Did you know...

American children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television, more than any other activity except sleeping. By the age of 70 they will have spent 7 to 10 years of their lives watching TV.

—The Kaiser Family Foundation

Add these hours to the 10-15 (or more!) spent on videos games and there is not much time left for family communication, reading and other creative activities. It is a well known fact that television and addicting video games are one of the largest time wasters. Excessive screen time significantly reduces creativity. We have to change this trend that is dumbing down our children. As parents, it is our duty to monitor and limit our children's screen time.

There are ways that media can have a positive influence on learning. Television, computers and educational videos games have their place and can each be great educational tools when used in moderation. It comes down to finding the right balance. Parents need to screen game and programming content and set limits to the time spent viewing television and playing video games.

Our TV VG FREE Challenge and other similar challenges are a motivational way to get children to take a decisive break from screen time. This allows them to break the bad habit and discover new creative alternatives to occupy their time.

See our TV VG FREE Challenge Tips and Creative Idea Activities and listen to our inspiration song "Take Back Your Brain" to help get your family or students motivated.

Articles and Resources on Media Awareness

• Doctors Urged to Monitor Patients' Screen Time
• Early Childhood TV Viewing May Trigger Autism, Data Analysis Suggests
• "Child Obesity: Why is no one blaming television?" by David Burke
• "Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor" by Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• "Study Says No Video Games on School Nights" by Eric Bangeman
• "The Violent Side of Video Games" by Emily Sohn
• "TV and Video-Game Violence Harms Kids" by Steven Reinberg
• "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions" by Craig A. Anderson
• Media and Young Children Action Guide provided by TRUCE

Links to other Anti TV Organizations and Websites

• Media Awareness Network of Canada
• Center for Screen-Time Awareness
  (This organization organizes TV Turn Off Week in the US)
• Turn off Your TV.com
• Parents TV Organization
• Stats Canada Television Viewing Statistics
• Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment (TRUCE)