Friday, April 21, 2006
TV-Turnoff Week Starts April 24
Hide the remote. Disconnect the cable. Next week is TV-Turnoff Week. From April 24-30, you can join thousands of parents across the country who will be celebrating TV-Turnoff Week by reading more, playing games and getting outside to enjoy the spring flowers.
It seems especially appropriate that TV-Turnoff Week (April 24th - 30th) falls during the same month as the Week of the Young Child (April 2nd - 8th). Young children need lots of positive attention from the adults in their lives for their brains, emotions, and bodies to develop to their full potential. Television robs families of just this kind of interaction by taking the place of normal adult-child contact and family activities.
Families who cut out television next week will likely find themselves with a lot of free time. Consider these facts:
For more information about TV-Turnoff Week or for tips on how to control the electronic screens in your home, visit some of the following resources:
It frightens me that 70% of child care centers use television during a typical day. It frightens me that children spend more time with television than talking with their own parents. I don't believe that all television is bad, but I do believe that caution needs to be exercised on allowable programming. I don't know if we will shut off television for the week, but I will certainly spend some more time in thought about what is being watched.
Hide the remote. Disconnect the cable. Next week is TV-Turnoff Week. From April 24-30, you can join thousands of parents across the country who will be celebrating TV-Turnoff Week by reading more, playing games and getting outside to enjoy the spring flowers.
It seems especially appropriate that TV-Turnoff Week (April 24th - 30th) falls during the same month as the Week of the Young Child (April 2nd - 8th). Young children need lots of positive attention from the adults in their lives for their brains, emotions, and bodies to develop to their full potential. Television robs families of just this kind of interaction by taking the place of normal adult-child contact and family activities.
Families who cut out television next week will likely find themselves with a lot of free time. Consider these facts:
- The average American family has the TV on for eight hours and 40 minutes a day.
- On average, American children will spend more time this year in front of the television (1,500 hours) than in school (900 hours).
- Number of 30-second commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
- Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
- Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
- Percentage of children ages 6-17 who have TV's in their bedrooms: 50
- Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
- Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
For more information about TV-Turnoff Week or for tips on how to control the electronic screens in your home, visit some of the following resources:
It frightens me that 70% of child care centers use television during a typical day. It frightens me that children spend more time with television than talking with their own parents. I don't believe that all television is bad, but I do believe that caution needs to be exercised on allowable programming. I don't know if we will shut off television for the week, but I will certainly spend some more time in thought about what is being watched.
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 3:26 PM 
