April 23, 2001 -- Unless you've been living in a cave without television, by now you have heard of the dangers of the boob tube. A wealth of studies have shown excessive television watching is associated with violence and aggressive behavior in children, along with bad nutrition habits, obesity, risky sexual behavior, body image problems, and substance abuse. Yet, like smoking, we as a society can't seem to kick the habit, even for our children's sake.

Consider these statistics:

• American children between the ages of 2 and 17 watch an average of 19 hours and 40 minutes of television a week (almost all of it unsupervised), yet they spend an average of 38.5 minutes a week in meaningful conversation with their parents.
• The average American child spends 123 more hours per year watching television than attending school
• 40% of Americans always or often watch TV while eating dinner.

The TV Turnoff Network wants to improve these statistics, which are available on their web site. For the last seven years, the nonprofit, educational group has organized National TV Turnoff Week. Jennifer Kurz, spokeswoman for the Network, says the week is an effort for millions of Americans to turn off their TV and find that life can be more rewarding and engaging without it.

If you would like to sound off on this topic, go to WebMD's Parenting: Open Discussion board.

This year, National TV Turnoff Week begins Monday, April 23, with a kick-off from U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD.

"What is so wrong about watching TV is that Americans watch an awful lot of it," Kurz tells WebMD. "It is mind-boggling, really.

"When we watch this much television, it is really no surprise that it's affecting kids' academic achievement and their health," she says. "We have the most overweight generation of youngsters in American history -- and their time, time they could spend with family and friends and getting involved in the community is being robbed. Basically, TV is robbing us of living an engaged life."

Although 73% of parents would like to limit their children's TV watching, turning off the television leaves many parents scratching their heads, wondering what to do with their kids.

"The great thing about TV Turnoff Week is you can do anything," says Kurz. "Whether that's going for a walk, meeting your neighbors, talking to your family, calling that friend you never got back to, picking up another hobby, or finishing up a project. Anything and everything, that is what is so fun about it."

The TV Turnoff Network offers a slew of suggestions that can be done with children of all ages including:

• Go to the library or local bookstore.
• Start a garden.
• Write a letter.
• Take a walk, a swim, or a bike ride.
• Get the news from the newspaper or radio.
• Start a journal or make a scrapbook or photo album.
• Play a game.
• Cook a meal with family or friends.
• Listen to music.
• Attend local plays or a sports event.
• Tutor a child.
• Do yard work.
• Sit down for coffee (or tea) and conversation.
• Watch the clouds or the stars.

Additionally, Kurz suggests making a list with your kids of what they want to do.

National TV Turnoff Week has the support of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Medical Association.

"We don't want to TV-bash or anything, but I think it is important for people to recognize that there are activities to do that don't involve TV," Miriam Bar-on, MD, tells WebMD. Bar-on is chairperson of the AAP's Committee on Public Education and a professor of pediatrics at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago.

"We have seen in our society that TV plays a pretty significant role in what people do, and if you turn off the TV you have the opportunity to do things together as a family, do things that are active, [and] pursue other activities, projects that may otherwise not be done if the TV is on," she says.

So what happens after National TV Turnoff Week is over?

"The whole deal is not to ban TV -- I am not sure that is a reality. With that said, I think that the whole purpose of TV Turnoff Week is to show you [that] you can survive without television, and that it doesn't need to be as much of a focus of daily life as it has been in the past," says Bar-on. "So I think people can go back and watch TV but they need to do so with limits and in moderation. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of quality screen time a day [for children] -- and that doesn't include only television, that includes videos, computers games, etc."

"TV Turnoff Week is really a chance to see what role television plays in your life and then decide if that role is what you want," says Kurz. "Do you want to spend that much time watching TV and if not, what are you going to do about it? We found that the overwhelming majority of participants in TV Turnoff Week want to watch less TV year-round and so we have a few ideas of how to get that started."

To help cut down on television watching in general, Kurz says you have to make TV watching a conscious choice. "Put the TV in a room that you have to consciously [make a point to] go into, like a basement or the attic, so you're not in the habit of walking through the room and flipping on the TV and having it stay on for four hours," she says.

Other tips include: removing the TV from your child's bedroom, not turning on the TV automatically, placing clear time limits on viewing, keeping the TV off during dinner, avoid using TV as a babysitter, hiding the remote control, designating certain TV-free nights, and canceling your cable subscription.

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