Turn Off the TV Week - Can You Do It?

Ok, so it's official, the Barnum family will be participating in Turn Off Your TV Week. I have just announced this novel idea to the Barnum children, and as you can see from the photo to the right they are not on board ...yet.

What is it? Turn Off Your TV Week is a semi-annual event emphasizing the importance of spending time away from television media. It was started by an organization called Screentime.org to help improve health, education and wellness while building stronger families and communities by reducing the amount of time we spend in front of the TV and Computer. Many of you are probably thinking, "That is a great idea! I have always said that my kids watch too much TV." but what about YOU? Do you watch too much TV? Do you know how much TV is too much TV? Try this TV addiction quiz just for fun http://www.trashyourtv.com/survey

You may be surprised by your results, I certainly was. I scored an 11 and after thinking about the questions, I had to be really honest with myself. While we try to limit our children's TV time quite a bit, I must admit that I have some bad TV habits that need to be corrected. So what do I do now? TV DETOX (this includes non-educational computer time)!

Now, this is the perfect time to use the old phrase, "This is going to hurt us, more than it's going to hurt you." We will miss some of our favorite shows this week too (please someone record LOST for us). We will also have to expend just a little more creative energy to entertain ourselves and our family, but what do we have to lose? No, the better question is what do we have to GAIN! So, we challenge you to join us this week and turn off your TVs and turn up the quality family time.

Log into our blog this week as we share creative ideas that will make this week fly by. Here are some tips to get started;

• Just take this challenge one day at a time. Everyday you are able to resist turning on the TV counts as a victory.




• Instead of telling your family that you are "TURNING OFF THE TV" like it is a punishment of sorts, try telling your family that your are going to be really creative and fun this week. Ask each member what they would like to do or where they would like to go and try to incorporate this into your week.





• Use music to liven up your environment. Each day let a family member choose a musical artist or genre that they like and blast it loud and proud. Use this time to learn about what each person likes. To make things really interesting you can go to your local library to try new music or world music and talk about the country and culture that that genre comes from.





• Do you remember that thing called the newspaper? Purchase one this week and let each family member take a section, sports, entertainment, comics, world news then read and share.





• Go outside! Enjoy your beautiful surroundings. Go for a walk after dinner. Be creative and take a camera to capture images that are usually overlooked. When you return home, review the photos together.





• Get each member of your family a journal for the week to record thoughts and feelings about turning off the TV.





• Plan something different, relax and have fun.