Turning Off the TV Can Turn on Connection
“Whenever there is downtime where we might have a chance to connect, my kids are begging to turn on the TV or play video games.”
Discussion:
I could talk forever about the negative influence of media in our lives. The average American kid spends 6.5 hours daily with media (TV, movies, games, Internet) according to a Kaiser Family Foundation 2005 study called Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-Olds. It’s probably worse now. My friend, Sarah Pope, now a child advocate at Stand for Children, shares an accidental discovery when the TV broke in her house when she was a teenager. Some families discover this same effect when their kids get an assignment at the end of April each year to practice “TV Turn-Off Week.”
- My Mom and Dad think the breaking of our family’s only television has been a blessing though my two sisters and I do not always agree with them. The broken set has been a nuisance, but no one is willing to take the time to take it in to be fixed. Last summer my two younger sisters, aged 13 and 15–and the most avid television viewers–read more and argued less. In the past, many arguments erupted over who would choose the TV show. Initially, I missed watching movies, but my friends soon realized that coming to the Pope house meant hours of board games, which we all got used to and began to enjoy. Ironically, my family discovered accidentally the TV would work when it is given a 30-minute warm-up period. Now, nothing is watched without immense planning. My youngest sister took advantage of my being home from college over winter break and left me a note that read, “Could you please turn on the TV at 3:30 so I can watch Rosie when I get home at 4:00?” The 30-minute warm-up period acts as a grace period to discern whether the show is worth watching. The result is more often than not the TV remains turned off.
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If I knew then what I know now, I would have …
Volunteered at the school to institute “TV Turn-Off Week” as an ongoing project. It helps me when other families are working to reduce media influence, too.
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With admiration for all you do,
Dr. Kathy
Kathy Masarie, MD
Pediatrician, Parent, and Life Coach
Author of the Parenting Guides Raising Our Daughters and Raising Our Sons
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