"TV Turn-Off Week" at school
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| Sat, 04-29-2006 - 1:56pm |
Hi. I've been gone for a week, because this was "TV Turn Off Week" in our school district. Every year, they make a big deal about this. For one week (actually, only 5 days), the kids are supposed to go without TV or computer games. Each kid who participates gets some prize. So...I decided to just leave the computer off, myself.
This whole TV Turn-Off thing is so weird, to me. It's like kids are so used to having the TV on 24/7, that they are lost without it. It's such a huge problem, that they have to have "TV Turn-Off" week, and offer incentives for kids who can manage a whole week without TV. David has learned, this week, that most of his peers are bored without the TV on. That never occurred to him before. I've mentioned before that we rarely watch TV in our house. DH watches a bit after the boys go to bed, but it's off during the day, except for the occasional DVD. In fact, I think it's safe to say that since September, David has probably watched no more than about 8 hours of TV, total. At home, that is. Turns out they watch videos at school ALL THE TIME. My boys have never seen commercial TV, but they do play computer games; probably an average of about four hours a week. (And yes, it's hard to limit that, because it's addictive.)
I've noticed that on the rare occasions that we have a friend over, David's peers don't seem to know how to do pretend play. (Yes, I know many ASD kids have challenges with pretending, but I'm talking about NT kids.)
Both my boys complain that there isn't enough time in the day to do what they want to do. I often wonder how kids cope with days filled with homework, television, and soccer practice. There is so much else to do. My boys do like I did as a kid (although in my case, I didn't have a playmate, because my sister was glued to the TV her whole life and then got messed up on drugs.) They build things with Legos, Lincoln Logs, blocks, etc. They make little dolls or Matchbox cars have adventures, they draw, paint, play with Play-Doh, write, look at books, have light-saber fights, turn their room into a mad science lab, play school with their stuffed animals, go on expeditions to Antartica or Alpha Centauri, have picnics with dinosaurs. That fantasy stuff is pretty intense in our house, because David is a "fantasy boy" kind of AS kid...but to a lesser extent, that's the kind of stuff I did as a kid, and it's what Nathan (NT) does. When they are not in "fantasy" or "create" mood, they play outside with sand, shoot hoops. Right now, I can hear, they are scotch-taping cereal boxes together. It's silly, and not exactly productive, but they are having a good time. They both are kind of into "practical jokes". My point here is that there is plenty to do. Sometimes they need to be reminded of toys that are up high, or given a few suggestions, but not often.
Well, at the beginning of TV Turn Off Week, they sent home some info, including a long list of suggestions of things to do instead of watching TV. The idea that children wouldn't just naturally find something to do strikes me as tragic, in the grand scheme of things. Anyway, this list was full of things like, "Volunteer at a senior center", "Start a stamp collection", "write a letter to your grandparents", "plant a garden." Nowhere on the list is there anything about just doing what kids naturally do, if their brains haven't been turned to mush by staring at a TV screen.
In all fairness, I don't think TV is all bad. A lot of it is absolutely horrible these days, but there is some good stuff that I'd be happy to let my kids see. My point is that kids are so accustomed to having the TV on *all the time*, that they aren't able to do anything else, and they are missing the essential, brain-developing phase of free play and exploration. And then they grow up and become parents and voters. Does anyone else find this disturbing? Or do I just need to get a life? LOL!
Evelyn
David (8, AS); Nathan (4.5, nt)

Hi Evelyn,
I was wondering where you were!
We are a tv watching family. But I like balance. I think too much isn't good. I lived kinda a sheltered life when I was little, so tv was my source of learning and connecting to the outside world. So that's how I got addicted to tv. I try to balance the boys activities, because I don't want them relying on the tv as I did as a child. I have my favorite shows that I watch, and so do the kids. We also enjoy watching movies together, which we do alot too. But the boys get their share of playtime without the tv, and we also play games, and have homework time.
My boys aren't addicted to tv, so I've never really had to keep them away from it. Nathan actually prefers the tv to be off....unless he's watching one of his favorite shows. And he only has a couple of shows he watches.
There's just not alot of time during the day though, to do ALL of this in one day. Somedays, there's more playing....some days more tv. It just depends. But mixing it up is good. I don't want my boys to be sheltered from the tv, but I don't want them relying on it either!! lol Does that make sense? I agree with you though, about implementing more play time, experimentation, role playing, imagination type games....would be great for alot of kids.
michelle
I totally agree with you.
We limit tv here and Sam does great finding things to do with out direction, much like your kids. Fantasy and building play rules.
DH grew up in households where the tv was on all the time. We probably had the tv on more often than I watch tv now when I was a kid, but I do recall full summer days outside with only a plum for lunch, happily running around allllll day long. We did only have 1 tv in our house, though and I think that made a huge difference. DH's family still has the tv on all day, with a tv for the porch even. They often have the tv on even if they are outside! It's crazy. Sam used to go there when he was two and I was finishing up college. It wasn't a good decision. He spent all day in front of the tv, totally tuned out. Grandma would often put in a video and he'd howl afterward that he wanted to watch it again, so she'd rewind it and let him watch it again!!! That situation didn't last long; we put him in daycare soon afterward. I still to this day don't understand how she doesn't see how bad that was for him. She kindly babysits for us occasionally when we really need an afternoon to ourselves. She always says, "he was a peach" when we pick him up because he spent all day watching tv, doing and saying nothing. She just doesn't get it.
They watch videos at school too I think one every week and every day if it's rainy and they don't go out for recess.....I hate it. Sam watches more than I'd like him to (about 1.5 hours during the week,) but it's his only down time and he *really* needs it after school to tune out for a bit and do absolutely nothing. I'd love for him to do more reading practice...etc because he struggles so much in that area, but he's just so stressed after school that it's just one more thing that adds to it.
We just recently got cable and I'm seriously thinking about getting rid of the kids channels because they are way to stimulating for him; just PBS is fine here though I do like SpongeBob! ;) It's easier to put on a short video, once it's over that's it. With the tv shows, he knows there's another one coming on. My friend with a 1.5 yo and 6 month old said, "oh, I don't leave the tv on all day. only from 7-10am and then I shut it off." I thought that was alot!!!
Chrystee
For a long time, we limited Malcolm's "screens" to 2 hours a day minimum. On a school day, he might not actually HAVE 2 extra hours after school, what with therapies and after school programs, playdates, homework, dinner, etc. And on weekends, he has playdates, more activities, busy kid. These days, at his request, we have lightened the restrictions on weekends. He just managed a very stressful school change and he earned the leniency, I think. So far he isn't abusing it.
Because he is an only, when he is home, he does often play gameboy, computer games and sometimes watches TV. Many times he plays against his dad or one of his pals. Actually, one of the things those guys of mine do in computer-land is use simulators: design roller coasters, plot space flights in outer space, fly airplanes, drive trains, also they play chess. He is learning alot alot on the computer. OK, and they play gory shoot-em-up games too, I don't want to know about those, really... I refuse to learn to play these games, besides I like to keep one area just for them. And as far as computer games go, I'd like to stick to Solitaire and Tai Pei.
On TV, Malcolm likes Spongebob and Ed, Edd and Eddy, Fairly Odd Parents, The Simpsons, LOVES Tom and Jerry. Knowledge of these shows really helps in the social circles. Otherwise he doesn't watch TV very often and weeks can go by without it.
We have done TV Turn Off Week every year since he was 3, as all the schools he has gone to have observed it. We manage. The schools also do parties in the evening, next week (our TV Turn Off) his school is holding a story-reading party (wear pajamas) and a playground pizza party 2 evenings out of the week.
I do have to say I don't know so many kids in NYC who spend all day every day watching TV, unless of course I don't know them because they are inside watching TV ha ha...
Sara
ilovemalcolm