Tips for Limiting TV Viewing
How To Turn Off the Television and Spend More Family Time
Tips and ideas on helping children become more involved in healthy family activities, socialization and exercise by cutting out media consumption at home.
It is difficult to keep children away from the television. Mothers need to get things done and kids need to keep occupied. Television is easy, it's comforting and it's addicting. It can sneak up on you. Often the amount of time in front of the TV gradually escalates until everyone in the household is consuming too much. As a parent, you want what is best for your child and the best way to discourage excessive television viewing is to be a good example yourself.
TV Don'ts:
- Don't have a television in your bedroom and don't allow children to have one either.
- Don't watch television during meals. Ever.
- Don't allow children to do homework while watching television.
- Don't make the television the focus of your family room. Place the television so that it is NOT in the most comfortable viewing position of the room.
- Don't spend all of your leisure time watching television. If all of your down time is spent in front of the television, expect children to follow your example. It's nice to unwind sometimes but try reading or pursuing hobbies instead. Encourage children to do the same.
- Don't allow the television to be on simply for noise value. Turn on the radio and read instead.
TV and Very Small Children:
The best plan is to not let them get started in the first place but reality is a little more complicated than that. For small children DVDs are best because there are no commercials. Allow viewing of educational shows for only very short periods of time (20 or 30 minutes). Try to do it only when absolutely necessary, such as during dinner preparation.
TV and Older Children:
Have a viewing schedule. Decide as a family what shows will be watched and stick to the plan. After determining how much time to allow for television, let children pick appropriate shows and post the schedule so everyone knows which shows are allowed and when. Make sure to turn off the TV as soon as the program is over.
Try a trade off. Have children earn television time by reading, exercising or some other approved activity. A half an hour of reading equals a half an hour of television viewing.
Be prepared to offer alternatives. When kids complain of boredom, have a list of fun suggestions ready. (Play a board game, bake cookies or hide and seek etc.) Post the list near the television as a reminder that there are other things to do besides watching television.
Keep the room with the television stocked with kid friendly things to do. Board games, books, cards, craft supplies, music, puzzles, blocks and toys. This will encourage creative play and discourage complaints of nothing to do.
Finally, when you do allow children to watch television, watch with them. Discuss what they are seeing and help them to analyze the messages they are receiving from the media. Teach them to be critical thinkers about television content and the advertising they are exposed to on the screen.
