I read an article in the latest issue of Kindred, entitled "Weapons of Mass Induction - How television affects your opinions, your will and your life". The article is an excerpt from Remotely Controlled: How Television is Damaging Our Lives by Aric Sigman, and has convicted us that we need to spend less time in front of "the boob tube".
I had heard of research before that suggested children under the age of two should watch no television, and while I agreed it would be ideal, we didn't really enforce that in our home. While we wouldn't sit Peachfuzz down in front of kids programs (until recently - Finding Nemo), she would still be around when we watched the news or cooking shows, or whatever happened to be on. There were some shows I thought it was best she was not exposed to, so we would wait till after she was in bed to watch those, but "family friendly" shows, we had no problem watching with her around. Still, every now and then I felt uneasy about it, especially once she figured out how to use the remote control, and would ask for "moonees" (movies) or "teebee" (tv). Whenever it was on she would gravitate towards it, often standing inches from the screen absolutely mesmerised until we physically moved her. So after reading this article, I could no longer hide my growing feelings of discomfort with her exposure to television.
The "RDA for Television" is that "Children under three should see no screen entertainment. After this age, television viewing of good quality programmes should be limited to an hour a day." Having read that, we agreed to keep the TV off whenever our children are around, until they are three. Obviously we can't control this when we are in other people's homes, but we can and will control our own. This didn't seem like too daunting a task until I read on... "And for adults, two hours a day. This should include any time spent watching DVDs, videos or video/computer games. Time spent using computers and surfing the Internet should also be taken into consideration as it's all screen time." I would have no issue at all with watching two hours or less of TV each day... but the internet? And not having Peachfuzz exposed to the computer and internet either? Wow, how on earth would I manage?!
So that explains why things have been, and may continue to be, a little scarce around these parts. I basically have nap time in the middle of the day, or after Peachfuzz is in bed to check emails, catch up on blogs and write my own blog. And I'm trying as much as I can to limit my internet time to her nap time. It just feels so antisocial to have spent the whole day away from Papa Bear while he's at work, only to put Peachfuzz to bed after dinner and then log on here while he watches TV in the lounge room. Time with each other, in the real world, is more important than this "virtual world", as enticing as it can be.
This past weekend, after we agreed on our new rules, we found ourselves sitting around going "what do we do", a sad and sorry state of affairs really. We took Peachfuzz down to the park and all ran around together, playing on the swings and slide, chasing each other and just enjoying being out in the fresh air! Ironically enough, as a complement to the TV article, there was another story in the same magazine about the effects of greenery and the outdoors on our wellbeing. A couple of quick facts:
*While both violent and non-violent television has been consistently linked to increased aggression and violence, exposure to greenery is being found to diminish it within neighbourhoods.
*Further research is looking at the way plants have a powerful effect on people's ability to cope with poverty. Poor people with a slightly green view were found to be much better able to manage major life issues... This is everything that television works against. Not only does television erode attentional resources but the content of television makes viewers feel even more deprived. It seems that exposure to greenery enables people to cope and make decisions more effectively.
*An hour of gardening a day can reduce your risk of dying prematurely by 28 per cent and help reduce coronary heart disease and other chronic illnesses... In comparison, even one-and-a-half to two hours of television is being linked with an array of well-established risk factors for serious illness later in life and premature death.
*Television erodes both adult and child self-esteem in a wide variety of ways. A study of 120,000 children found that gardening increases their self-esteem and reduces the degree of stress they experience.
So go on, turn off the TV and get outside. Better still, plant a garden, and cultivate some greenery in your little part of the world!
1 comment:
Your blog always makes me feel bad about what put into action. I always tell Jared "lets have a no TV night" or we need to watch less TV. But that is as far as it ever goes. Although we just naturally watch less TV when there is more daylight during the summer.
It's exciting to read how you are always putting plans into action. I wish I was more that way!
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