From Business Insider · Lauren Crosby Medlicott · · 2m
A mom ditched streaming for VHS. Her kids fought less.
Mariah Smith replaced her smart TV with an old VCR after her 8-year-old found a horror trailer. A year later, her children are calmer, more creative, and rarely ask to watch.
In brief
Mariah Smith replaced her smart TV with an old VCR after her 8-year-old found a horror trailer. A year later, her children are calmer, more creative, and rarely ask to watch. After her 8-year-old found a horror film trailer on her smart TV, Mariah Smith switched to VHS tapes. A year on, her children watch less, argue…
The horror trailer that changed everything
Mariah Smith's 8-year-old found a trailer for a horror film about an exorcism on their smart TV menu. The child was frightened at night. Smith decided to stop using the TV.
“We're done with the TV.”
The first days without screens
Smith hid the remote and told her two older children the TV was broken. The first few days were difficult, with constant requests to watch. But within a week, they rarely asked.
Replacing screens with older tech
Smith found a boombox, CDs, and her old Game Boys for the children to use. She bought an old TV and retrieved VHS tapes from her parents. The children found the decades-old technology fascinating.
A year of VHS: what changed
After a year using VHS, Smith says her children argue less and are less agitated. Her daughter took up embroidery and knitting. The children disengage more easily from the smaller screen.
No YouTubers, no surprise ads
Smith says her children cannot choose YouTubers on VHS as they could on Netflix or Disney+. She found it nearly impossible to remove that option from streaming services. VHS offers complete parental control.
The friction of rewinding
VHS creates a natural barrier to watching. The tape must be rewound, trailers watched, the film played, then rewound again. Once finished, the TV goes off. It feels like a natural ending.
The unexpected benefit for parents
Smith noticed her own nervous system felt less overwhelmed by less TV and background noise. She feels much calmer. The family has since added DVDs, including episodes of Bluey.
A slower way of living
Smith says the switch to VHS was initially a quick decision but has become a lasting change. The family found a slower, calmer way of living that works far better for them.
“It's not that we've gone backward in time, but that we've found a slower, calmer way of living that works far better for our family.”
What it means
After her 8-year-old found a horror film trailer on her smart TV, Mariah Smith switched to VHS tapes. A year on, her children watch less, argue less, and disengage more easily from the screen.
