Almost half of U.S. kids spend at least two hours a day watching TV. While this may sound harmless enough, numerous studies have come out showing that TV is definitely taking its toll on American children.
For instance, a study in the April 2004 journal Pediatrics found that every added hour of watching TV increased a child's odds of having attention problems at age 7 by about 10 percent. Those who watched for three hours a day between the ages of 1 and 3 were 30 percent more likely to have attention trouble at age 7 than those viewing no TV.
The notion that kids watch far too much TV is a no-brainer, literally. My strong recommendation is to minimize TV watching to no more than a few hours per WEEK, as a short attention span is only the beginning of the problem with TV. Here are some of the other negatives of kids watching TV:
Although you may be accustomed to turning on the TV to entertain your kids (or yourself), there are many other options out there. Here are 20 to get you started.
- Take a walk
- Read a book
- Cook a meal
- Do a jigsaw puzzle
- Play a board game
- Talk about your day
- Play some sports
- Color, draw or paint a picture
- Play outside
- Invite a friend over
| - Put on some music and dance
- Go on a ‘treasure hunt’ around the house or neighborhood
- Play catch or Frisbee
- Make a "fort" out of blankets and pillows
- Ride bikes or roller blade
- Write a letter to a friend or relative
- Do a crossword puzzle or word search
- Write a story
- Run relay races with friends
- Play charades
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