One way to cut down on the amount of TV your kids watch is to give them a huge cardboard box—the kind refrigerators or washing machines come in—to use as a puppet theater, a play house, or just a hiding place. That's one of the suggestions Ellen Schwartz makes in her workshops for parents on how to wean kids from TV.

Schwartz, a member of Klout for Kids, a children's advocacy coalition in Contra Costa County, says one day after her workshop a parent came up and said her five-year-old son had turned an appliance box into a pretend TV. One day his friend came over and demanded "Where's the TV?" Her son jumped in the box and said, "Here!" The other kid said, "That's not a real TV!" Her son said, "Yes it is and you're on next! Get in here!"

American kids watch so much TV that it's harmful to their health. In a recent report, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that children under two shouldn't watch any television. Recent research on early brain development shows that babies need human contact in order to develop socially and emotionally. Dr. Cupoli, a pediatrician at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago says, "Infants don't just respond to somebody's voice or sight, but to touch or smell—even an aura of being wanted. TV interferes with that—it's a two-dimensional response."

For older children, the AAP suggests limiting TV to one or two hours per day. Too much TV has been linked to child obesity, lower reading scores, and attention problems. The glitzy, ready-made images on television draw kids away from reading and create the "two-minute mind"—one that becomes impatient with anything that requires more thinking. And many TV programs are filled with violence that can affect kids' attitudes toward violence in real life.

Many parents agree that TV-watching should be limited, but that can be tough for already overburdened parents. Imagine this, says Melia Frankin, a mother of three. You have toddler twins and a four-year-old. You're trying to make dinner, but the children want attention. Each twin grabs one of your legs and starts screaming. At this point, TV sounds like the most humane solution for everyone.

How can parents reduce the harmful effects of too much TV? Experts and seasoned parents suggest three strategies: cut down, create alternatives, and educate kids to be active and critical watchers.

Ways to cut down

• Don't put computers and TVs in your kids' rooms. Having the TV in a common room makes watching a family activity and makes it easier to monitor what kids are watching.
  
  
• Negotiate rules and weekly plans with your children. Alena Rudolph, a child care provider in San Francisco, says when she and her brothers and sisters got home from school, they had to do chores first, then homework. In the evening they had to be in bed at a specific time. That didn't leave much time to watch TV.
  
  
• Choose specific shows to watch; don't just have the TV on as a constant background. Ann Berens of Klout for Kids says when her kids were young and asked, "Can we watch TV?" she and her husband said no. "They got the message that they had to ask to watch a specific program." Sometimes the parents said yes, sometimes no, but when the program was finished the TV went off.
  
  
• Follow your own rules. If kids see parents vegging out in front of the TV, they will too.
  
  
• Limit the number of commercials seen by taping shows and then fast-forwarding through them.
  
  
• "Parents can also use a timer," says Rudolph. "When the bell rings, it's time to turn off the TV, brush your teeth, get into your pajamas, get a book. If you can't go by the timer, you can't watch TV."
  
  
• Have kids keep a journal recording the amount of TV watched. Maria Byck of KQED says keeping a journal helps kids see how much time they spend watching instead of other activities they enjoy.

Create alternatives

• Have children—even the littlest—help with dinner. It gets them involved and shows them that helping is important.
  
  
• Help kids put on their own shows. Create costumes and encourage role-playing. Save Halloween costumes for later dramatic play. If you spend one weekend making a backdrop, a fortress or whatever, kids can use it to put on their own shows. Kids can even act out characters they see on TV. If they really get into it they don't need the TV any more.
  
  
• Put on music and let the kids dance. Let kids pick out their own music. Have a special collection of tapes that's just theirs.
  
  
• Create a collection of audio story tapes to listen to, or read stories out loud. Ellen Schwartz remembers, "My husband read the whole Hobbit series aloud after dinner. I had a nine-year-old son who started helping to clear the table because he could hardly wait to hear the story. That kept us away from TV for a long time."
  
  
• If children come home and it's not safe to play outside, you can have games set out for them to play after school. And teach your kids card games.

Be active and critical watchers

• The most important thing is to think about what's on TV and ask questions—who is creating the show and why, advises Byck.
  
  
• Talk to children about what they see on TV. For example, young children don't really understand what it means when someone gets hurt or killed. You can explain that it's pretend but if a knife really cut someone he would hurt and bleed a lot.
  
  
• Encourage active viewing. Have kids exercise their imaginations by trying to guess the ending. Discuss the emotions and actions of the characters. Even a bad show can be used to point out stereotypes and violence.
  
  
• Warn children about commercials. Children watch an average of 20,000 ads per year and may not always be clear on the difference between the show and the commercials. Encourage them to be critical and to notice exaggerated claims.

Resources:

• Ellen Schwartz has a sheet listing 83 things that are "Way More Fun Than TV." For a copy, call her at (925) 932-6943.
  
  
• The American Academy of Pediatrics web site has a lot of great articles and links to other sites related to media literacy—http://www.aap.org/default.htm
  
  
• The Center for Media Literacy in L.A. has a wealth of programs and publications. Their web site has a list of workshops and conferences— www.medialit.org
  
  
• The Children's Television Resource and Education Center in San Francisco presents workshops for human service and educational organizations. Call them at (415) 243-9943.

Sources: Aidman, Amy, "Television Violence: Content, Context, and Consequences," ERIC Digest, Dec. 1997; Healy, Jane M., "Understanding TV's Effects on the Developing Brain," American Academy of Pediatrics News, May 1998; Taglang, Kevin, "Managing the Box," www.connectforkids.org

Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin (updated 2-07)

• Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, from the Parents Television Council, finds that children's television is much more violent than prime time TV for adults. Also found frequent verbal aggression, offensive language, disruptive and disrespectful behavior, and sexual content. Online at http://www.parentstv.org
  
  
• A week without TV?, from the March-April 2004 issue of the Children's Advocate, discusses the negative effects of TV and offers tips for reducing children's TV time.

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