I don't know a single parent that hasn't been guilty of the above on at least one count. If you are pleading "not guilty" please comment on this post! I'd like to meet you.
Real Fact: The average child between the ages of 2-17 will watch 3 hours and 30 minutes a day of television or 25 hours each week. The maximum amount recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics is two hours of television per day.
Honestly, my kids do not watch 3.5 hours of hours of television a day, but they probably HEAR the television for that long. We have a bad habit of using the television as background noise (and with 4 boys, you'd think I have enough of that). It's not the most eco-friendly habit to have! YIKES! We've been replacing that "noise" with the XMkids station on my laptop. If you don't have a XM satellite radio subscription you can listen to free music on Pandora.com, first stop: Lisa Atkinson's song, Turn Off The TV.
Real Fact: The average American household has at least 3 televisions in the home.
Seriously?!? According to the Nielsen survey, there is a TV in the family room, the parent's bedroom (2), and a TV in either the child's room, playroom or the kitchen(3). What a great way to dampen your sex life, a child's creativity, and a flavorful meal. Besides, I can't imagine how many hilarious stories my husband and I would have missed from our 4 year old twins if we were all busy watching TV while we ate.
Real Fact: The majority of children do their homework with the television ON.
{scratching head}Umm... I don't even know what to say about that one. I'll let you guys fill this in with your thoughts. ___________________.
Real Fact: By age 18, a U.S. youth will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence. - American Psychiatric Association
I'd say that's probably enough to desensitize and cause a lack of empathy for humans and animals. What do you think?
I could literally give you hundreds of absurd and insane facts about television but the real fact is: We already know what's best for our bodies: FRESH AIR!
In honor of Turn Off The TV Week, Give Them Roots will be posting fun activities to get outside and turn off the tube all week long. We'll also feature some great ways to recycle those "extra" televisions in your home and a huge recycling success story from one of our readers!
Get outside with your family today! Have a picnic, go for a hike, feed the ducks at a local pond, whatever you do...JUST GET OUTSIDE!!!!!!!
1 comments:
I used to watch tv during the day with my newborn as he would sleep in my lap after eating. Not anymore. I noticed the other day (he is 4 months now) that he was mesmerized by the TV and I don't want that to happen. So now we don't even turn the TV on when he is awake. Better for us, better for him, better for the environment! We don't even have cable so there is nothing to watch anyway. We fill his days with books and soft toys, and lots of tummy time outside where he can hear the birds, and other nature noises. This is our plan for him, but I will let you know how we progress in our TV-less experiment!
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