Steve perform live. (Our children adore Mr. Steve and, quite frankly, so do I... he's very clever!!)

We spent about three hours at the PBS event and had a blast. It didn't cost us a dime and our children left with happy memories, each with a brand new story book in hand (and they had excellent children's literature to choose from!).

For our family, PBS is not only a Frugal choice... it's also a Finer Thing!
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For more frugal ideas, visit Biblical Womanhood.
Be sure to visit Finer Things Friday over at Amy's place!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

We also enjoy PBS. The only thing I am concerned about is that many of their nature/science shows are very evolutionary. We believe in the Genesis account.
Just something to think about. :)

Blessings,
Carla

Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

How cool! I remember when mine were little and they would watch PBS shows. They loved them! :D

MrsCoach said...

We love PBS here too! World World, Super Why, Sid the Science Kid (and, yes, not PBS, but close...Caillou is a favorite!!) We do have Direct TV for the sports, but a bonus is we have the package for PBS Kids 24/7!!

Mary Ann said...

We love Antiques Road Show and a few of the special programs that PBS offers. The little boys that I watch during the week love Super Why!

Anonymous said...

PBS is one thing I do miss about tv. My one CBS channel just doesn't cut it for kid's shows!

Have a great weekend!

Goat Gal said...

What fun! I got to see Mr. Dressup live when I was a kid and well As you can tell I still remember it fondly. (I am not 26).

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

We recently upgrade to digital cable (I know -- not very frugal, but since we have phone, cable, and Internet through our cable provider, they actually had a deal where it only cost us $10 more per month). Anyway -- our new favorite channel is PBS Sprout. We *love* it. Even my nine year old loves most of the shows.

Leah said...

we enjoy pbs too..but don't trust them too much...they love to include lots of things that some parents might find offensive (sesame street comes to mind for my family--ie the episode showing families with two moms or two dads)