Spring is here - Turn off the TV

Elizabeth and friends don't even need Sesame Street today! Record-breaking temperatures - 93 degrees.


OK, if you've been hibernating all winter in front of the TV, now is the time to "get off your bloomin' ars" as Eliza Doolittle so eloquently put it. There's so much more to do and even the two Davids I hear about (American Idol) really aren't worth losing beautiful spring weather for - I'm sure of it. If you have nothing to do outside, feel free to drop by my house where projects abound.

Here's some TV trivia from Wayne Parker at about.com:

"The statistics are pretty alarming. Television has become the central focus in too many homes. Consider:

• The television is on for 7 hours and 40 minutes each day in the typical American home.
• The average American watches four hours of television each day.
• Fifty percent of all American households has three or more televisions
• American parents on average spend less than 40 minutes each week in meaningful conversations with their children
• 56% of American children between 8 and 16 have a television in their bedroom
• Only 1 in 12 American families require their children to finish their homework before watching television.

Finding ways to turn off the TV and tune into your family can have important results. Connecting with your children, enhancing your marital relationship and more can be possible as you create positive memories and experiences that don't involve television."

I will admit to deliberately watching the Academy of Country Music Awards the other night but a rare, planned event is different from the hypnotizing, time-wasting, endlessly noisy family-destroying junk that comprises most of commercial television. I also believe that if the TV is on in a household, it should be something the whole family can enjoy or at least not be offended or injured by. This factor alone would cut down considerably on viewing time. Decisions about what to watch should be jointly made and the viewers should be sensitive and considerate of the others in the house. So, that's my soapbox item of the week.