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Turn off the TV (Jan 2010) |
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Turn off the TV! The winter months make it challenging to find ways to keep our children physically active and busy. Yet, I challenge you to reassess the role that television plays in your daily lives as entertainer, pacifier, babysitter, time filler and background noise. Television is generally a passive “non-activity” which often distracts from more healthy, interpersonal, productive, rewarding and community-oriented activities. My challenge is simply this: Pick one day per week and turn “off” the TV and turn “on” the rest of your life. It is an opportunity to rediscover the wide range of activities that exist when one unplugs from the sedentary, image-based commercial world of television. Other ideas include weaning children (and adults?) from both TV and other sedentary non-activity sources: TV-free time on weekends (e.g., from 11am-4pm there is no TV allowed), TV-free days, TV-free week, expanding no-TV time to include all electronics (TV, computers, gaming). Things to Do Put together a puzzleVisit the libraryGo ice skating or roller-skatingVisit the zooGo swimmingVolunteer for a charity or community eventCook or bake togetherGo dancingPlay with your petStart a neighbourhood street hockey gameSort through closets and donate clothes (old toys, games, household goods) to charityPlay cardsMake crafts or scrapbookGo for a walk The Numbers are Scary - # of 30-second commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
- # of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
- # of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
- % of children ages 6-17 who have TV’s in their bedrooms: 50%
- % of daycares that use TV during a typical day: 70%
- Hours per year the average youth spends in school: 900 hours
- Hours per year the average youth watches television: 1,500 hours
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