Would you cut your cable or keep it for the kids?

I consider cable tv to be almost a necessity, because it seems without cable we can't get any channel clearly, so no news, nothing. But also because my daughter loves to watch the kids shows. She's autistic and has no friends, and no brothers or sisters (not that we didn't try). She can't enjoy most of the things most kids do, and so if I see she likes something, I want to have it for her if possible. Especially the many good kids shows on cable, which are so educational and allow my daughter to see "normal" children talking, laughing, singing, dancing which I think help improve her social skills. But I think it is unfortunate that you have to get deluxe or premium to get those children's channels. Here, we have to get digital cable to get those channels, and the channels I mainly like, such as home and garden, nick at nite, etc. I can see paying extra for premium movie channels, like HBO, but we don't get any of that, and still we can't get just basic because it doesn't include the kids' channels! That seems unfair, since they tend to rerun a lot, and they are so educational which all kids need, whether they can afford or not -- kids' channels should be included in the basic cable. So I would not cut it until it is absolutely necessary. If I can live and meet the basic expenses, I would still consider cable a necessity, but if I had to choose between eating and cable, it'd be cable. NO, just kidding. Then I'd dump the cable.

What you should do is multiply your monthly cable bill by 12 to get the yearly total. If you think the hundreds of dollars you spend are worth it year after year them keep it. You can get all kinds of stuff on DVD. I do not know what kind of programs you can get on an antenna but see if you can get a few channels off air with rabbit ears and your problem is solved. Their brains will not shrink as they will tend to find something else to do such as sports, crafts and books. Most television is just entertainment and time wasting. I unfortunately cannot get any tv here other than by cable and I have cut off the extra channels to save money. If I could get the two or three local stations I would cut it off altogether. Children have survived for thousands of years without television.

If they watch good programmes then yes, you should keep it for them. But after a time, they become too addicted to the TV for their own good. The same happened to my boy. Since he was a toddler, he would love watching kids cartoons on TV. Cartoons in those days in India were all in English and my child learnt a lot of English words and how to speak properly and such. But gradually he started going school and his studies increased. Also due to Govt policies, the language of all the cartoons were gradually changed from English to Hindi (the national language of India). But by that time, he was so addicted to TV that he would neither eat nor go to bed, if the TV was not switched on. We had to succumb to his demands. But now that he is 9yes old, I have allowed him to watch only Discovery, Animal Planet, Travel & Living, History channel, Nat Geo and some sports channels. All programmes are in English and are informative as per his age. So he gets to watch his cable while I have my way too!

lol i have been in that situation but i kept the cable tv, know why? same reason you have seen in you kids. I have seen improvements in their skills in dancing and singing, i know i should not rely on television but there are educational channels like nickelodeon, disney channel that helps my kids in her english! But of course i still encourage them to look at books.. but it helps them sing and dance..and i love watching them do it..my 4 year old daughter loves watching wonder pets where she leans good manners and attitudes about helping and being kind to animals and she also loves to watch Dora where she learns counting and dancing and singing!

I will keep it your boys can learn it so much with the playhouse disney my nephews see it :D and they love it :D but just keep it for your kids and they can learn a lot of things in the educational channels, like discovery kids :). Have a nice day and hope you will have a very good week :D see you soon and bye bye :D. Have a nice day and a good week :) bye bye and happy thanksgiving day :D

We got rid of cable about 7 months ago and have not been any worse for it, and since they are getting rid of analog tv and converting to Digital in the states we went and got a digital converter box and holy cow we get more stations with it and they all come in in cable quality pictures. I wont be spending my money on cable again.

I think most positions have been covered already, but I wouldn't worry about maintaining cable for your kids' sake. I haven't had cable TV since I've been out of my parents' house. I know there are so many other things to do with the time that having extra channels could tempt me away from! Are there shows/channels I would enjoy if we bought cable? Sure - but we don't need them. As for the kids, I second the options of PBS and using DVD/VHS programs. If it's not been mentioned already, you can even circumvent the rental cost (kids' tapes are usually only $1 or something to rent, anyway) by going to the library; many libraries have decent selections, especially on the educational stuff. Kids also adjust to those kinds of changes. Case in point - my step-son's mom has cable, but we don't. He's never said a word to us about "Why don't we have cable?" and doesn't watch a ton of TV...at least not here!I'm expecting a baby in January, and in my case I hope to keep him 'off' of TV/video-type games, etc. until 2 years old as much as I can manage. Research shows that kids who have that kind of start have significantly better attention spans at 7,8,9 years old than kids who've started out watching TV&such from the beginning. Perhaps you could encourage them in other activities where they are interacting with other children? That should maintain/help with the language and social-problem-solving skills. Just my 2c, ~Sara

Our cable comes with our internet so if I wanted to cancel it then I would need to cancel both of them and I would really be hurting to do that. I think I would get rid of the phone first. It is a tough call. If I didnt have TV would I feel like I needed out of the house more and so it would cost us more? Tough call.

We just got cable this week. We got a good deal,45.00 for cable and internet for 6 months. I told the family enjoy while we have cause when the deal is over it will be shut off again.Cable tv is a splurge that I can easily give up.

It's sad that these types of channels are not available on regular T.V.. I know how expensive this cable service is also because I also have digital cable t.v with premium channels so my son can have access to the best educational childrens T.V around. My son has autism and I have also noticed that since he watches The Disney channel,PBS kids sprout and the OETA kids channel that his english has improved and his math skills have improved also. So the way I look at it is that I'd rather sacrifice cutting corners in other way's money wise in our life then take away my son's T.V. shows because he is definitely benefiting from them in the most positive way. So yes, I do keep my cable for my son mostly.

I have basic cable - and it gets Nick and Nick Jr and other educational shows so I don't pay for premium. I have my 2 grand daughters sometimes, but they don't want to watch tv at my house - they say there are to many other things to do at Nanny's house- cook and bake and go for walks to look for bugs and they have mylittle ponies nad cars and games and so much else, the TV seldom goes on unless I want them to lay down to rest! I have lot of VHS that I have copied things over the years even back when my kids were little and I watch for DVD that go one sale for $5 or less and buy movies then. There isn't anything worth watching on local channels, and other than foodnetwork and those kinds of shows, there isn't much on the basic cable channels either... I am thinking of cancelling it and watching on internet instead. THere is a way to connect internet to the tv so you can watch it on the tv screen instead of the PC monitor. I was raised without tv and we read constantly, we played board games and other games and things out side. ... tv i definately not required!

We do not have kids, it is just my husband and I. We have satellite, with premium channels. We do not go out much, and this is basically our main source of entertainment, so that is how we justify the expense.

I suggest you keep the cable for the boys' sake. Just be sure to keep an eye on what they're watching or see to it that it won't interfere with their studies in any way. We all know the dangers of watching too much tv. But there are lots of good information you could get from watching them as well. so might as well keep it if your budget allows it. Thanks!

My suggestion is that you have continue the connection because children get knowledge due to it.

Well, we do not have cable TV here, but we do have satellite TV. I will not cut my satellite TV, though it's a bit costly every month. I really enjoy the movies and programs from the satellite TV, there are not many interesting programs in the local TV channels.

I would cut it! If you get HD or have the converter box they have PBS kids on nearly 24 hrs a day! They also have qubo wich is for older kids (7yrs+) but there are still lessons learned. And with going HD we have gotten alot more channels. And IRL the TV is on way too much in the first place so what would make the difference if I paid a fortune for it or not? I like Create and that's now a 24/7 channel on HD so I don't need food network. And 9x of 10 I can also find some of the cable shows available on youtube so there's no loss. Same w/ having a DVR I can find various show's I've missed online for FREE.

Kids do not need all that tv,,,,,so many other things to do...read, play games, crafts, cook, gardening, nature walks and play....list is endless......

I personally would love to get rid of our cable, but our apartment comes ready with it. The thing is, when it's there, you tend to tune in. I had such high hopes about my kid not growing up all in love with TV as I did, but since we're paying for it, I want to get as much out of it as I can. I just try to avoid the tendency to park my daughter in front of the TV while I finish work or chores. It's a real uphill climb.

If it is important for you kids and it is very useful, so, why not keep it ? Money is less important than what your kids can get from that. You have many chances to save or earn money, but the chance for improving your kids in a certain aspect is hard to gain. Love it and posess it. Take my decision , for kids' concern, and one day you will find what you did is pretty right.

hmm u can cut it and download the shows on the internet. most tvshows have a webiset where u can watch them