TV can be a great relaxation or it can be an enemy to your marriage and family life. It all depends on how it is being used.
Sometimes there is nothing more relaxing than sitting down in front of the TV or with a DVD and watching a show together. Mick and I did that last night with a movie we had taped to watch at a more convenient time. The movie was, Let’s Do it Again, an old movie with Jane Wyman and Ray Milland.
The couple is in the throes of getting divorced when the Jane Wyman character says ‘It takes more than a marriage contract to make a husband or wife.’ There’s a lot of truth in that statement. I’ve talked about some of those things need here, things like commitment, courtesy, respect, selflessness rather than selfishness.
There are lots of positive qualities need to make a marriage work including communication and give and take. A marriage is never meant to be all one person’s way, always doing what they want. We need to work together as a team.
But back to the TV, how can TV be detrimental to your marriage? It can be detrimental if you or your spouse is using the TV as an excuse not to talk.
When Mick and I watch shows we still talk about what we’re watching and the relationships portrayed in them, as we did last night while watching the DVD or as we do when watching our two favorite regular shows Packed to the Rafters and The Good Wife, both shows focused on marriage and family relationships. We use the TV and what is portrayed as a tool to help us talk about various aspects of marriage and family life.
But if you or your spouse is coming home and using the TV as an excuse not to have to communicate, then that is a real worry. You might need to limit the amount of time the TV is on and choose to do other things when it is not that will in promote conversation.
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