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TV-Turnoff Week
This
April, millions of kids and adults around the world
will turn off their televisions and find out what life can be
like without TV.
It
seems especially appropriate that TV-Turnoff Week falls during the
same month as the Week of the Young Child (April 7-13). Young children
need lots of positive attention from the adults in their lives
for their brains, emotions, and bodies to develop to their full
potential. Television robs families of just this kind
of interaction by taking the place of normal adult-child contact
and family activities.
Hundreds
of research studies have been done on TV and how it affects our
kids. From these studies
we know that:
- The average kid (aged 8-14) in the United States spends over four hours a day watching television shows, videos/DVDs, and recorded television programs (such as with TiVo) [1].
- 63% of American families with kids aged 8-18 usually have the TV on during meals [2].
- TV viewing
is a major factor in the rising rates of obesity in
our kids. As US Surgeon
General Dr. David Satcher said at the Kick Off of TV-Turnoff
Week 2001, "We are raising the most overweight generation
of youngsters in American history...This week is about saving
lives."
- TV viewing
by kids tends to increase their aggression and decrease their
ability to pay attention.
- Kids who
watch more TV have more trouble with reading and school.
This, from the Center for Screen-Time Awareness:
‘TV-Turnoff
Week Works!
According
to hundreds of responses to our TV-Turnoff Week follow-up surveys,
90 percent of responding participants reduced their TV-viewing
as a result of participating.
Sound
like fun? It is! Join thousands of parents, teachers, pediatricians
and other families by celebrating TV-Turnoff Week 2002 this April
22-28.
TV-Turnoff
Week is supported by over 70 national organizations including
the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics,
National Education Association, and President's Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports.
"I really didn't like TV-Turnoff Week except that I did notice that
my grades went up and I was in a good mood all week." - Second
grader Drew Henderson, Donora, PA’
For
more on TV Turnoff Week:
This year, for a week in April, turn off your TV and turn on LIFE!
~Kyla Boyse, R.N.
April 2002
Citations:
[1] Roberts DF, Foehr UG, Rideout V. Generation M: media in the lives of 8-18 year-olds. Kaiser Family Foundation. March 2005.
[2] Roberts, 2005.
Updated June 2007
Reviewed by faculty and staff at the University of Michigan
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