Get Your Children Away from TV (2)

Does it seem that the kids have forgotten what the garden looks like or the park across the street? Is their conversation dotted with TV show lingo and do they base their next week's schedule around what's on TV? And the big question - are your kids glued to the TV all the time? If so, time to take control and give them a new lease on life that does not revolve around the box.

Here are some more tips

1. Make it a rule that there is no TV watching before homework is done. Unwinding after school should be relaxing, not getting hyperactive in front of the TV.
2. It can be a good idea to get kids out of TV during summer first. Summer TV is usually re-runs and fairly drab. And it is much easier to get out of doors during summer! Once the routine is in place for summer, gradually replace indoor TV as the months get darker with indoor activities, like games and reading. Continue going to museums, skating rinks, and indoor sports places as you did during summer.
3. A good rule-of-thumb for TV watching is : No TV for children under the age of 2. The TV can never be a substitute for learning about the world around them; One to two hours and no more per day for children aged over two. Also suitable for adults.
4. Place your TV in the closet. Removing the TV from the center of your living space communicates that it is no longer the center of your lives.
5. Sell your TV. Want to go over the top? Want kids that love to read? Want kids that pay attention in school? Want to foster creative and self-entertainment? Want to spend more time communicating, playing, etc.? Want to be the person giving the values instead of all the strangers with their strange ideas from television land? Want to set your kids up for a much healthier lifestyle? You can always watch a movie on your computer screen, a movie you selected.
6. Disconnect the cable. Most cable providers have several television stations geared toward children, and many have television stations that show cartoons all day. Without "children's TV stations," your children may actually look forward to getting up on Saturday Morning to watch cartoons.
7. Buy or rent the television programs that you want to watch and watch them after the kids go to sleep. Many network programs are also available on demand on the internet within a week of airing on television. By doing this, you can watch television on your own schedule without exposing your children to your shows.
8. Discuss your TV reduction with your kid's friend's parents. If they know what you want for your kids you can help stop TV watching away from home.
9. Not letting children watch television may save you money. Children are very susceptible to influence from television commercials. Without commercials, you children may not be as brand conscious, and they won't request things in television commercials they don't see.
10. Reduced exposure to commercials will have many benefits for your children: reduced desire and impulses to eat junk food or sweets, reduced desire/impulses to buy the latest toys and other fads. A good way to do this is to get them alot of Disney movies, they usually are good quality, and contains important life lessons, and there is no commertials on it, or only let them watch Disney channal, it has very little advetisments and the advertisments usually are about there own movies, not junkfood and toys.
11. Do not replace the TV with the computer or video games. If you allow this, you may well be setting the kids up for an alternative addiction. Try to allow everything in moderation and with clear limits.
12. It is a good idea to monitor what your children are watching. If you don't, you won't know what they are seeing and this can manifest itself in very negative ways if they are witnessing violence, sexually explicit content, or even just too many advertisements. Remember, TV viewing must be quality, no matter what. More importantly, monitoring what they watch keeps you involved in your child's life.