Parents and kids - Join the nation for National TV Turnoff Week - April 20-26

Don't forget to plan for "TV Turnoff Week".  This year it will be celebrated on April 20-26.

I wanted to remind you early enough so that you could have a family planning session.  TV is such a big part of most of our lives, that turning it off for a week requires a little planning.  But done as a family, it can really be a fun time!  I will never forget being in the mountains of Peru with my children and no TV for a week.  We talked for hours, played cards, read books and really didn't miss TV at all!  But we had prepared for our journey into no TV land.

Not to worry, here are some simple steps that will help the whole family get ready:

• Discuss the importance of time away from the TV, bodies need activity to be healthy
• Sit down as a family and agree to give up TV for a week- Print a kid-friendly TV turn-off agreement
• Have the kids help come up with activities you can do instead of TV - print a  list of  25 FUN indoor and 25 FUN outdoor activities
• Have fun!!
• Celebrate your families successes!

Here are some interesting TV related facts that might surprise!

• Number of 30-second commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
• Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
• Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
• Percentage of children ages 6-17 who have TV's in their bedrooms: 50
• Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
• Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
• Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500
• Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66