Seven Other Ways of Using Your Television

Granting we do not really need a television at home (see previous post), what do we do with our existing TV sets now? Throw them out the window?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="An Abandoned TV, Photo courtesy of Roo Reynolds at Flickr.com"][/caption]

Not too fast. Keep your TV right where it is.  Just throw away the antenna or cancel your cable subscription. Then focus on more productive ways of using your TV.

Here are some ideas you might relate well with...

1. REPLACE TV Programs with Wholesome Movies via DVD/VCDs

Of course everyone watches DVD/VCDs these days. But I'm talking here about substituting TV programs with your favorite movie on DVD or VCD as a habit! That way, you have absolute control over what your TV spits out into your home. That's the ultimate "parental guidance" for kids, especially very impressionable boys.

Choose movie titles of general patronage, and choose ones which make laugh or get you inspired. There are many many titles that fall under that criteria. My son and I watch Zorro movies a lot recently. We also used to watch Harry Potter series, Star Wars series, Spiderman series, Fantastic Four ... get the picture? Have fun, with your son!

Respect copyrights too! Buy original DVD/VCD. They need not be that expensive. Local movie publishers sell originals at steep discounts at the Greenhills Shopping Complex in San Juan, Metro Manila. That's where we get most of our DVD/VCD at home.

(NOTE! NOTE! NOTE! Avoid pornographic films like a plague. Conserve and focus your sexual energy towards where it would build you and your entire family. Buy "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and read the chapter on Sex Transmutation to get what I mean.)

2. EDUCATE Your Kids Through Your TV

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Look, Listen & Learn DVD. My wife and I saw these DVDs during the 2nd Philippine Homeschool Conference in 2008. Cool Product for kids at a very reasonable price of P2,999. Click on the image above to go to the site."][/caption]

There are available DVD/VCDs out there containing educational songs and programs, specifically designed for kids. Just plug them in and play! That's it! You'll end up with much brighter kids this way.

We saw "Look, Listen & Learn" DVD at the 2nd Philippine Homeschool Conference in 2008. They are sold at P2,999 per set. I think such investment is very reasonable. Consider the value and the cost of getting such value through other ways, like the cost of tutoring for instance. P2,999 is cheap.

3. PLAY Video Games With Your Kids Using Your TV


It isn't all work for your kids. Have wholesome video games at home using your TV. That's better than leaving your kids on their own at the arcades. Better yet, play with your kids. Men are always boys, anyway, or so they say. So, have fun with your kids.

I don't have one installed at home yet. But when I saw my wife getting excited at the video game I installed in the laptop, I thought it's time to find the cash for a video game set at home, using our TV downstairs.

Any suggestion on what video game will be great for family use?

4. EDUCATE Yourself Through Your TV

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption=""The Secret" became popular in the Philippines in 2007. If you use your TV to watch this DVD, you'll reap a million times more benefits that watching the evening news."][/caption]

There a lot of videos out there that help viewers develop more self-confidence, improve specific skill sets, establish closer relationship with God, and many more. Use your TV for these things.

My wife and I, along with our son, have watched many times The Secret and An Inconvenient Truth at home.

There are also DVDs on religious or spiritual matters as well. If you're Catholic, try Father John Corapi DVDs. We have one at home featuring Fr. Corapi discuss the catechism in a very interesting way.

For all Christians, try Louie Giglio DVDs, specifically "Great is Our God" and "Indescribable." My wife and I, along with our son, love these DVDs. Simply awe-inspiring.

There are also a lot National Geographic DVDs, Discovery Channel DVDs and the like at the video stores in Manila. They're exciting to watch too! My son's favorite is the DVD about dinasours.

5. SING YOUR HEART OUT With Your Video Karaoke Plugged to Your TV


It's not all work for you too! So, sing!

An American remarked that he still has to meet a Filipino who does not sing. Choose from among many portable videoke microphones in the market, bring it home and plug it in. Then let the party begin! That's a whole lot better than watching "victim" stories in telenovelas.

We have one at home, which we can switch on anytime :)

6. EXERCISE With Your TV

Notice the TV screens in the fitness gyms? These guys know their stuff. It keeps boredom out of you.

But we can do something better than that at home! We can exercise in front of our TV using exercise videos available everywhere. All we have to do is follow the steps.

Has anyone been using exercise DVD recently? Getting one DVD for home use is a standing request from my wife that I haven't done yet. A DVD that an entire family can follow would be great. Any suggestion of what and where to buy?

7. DISPLAY Family Pictures on Your TV


Thanks to technology, it is now possible to convert still pictures into video, using software available in both Windows and Mac-based platforms. I haven't tried using Windows Movie Maker, though I know one person who has done so.

What I have tried is the iMovie feature of MacBook. A friend has done videos of our seminars before that we can view using our DVD player at home. I am able to produce my own videos now. Cool!

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The whole point here is to convert your TV from being a source of "trash" into a source of inspiration, education and family bonding. I just listed my seven suggestions. Which one suits you the most?

You have other ideas? Throw them in :)

May your son model you rightly.


Marvin
RaisingFilipinoBoys.com

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