I am a single parent and I pursue studies twice a week in the evenings during which time I have to leave my 15 and 10 year old at home alone. I am getting rid of the TV because it is when I am not at home that they look on without supervision and they are upset because of this. I do not have cable.
I can only echo and amplify your concern over the influences of TV on your children. It’s not always possible, of course, but if you could arrange things so that your kids (at least grudgingly) accept the decision on their own, the impact would be so much more enhanced. Try to enlist your children as allies in your fight for decency and acknowledge the difficulties of a TV-less home…and don’t be above the odd bribe (“I know it’s hard for you to be without TV, but I might be able to let you have computer game ‘x’ – or something like it – instead…”). There’s no replacement for the heady feeling a child has when he feels he’s an equal and useful partner in a difficult struggle.
With my best wishes for success for your whole family,
Rabbi Boruch Clinton