Diary of an E-Free Week: A week without TV, electronic games or computers.

From Sunday 19 April to Saturday 25 April, during our Autumn school holidays, my children had a week free from TV, electronic games and computers. After finishing the challenge I discovered my 10 and 8yo weren’t alone, a number of schools have tried TV-free weeks and anti-consumerist organisations have been campaigning for Digital Detoxing on the basis that we need to decrease our exposure to commercial branding.

Our E-Free week was not anti-consumerist but simply about re-connecting with the world around us. Many parents have told me an E-Free week would drive them crazy, that they couldn’t make dinner or vacuum the house without first putting their child in front of the TV. I know how they feel, I’ve been there too but it just doesn’t seem right. Likewise it seems we have the wrong end of the stick when we take our child to a restaurant or football game and give them an electronic game to keep them quiet. Electronic media as a dummy/pacifier is not a pretty picture. On this basis I just had to see how my children would behave without their dummies before I spat mine.

An E-free week has to make sense to you. For me it was about the TV, the games and the computer. For you it might be pulling the headphones from your teenager’s ears. For another friend it was about only using the computer while his children were asleep so he could pay them full attention while they were awake.

This was our experience.

Day 1: Sunday – Lego an inch thick over the living room floor

The beginning of E-free week got off to a rocky start when the children walked into our room at 6am and announced that they wouldn’t be participating and that they would forfeit their bribe incentive pay. An hour later they regretted their decision and we gave them a second chance. Miss 10 argued that her brother forfeited his reward because while he actually watched TV, she said the computer hadn’t finished logging in when the second chance was offered. We discussed the nature of intent, but Miss 10 was reluctant to drop the argument.

Miss 10 and I went with friends to a shopping mall and returned later that afternoon to see that my husband and Mr 8 had tipped all the Lego on the lounge floor and were sorting it by colour. We join them. Husband and I are enjoyed ourselves so much the children put themselves to bed and we continued sorting late into the night. Clearly we do not get out much.

Day 2: Monday – Lego and cubby houses

This is the first full day I spent with the children without the Pixel Nannies. I wondered who will crack first? Would I have to be ready with all manner of entertainments? I am simply not one of those mothers who organises craft activities for their children. I see craft as the school’s domain for perky teachers who think of nothing better than children up to their armpits in blue paint.

I needn’t have worried, thanks to my husband’s brilliant Lego forethought the children were up early still sorting the Lego. Being a strangely addictive practise, I found myself on the floor with them sorting the yellows and the greens.

Later that afternoon all was just a little quiet in the house – you know that eerie unnerving sort of quiet? A quick tour found the 8yo had built a small cubby in which he was sitting wrapped in a quilt reading. Last week he would’ve been zoned-out in front of the TV or begging to be taken to the video store. I smiled to myself.

We are a family that dines together but, increasingly, on the weekends I am whined at to allow them to eat their dinner in front of the TV. The result is children who only grudgingly drag themselves to the table. Without TV to absorb their attention neither child complained about coming to the dining table, in fact they offered to help set the table and stayed to help clear up without being asked.

Day 3: Tuesday – Still fighting but not bored yet.

Do you know what is conspicuous by its absence this week? The phrase “I’m bored”. Last week with the full range of electronic media as well as organised activities I heard that phrase almost constantly. The children were seemingly unable to drag themselves from the couch and nothing was to their satisfaction. Most days the children would watch one television each and not talk to each other, except to snap insults.

This week they quietly sought each other out. Not that they would admit to it. The fighting has not abated but at least they are fighting over whose turn it is on “Rush Hour” or who gets to hold the box of dark grey Lego pieces.

Day 4: Wednesday – a trip to the library counts as an exciting outing.

On Tuesday I mentioned that on Wednesday we would have pancakes for breakfast and visit the Library. The kids greeted this news with enthusiasm which goes to show what passes for an exciting outing when electronic games are not on the agenda.

An unhurried trip to the library is a wonderful thing when the kids can lie on the carpet in front of the shelves picking books out at leisure. Mr 8 has always been amused that you can walk out of a library with an armful of books without paying. By the end of the day he had read two short books.

In the afternoon I fired up the sewing machine and mended a couple of outfits that I’d been procrastinating about. Mr 8 sidled up to me to ask whether he can sew something too (!) A minute later he is sitting on the living room floor with a scrap of blue material happily sewing with bright red thread. Who would’ve thought?

Inspired, Miss 10 finds the beautiful wooden knitting needles she was given for her birthday last year and starts to knit a scarf. I didn’t want this electronic detox to end.

Day 5: Thursday – the sound of children reading
I woke up to the sound of children reading in the morning.

I reflected on how sometimes the systems that we parents put in place to make our lives easier can backfire on us. Five years ago we got Disney Channel so that the children could go downstairs to watch TV and leave us in peace on weekend mornings. We would allow them to watch TV until we got up. In the corporate world we would say that systems drive behaviour. That system drove them to wake up at increasingly early hours so that they maximised their viewing time and by Monday morning they were exhausted. This week without the lure of early morning TV the children have gravitated to relaxing in their beds with a book or audio CD and wake far more refreshed each day.

Day 6: Friday – Playdates for one child changed the dynamics
This day was always going to be a challenge. When the children have unfettered access to the electronics they tend to play on their own, often watching one TV each. This week they have sought each other out for companionship more often than I’ve seen in a long while. Today one child had a play date while the other didn’t and it really affected the dynamics of the week. In the past if one child had a playdate the other would watch TV or go on the computer, without that easy division of activities the child without the playdate felt lonely and left out. It struck me how we can use electronic media to silence or placate a child rather than deal with the social issue at hand.

Day 7: Saturday – Detox over.
What was I expecting? Probably that Mr 8 would wake up early and rush downstairs to get his fix of television. He did, but not before reading in bed for a while and asking our permission to go downstairs. Soon after turning on the TV he came upstairs again announcing that “there was nothing on TV” and turned on the computer. Miss 10 didn’t go near the TV until after lunch.

By mid-afternoon I could see that many of the same old usage patterns were creeping back. I don’t think the answer is to ban TV/gaming/computer use altogether but I certainly prefer the family dynamic when we are in detox mode.

Afterword
Our E-free week has been a resounding success. Without the lure of Disney, Nickelodeon or PlayStation my children reconnected with reading, with simple games, with the outdoors and with each other. Yesterday I spoke with two other local families who have been inspired to have their own E-Free Week and they have reported similar results. The striking thing about the week was how quickly my childrens’ behaviour changed. Unlike the Pantene ad, it did happen overnight.

I’d like our local primary school to instigate an E-Free Fortnight where children get sponsored to go without TV, electronic games or their computer in order to raise money for their school or a charity. Apart from the extra time gained to spend with their parents imagine children researching assignments by reading a book or going to the library just like in days before their time.

So who is going to join me for my next E-free week? I’m aiming for a week in the July school holidays. Readers without young children feel free to join in too. Oh, and grandparents ... could you deny your grandchildren the TV, or is that in the realms of 'grandma's treats'?

We will remember them

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

from 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869–1943)

In the early hours of this morning at Shrines of Remembrance, cenotaphs and war memorials around both Australia and New Zealand, men and women who have gone to war and returned, together with their families, friends and other members of the public gathered for dawn services to start another ANZAC Day.

ANZAC Day (April 25th) commemorates the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at the beach in Gallipoli, Turkey on the morning of April 25th, 1915. It was the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

The plan was to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the allied navies, but the Australian and New Zealand soldiers were greeted by strong resistance from the Turkish forces. The campaign dragged on for eight months and casualties were great. Over 10,000 ANZACs died and many more were wounded.

Many historians have argued that Gallipoli marked the end of innocence for the relatively new nation of Australia and the ANZAC legend became an important part of Australia's national identity.

However, ANZAC Day is not just a day to remember that morning in 1915, it is more generally a day of remembrance — of the deaths and consequences of war and of the bravery of our enlisted men and women who have not only fought wars, but have also carried out peacekeeping duties in various parts of the world. ANZAC Day also recognises that we carry with us the hope that one day, all the people of the world can live together in harmony without the need for conflicts.

As is often the case on a day of significance, a number of traditions have grown around the event: the dawn services, ANZAC Day marches, two-up schools, and of course, the ANZAC biscuit.

In our household, ANZAC Day approaching is always a reminder to dig out the recipe for ANZAC biscuits and whip up a batch. The biscuits are a great way to introduce the ANZAC story to children and talk about what ANZAC Day means while you mix up the ingredients.

The actual origins of the ANZAC biscuit are disputed, but the most likely story is that during World War I, when supply ships to the front line took about two months to reach their destination, the biscuits were developed (possibly from an old Scottish oatmeal biscuit recipe) to allow families at home to send tins of biscuits to supplement the soldiers meagre food rations. All the ingredients would last well over that period of time in an airtight container.

This year, I couldn't find my usual tried and tested recipe and ended up using the one from the NSW CWA (Country Women's Association) cookbook. The recipe is pretty standard no matter which version you use: the biscuits contain plain flour, rolled oats, coconut, sugar, butter, water, golden syrup and bicarbonate of soda.

It really is a simple enough recipe, but like the Gallipoli campaign itself, my biscuits this year were doomed.

I placed the first batch too close together on the baking tray and they had no room to spread. The formed a solid biscuit mass, and rose up like a sponge cake!

Hint no 1: Spread teaspoon sized amounts of the mixture well apart (over two baking trays) to allow for adequate spread.

I learnt from my mistake, and spaced the second batch well apart. When I looked at them in the oven after a few minutes cooking however, they hadn't spread at all. Hmmm. I checked the recipe. Ooops. I had forgotten the cup of sugar.

Hint no.2: Always double-check your ingredients

The third batch was looking good. All ingredients were present and accounted for, they were spread well apart and then slid into the oven on two trays for cooking, but instead of turning the dial on my oven to fan-forced, I put it on grill...

Hint no.3: Biscuits should be baked, not grilled.

As the smoke billowed through the house, I was able to save the lower tray, and cook it properly.


At last!

Golden, chewy ANZAC biscuits.

I don't know whether they would have lasted two months in a supply ship, as they didn't last more than a couple of hours in my house. That's one experiment I don't think I'll ever be able to achieve.

If you would like to make ANZAC biscuits (heeding the hints above, of course) there is a recipe here.

And for fascinating information about ANZAC Day and the ANZAC legend, check out:

Gallipoli and the ANZACs by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, or
ANZAC Day at the Australian War Memorial

Do you have ANZAC Day memories to share? What is the equivalent day in your country?

E-Free Week: a week without tv, computer or electronic games

My guess is that many readers of Before Our Time will remember a childhood where the radio (or 'the wireless') was the darnedest fanciest piece of electronic equipment in the family home. If you had a television it was probably the smallest, not the biggest piece of furniture in your living room; you may have heard of computers but the nearest one was at the University and gaming meant pulling out the Scrabble board on a wet Saturday afternoon.

Today, if you are an average Australian family, it is likely that you have three or more televisions, three or more mobile phones, at least one computer linked to broadband Internet and your 8-17yo probably spends 1.25 hours each day on electronic gaming. If you have teenagers it is likely that you have more than one computer and the second and subsequent computers are in your teenagers' bedrooms.*

Connectedness is a wonderful thing. I love the worlds available to my children through the Internet and it certainly makes school projects a lot easier and I really don't mind my children watching the occasional television show or playing the occasional electronic game to relax or 'zone out'. But this school holidays I began to wonder - could my children amuse themselves without all the electronic clutter? I don't mean replace electronic amusement with expensive trips to the zoo/show/pool/insert activity here, I mean could they potter around and play?

Four years ago we banned tv and electronic games on school days. We simply have no time in the mornings for tv and the afternoons are so packed with sport and homework that it really hasn't been missed. But come school holidays the kids are glued.

Last week I'd had enough. The kids didn't want to eat at the dining table because they'd miss their favourite tv show (one of their 250 fav shows), they weren't interested in outside play and worst of all they would often end up watching one.television.each leaving me with nowhere in the house to go.

Crazy land.

So I proposed a challenge. If the children go without tv, electronic games and computer activities of any kind from dawn Sunday to dawn the following Saturday I would give them a reward. They discussed this amongst themselves for two days, we negotiated a satisfactory reward and we are now in the midst of the challenge. Remember, we are on school holidays.

How are they going? Can they play without being entertained by the Pixel Nanny? Should Pixel Nanny be worried about her job security? I'll let you know next week.

Meanwhile catch up with daily snippets on how we are going via our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/beforeourtime.

* want to read more? Check out reports here. Also, www.abs.gov.au is a great source of data.

Things my elders taught me: sewing

Today, we're pleased to hand-over the reins of the blog to one of our Before Our Time readers - Auntie 4 Letter - in what we hope is the first of a series of posts on the wisdom and skills we've learnt from our elders (parents, grandparents, teachers, friends...). We're sure each of you has something you could share with us. Please email on beforeourtime@bigpond.com to be added to the schedule! - Megan and Alison.


Many people and events have influenced me over the years but one who really stands out for giving me a life skill and a love that I still use today is the lady who gave me my first sewing tips.

Around the age of 12 or 13 our school introduced a summer dress and since my parents were sending three of us into private school in Edinburgh to be educated I was told that if I wished one, I had to make it myself.

Off we went to purchase the pattern and the material required and home we came to study how to put this into action. Our sewing machine was an old Singer treadle machine which, fortunately for me, also had a handle as all I could make it do was go backwards! I could never master the action to get that forward movement, yet Mum had no difficulties.

Having read and reread the instructions, the dining room table was extended and the fabric laid out ready for action. The size was chosen, cut out, and the pattern placed on the fabric and I stood back to look at my achievement having no idea if I had done this correctly or not. I wasn’t game to put scissors to fabric!

Visitors arrived that afternoon –Esme, a family friend must have known I needed her. When she saw what I was doing she immediately offered her friendly advice. She quickly pointed out a few basic things that I had read about but did not realise how important they were:

• Fabric – fold in half lengthwise, pull diagonally if slightly off the square and refold


• Grain line – measure from grain line to edge of fabric - this assures the garment will hang straight


• Place all pieces in the same direction, if possible, but close together


• Pin at regular intervals


• Place hand flat on pattern piece when cutting out


• Do not move fabric when cutting, move yourself around the table


• Don’t ignore the notches, snip or notch out, as these help you put it together


• Mark all dots and darts with threads to help in the making
  

I was then left to it but told to contact her if any more help was needed. The dress was sewn together and, believe it or not, able to be worn to school. The seed had been sewn and from then on many shopping sprees to the fabric shop in Edinburgh were duly undertaken.

During high school, I was taught sewing. We were lucky enough to be taught all the basics - attaching collars and waistbands, setting in sleeves, sewing on buttons and making button holes etc. While attending teacher training college I was introduced to tailoring and so the solid foundations were laid.

When I look back now at some of the creations I made in the early years I shudder to think what I looked like sometimes when I walked out the house. The creation with smocking across the bust...! The straight skirt that was pretty tight and made of fabric out of the cupboard which nearly fell apart as I wore it as the material was so old...!

Then again there are some dresses I have made in later years I am quite proud of!

One of Auntie 4-Letter's proudest creations - a bridal gown,

as modelled by her niece-in-law, Goto, on her wedding day.

Over the years I have made many things using a variety of fabrics and even took myself off to TAFE to learn how to tailor and pattern draft. There I picked up invaluable evening wear tips. This was a very interesting experience and allowed me to perfect a great many of my skills.

Thank you Esme for the encouragement and knowledge you gave me early on which has led to a great deal of joy and frustration throughout my life.

There’s nothing Auntie 4 Letter can’t make with a sewing machine. She lives in Perth, Western Australia and tailors fine evening wear and bridal gowns, as well as running a school uniform shop. If she had a blog, we'd link to it...but she's only just mastered a Blogger log-on ID. She prefers washing up to drying.

What does your ironing say about you?

I’m told you can tell a lot about someone by the state and quality of their shoes, but I suspect you can also tell a lot about someone by what, if anything, makes it into their ironing pile. Look at my shoes and you will find something comfortable, low-heeled and possibly needing re-soling. Look at my ironing pile and you will find a minimum of shirts and jeans - and tea towels - but no sheets.

Ironing is possibly my least-liked household task after folding the washing. I save up all the ironing for one day a week and iron in front of the TV. Others who feel this way make do with folding clothes straight from the line, tumble drying or simply ignoring the wrinkles but I like the feeling of ironed clothes, I just don’t like the actual ironing.

Even in our world crammed as it is with activities to distract us from the realm of housework there are still those who love the transformation of dirty clothes to a washed, mended and ironed pile of clean clothes.

“Ironing gratifies the senses. The transformation of wrinkled, shapeless cloth into the smooth and gleaming folds of a familiar garment pleases the eye. The good scent of ironing is the most comfortable smell in the world”. C. Mendelson Home Comforts The Art and Science of Keeping House. Cassel & Co UK 2001.

It would seem, however, that those that love ironing are in a minority. How many of us iron our sheets anymore? Why would you iron something that is largely hidden from view? Ironed sheets are in fact lovely as those who have stayed in fancy hotels can attest but it may surprise you that there is, in fact, good reason to iron your sheets – at least your best quality ones.

Items that are never ironed develop permanent wrinkles which, over time, develop weak spots in the fabric and eventually develop holes. This most often happens at the selvages and hems. So perhaps if you have particularly expensive sheets with a particularly high thread count you might be well advised to run your iron over them every now and again.

Your grandma probably knew that; and your grandma probably came from a time when good quality bedlinen was purchased and expected to last a lifetime. In straightened times perhaps more of us should be heeding this advice.

Despite knowing that I should iron my sheet hems and selvages I don’t. I do, however, iron my tea towels. Unlike sheets they are small and easy to fold; I press them while waiting for the iron to heat up. My sheets may get holes, but my tea towels will last forever. I wonder what that says about me?

What does your ironing say about you? Anyone want to out themselves as a sheet ironer?

My buns are hot, and I'm cross

It's mid-morning on Good Friday on the Eastern seaboard of Australia...which in our household can mean just one thing: it's hot cross bun time.

Every year for the past six or so, I have lovingly handmade my own hot cross buns. Last year, I flirted with the production of gluten-free ones, but by popular demand this year I have reverted to my tried and tested full-of-wheat recipe.

And right now my buns are baking in the oven, soon to be served hot and buttered to a patient and appreciative group of consumers.

The Good Friday baking of hot cross buns has become a family tradition we all look forward to. It is part of the fabric of our family culture and something I hope my girls will remember with fondness when they are 'all grown up'.

But what happens when traditions are over-worked?

When I was a child, Good Friday was the only day of the year that we ever had hot cross buns. Recently, I have found hot cross buns worming their way into the shopping trolley from about mid-February onwards. My girls have taken buttered (fruitless) hot cross buns in their lunchboxes as a treat for morning tea for the past few weeks.

Does it devalue the tradition if you can have them anytime? Why stop at Easter, why not have them available right up until the Christmas decorations are in the stores?

It makes me cross to see retailers flog traditional fare to death. Easter eggs on the shelves from January. Christmas cakes and mince pies on sale from September. But I guess, if there was no demand there would be no supply.

In Elizabethan times, a law was passed which forbade bakers from making, uttering, or selling by retail, "within or without their houses, unto any the queen's subjects, any spice cakes, buns, bisket or other spice bread...except it be at burials, or upon the Friday before Easter, or at Christmas; upon pain of forfeiture of such spice bread to the poor.1"

Perhaps it's time for our governments to legislate against the wanton consumption of hot cross buns?

Do you save your hot cross bun eating for Good Friday?

1. The famines of the world, past and present by Cornelius Walford
"Two papers read before the Statistical Society of London in 1878 and 1879 respectively, and reprinted from its Journal." accessed via: http://books.google.com/books?id=p22JP3Er_9AC

Edited to add, due to popular demand...details of the recipe!

I use the recipe in the instruction book for my old Breville Breadmaker. I use the breadmaker to make the dough, then knead and shape it into 12 round balls, and leave on a baking tray for 30 mins in a warm spot for the dough to double in size. Then pipe on the crosses, and into the oven (at 190C) for about 20 mins. I brush on a glaze as they come out of the oven.

Breadmaker recipes vary due to the size of the bowls, but here's a link to one which is very similar to the one I use.

Before Our Time skills found in the Blogosphere: Filet Crochet

One of the best things about receiving comments from our readers is the chance to pop over to their blog or website to have a look around.

Last week we received a lovely comment on our giveaway post from first-time commenter Rositta from Ontario, Canada. Popping over to have a look at her blog I saw that she truly possesses skills from before our time.

Look at this beautiful filet crochet tablecloth. This is a photo of it in its just finished state before it has been washed and blocked.

I was so pleased to see this beautiful handmade work. A true heirloom item that preserves skills and knowledge from before our time.

You can see this work and Rositta's other accomplishments over at her blog She Knits Too.

Giveaway Winner Announced!

The entrants names were typed onto little slips of paper...

then my 10yo daughter held up the delicate demi-tasse coffee cup from well before our time and picked out a winner...

Congratulations Loz and Dinny!

Gemma from Loz and Dinny describes her blog ... a recent escapee to beautiful Tasmania - chasing the simple life with my husband and beautiful daughter. Loz and Dinny was created to feed the creative beast within. I love producing handmade clothes and objects that are inspired by all things vintage, kitsch and colourful

Gemma, please email me at beforeourtime@bigpond.com and this scarf will be flying its way to Tasmania just in time for the big chill down there!

To ALL entrants:

Thank you everyone, for entering this giveaway. We love having you as a reader and hope you all come back often. Don't forget you can email us with your stories about life before our time or your particular before our time skill.

Cheese that grates on me

In my childhood home, around 5.30ish in the evening, the call would often come from the kitchen, "Alison! Could you please grate this block of cheese for me?"

It meant my Mum was making something for dinner which required some grated cheese, and rather than stop the other food preparations she was doing, the grating task would be passed onto me or my brother. We'd be handed a piece of cheese, a metal grater and a faded red plastic bowl (it was always the same bowl).

I remember quite liking the job, as I could never grate right to the end of the piece of cheese, and I'd make a snack of the remnants.

Of course, before our time (and well into our time) there was no alternative if grated cheese was required - grated cheese needed, well...grating.

Sometime in the 1980s however, we noticed something novel in the supermarket fridges: bags of pre-grated cheese! I can still hear my Mum's reaction. "Well," she said in her Scottish accent, "That's just the height of laziness!"

I have to confess though that over the years, I have indeed bought the odd bag of pre-grated cheese. It's just so convenient to reach into the packet and extract the exact amount of cheese required. It takes mere seconds.

However, one day I took a closer look at the bag and compared it with the wrapper on my usual large block of cheese.

This is the list of ingredients on a regular supermarket brand of tasty cheddar cheese:

And this is the list of ingredients on the pre-grated version of the same brand of tasty cheddar cheese:

Notice something? Yes, a sneaky little additive has elbowed its way onto the list.

I consulted Additive Alert, a book I like to keep on hand to check out what those numbers mean when I see them on packets. E460 is 'cellulose microcrystalline and powdered', and is used as an anti-caking agent. According to the information in Additive Alert, "Most sources regard as safe although banned in UK in baby food only". It seems to be used in many foods such as sauces, baked goods, desserts, ice creams and spreads as well as in tablet-form medications.

E460 is mostly extracted from high quality wood pulp.

It may be a harmless additive but call me old-fashioned, I like my cheese to contain, well...just cheese. Hold the wood pulp.

For the sake of a bit of child labour, I can ask my daughters to grate cheese for me and our grated cheese can be just that. Grated cheese.

So now, around 5.30ish, the call often goes out in our house too. (But I've noticed there's quite a bit of the end of the block consumed!)

Do you take short cuts with your ingredients?

PS Don't forget our fabulous scarf giveaway!