Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that if you are going to watch TV,
Speaker 1: you could make this time more satisfying by turning screen
Speaker 1: time into a party. Today's tip, like some other recent ones,
Speaker 1: comes from Sarah hartunger my co host on the Best
Speaker 1: of Both Worlds podcasts. She mentioned that a recent highlight
Speaker 1: in her life had been watching The Dance Mom's season
Speaker 1: finale with her family. They knew it was coming up,
Speaker 1: they all planned to be together to watch it. They
Speaker 1: gathered with special snacks, and they enjoyed the experience together.
Speaker 1: In other words, they turned TV time into a party.
Speaker 1: I love this idea. Contrary to what you might as seen,
Speaker 1: I am not totally anti TV. I don't watch myself
Speaker 1: other than the occasional sports game, but I know that
Speaker 1: there is a lot of excellent TV on offer these days.
Speaker 1: The key to making TV time feel more like a
Speaker 1: treat rather than a waste of time is to be
Speaker 1: intentional about watching it. Consciously enjoying screen time with other
Speaker 1: people is a great way to do that. So think
Speaker 1: about how you might lean into TV as a shared experience.
Speaker 1: Maybe you and your family all like a particular show,
Speaker 1: maybe it's one that's been out for a while, or
Speaker 1: maybe it's a new one coming up. Maybe you and
Speaker 1: your friends all generally enjoy some major cultural experience, like
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl, the Oscars, or the weekend games of
Speaker 1: one of your local sports teams. Maybe you all like
Speaker 1: movie adaptations of Jane Austen books or any show with
Speaker 1: Benedict Cumberbatch. Think about what is truly must see TV
Speaker 1: for you. Then, once you have figured out what you
Speaker 1: enjoy most, figure out when you're going to watch it collectively.
Speaker 1: For certain live events like the Academy Awards, that's easy
Speaker 1: to do, but these days a lot of stuff can
Speaker 1: be watched whenever. The problem with that is that people
Speaker 1: don't think about it ahead of time, so they don't
Speaker 1: get the benefit of anticipation. So think about it. Put
Speaker 1: a specific time on your calendar, and make sure your
Speaker 1: friends and family are on board so you can look
Speaker 1: forward to watching together. You and your kids could start
Speaker 1: getting psyched up for Wicked movie Night on an upcoming Friday,
Speaker 1: or you could invite your friends over to watch The
Speaker 1: Breakfast Club on the first morning kids are back in school.
Speaker 1: After spring break, you could host a small Jane Austen
Speaker 1: watching party, or even watch while facetiming a far flung friend.
Speaker 1: Even if you don't do this quite so formally, you
Speaker 1: can still embrace the concept of looking forward to collective
Speaker 1: TV watching. For instance, maybe you and your partner love
Speaker 1: watching Emily and Paris. Anytime you are not wiped out
Speaker 1: after your kids go to bed, you could text him
Speaker 1: in the afternoon to say you are looking forward to
Speaker 1: your post bedtime watch party tonight. The anticipation can add
Speaker 1: to the fun, and maybe you guys will bring your
Speaker 1: a game to getting the kids down as a result. Finally,
Speaker 1: if your screen time is a party, then treat it
Speaker 1: like a party. Most parties have some sort of food,
Speaker 1: and that is certainly a good option for screen time
Speaker 1: parties too. My family likes having wings and nachos if
Speaker 1: we are watching a football game. If you are watching
Speaker 1: a movie, maybe like a bowl of popcorn or even
Speaker 1: milk duds if that is your movie theater treat of choice.
Speaker 1: You could eat something related to what you are watching,
Speaker 1: like scones. If you're watching The Crown, you could potentially
Speaker 1: get out props or costumes, break out the sleeping bags
Speaker 1: and pillows if you and your kids are watching something
Speaker 1: a little after bedtime, or invite friends to wear cool
Speaker 1: hats for a Kentucky Derby party. Whatever form your party takes,
Speaker 1: the main idea is to be intentional and to treat
Speaker 1: this time as more special than just vegging out because
Speaker 1: you have nothing better to do. A lot of screen
Speaker 1: time is wasted time, but when it's a party, it isn't.
Speaker 1: And I am a big fan of using all time
Speaker 1: well in the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.