Bring bob Home With You Tonight

No, bob is not a hot, new, most eligible bachelor - sorry! bob is a cute little box that is currently located on the floor next to my television set. I'll admit, I have no idea why it's called "bob" and frankly, I dont' care. What I do know, is bob has brought a new level of calm to our home.

Now you might be thinking, "Hey, Aviva, what about bob?" So I will tell you everything I know about bob...

1. bob is a box that I lock my TV plug into and program to regulate viewing time (let's hope I can remember where I put the key).
2. It took me about 3 minutes to hook up and program for my family of 5 - I'm no electronic gadget genius either. The manual is super short, easy, and even fun to read (You'll have to get your own and read it to find the humor).
3. When you want to watch a show, you enter your code to get the TV to turn on. When your time is up, the box beeps to let you know you should turn the TV off. If you don't turn it off, bob will do it for you. Sound simple? It is! My son was using it at 6 years old.
4. My family no longer has fights about the television... period! The kids each have their own private code. They know how much time they get each day to watch TV and they have learned to self regulate in order to watch what is really worth while to them. They even plan together to have enough time to watch a movie if they want to.
5. Yes, I have an over-ride code that only I know about if I feel they deserve extra time or if we decide to have a family movie night. My son calls it the "special secret code for important things."

When I first got bob, I heard criticism from some saying that kids would never learn self control if the box controlled things for them. Wrong! bob takes the personal arguing out of the cycle so kids do learn self control. The very first day we had bob, my son kept looking at his time. As he saw it running out, he turned off the TV and said, "I better find something else to do or I won't be able to watch a show later." No begging to me. No tantrums. The box was simply a device, not a mean person or even an object of control. Everyone in the family has become more aware of when the TV is on. Is anyone really watching it or is it just background noise? Is the show bob time worthy?

The TV can still be turned on with the remote when you plop on the couch or cruise by the room, but bob beeps for 1 minute until you enter your code or turn off the TV. This extra requirement makes us all stop and think, "is there anything on worth getting up and entering my code for?" I know it sounds a bit silly but, let's face it, the TV is often a lazy crutch.

As we head into the school break this winter season, I strongly recommend bringing bob home! It may encourage your kids, and you, to get out and build a snowman (around my house anyway) or play a game, or read a book, or do one of many other options instead of watching TV during the extra time together. Oh yes, bob works on anything with a plug. So, if too much computer, x-box or other plug in electronic item is your concern, bob will work. If the dreaded, hand-held Game Boy is your problem... sorry - I got nothin'!