Friday, November 13, 2009

How much TV is too much?

According to my daughter's teacher, a mere six-and-a-half hours of screen time each week starts to have a detrimental impact on children's social skills. I, of course, had to research this on my computer. I did not verify that statistic, but I found something even more disturbing: A Nature Conservancy report found many children spend 6.5 hours a day face-planted in Facebook, Xbox, television, a text-tablet or some other device.

Is it any wonder one-third of American children are overweight or obese? I don't know how it works in your school system. In mine, the kids still get PE. Once a week. That's simply not enough. We need kids who are moving more and eating better. I'm not saying this is easy to change, but I know it must be done.

We know some kids who have been banned from their Nintendo Wii for two months. They are doing things like playing outside, reading more and spending time with classmates. Yes, it can be more challenging for their parents, but on a whole, the entire family is happier and healthier.

1 comment:

  1. Wow, PE once a week? I thought we had PE every day in Elementary School when we were kids. It's scary, isn't it? Is this why Americans are so obese? I wonder if it also contributes to sleeping problems.

    My husband also mentioned he heard that the act of watching TV raises your blood pressure, even in kids. In our family, where there is a history of high blood pressure, that's a definite concern. Interestingly, computer games did not have the same effect on blood pressure as TV. Still, seems like logging time on the swing set or the bike is the best option!

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