How to Entertain Your Children Without TV

Nearly every home in America today has at least one television in it, many have two or three. TVs decorated to match popular children's characters such as Barbie or Sponge Bob are cashing in on the growing trend of buying children their own TV sets. Movies, video games, and popular shows make television watching even more enticing. But is it healthy?

Many experts say that the hours children spend in front of the TV each day negatively added to the growing rates of childhood obesity that the US is now seeing. Time spent watching TV takes away from the time children could be spending getting exercise, creating family bonds, reading, learning music, playing with friends, and so on. Many experts also warn that negative models on TV can influence children's behavior. Negative stereotypes, aggression, marketing schemes, and risky behavior are all normalized on many television programs that children watch every day.

So what can parents do? Turning off the TV and expecting your children to suddenly b able to entertain themselves will only lead to frustration and fighting. Children who are used to spending hours as a passive observer do not know how to move into a role of actively amuse themselves. Here are some helpful ideas that you the parent can use to entertain your children without the TV and teach them how to entertain themselves.

1. Go Outside. Whether it is warm and sunny, cool and breezy, or there is a blanket of snow getting outside can be entertaining as well as healthy. Taking a walk, ride a bike, go to the park, or just play in your own yard. There are many things you can do to keep children playing for hours. Bring along a notebook and pencils and encourage children to draw pictures from what is around them, record interesting things they find, or just journal about how they feel when outside. You can use this time to explain to your children why TV watching is unhealthy, ask them how they feel after playing for hours compared to how they feel after watching TV for hours, and talk about what they might do to spend more time outside.

2. Take a field trip. Trips are not just for school you know. Go to a local library, museum, or zoo. Find a local attraction that your children could learn more about and spend the day exploring it. Some of the arguments for television watching are that children get to see places and things that they might not otherwise be able to, however actually going out and being able to see, touch, and hear about things will make a much bigger impression that watching on TV will. If you are unsure of where to start check out your local tourism board, library, or online for lists of attractions near you.

3. Get crafty. If you can not get outside or go somewhere they are still hundreds of things you can do with children inside without the TV on. Craft and art projects are always a hit with children of any age, and can be done with minimal costs. Paint, draw, cut, glue, and create something new. Use old boxes and tubs from the trash to create buildings, cars, drums, decorations, and more. You can explain recycling, talk about where trash goes, and think of new ways to take care of your trash. You can also help your children make gifts and cards for family and friends. Sew a quilt, knit a scarf, paint a picture, the possibilities are endless.

4. Learn something new. There are many TV programs today aimed at being educational, but they still add up to more time spent watching TV. Instead spend some time learning something new with your children. Learn a new language, try to cook something new, look up something that interests you and see what there is that you never knew before. Ask your children what they would like to learn more about and create a list that you can check off as your knowledge base grows.

5. Volunteer. If you or your children have seen the commercials on TV for starving children you may feel eager to do something. Rather than sitting back and watching, get up and do something. There are many places that offer support and assistance to low income families, women, children, and the homeless. Finding a local place that you can volunteer to help at for a few hours a week will not only get you away from the television, it will also make you feel good. Being an active part of your community by volunteering helps foster friendships that can lead to more time spent with people, and less with the TV.

6. Read. It seems trite, but it is true. Spending time curled up with a book, comic, or newspaper can offer the same relaxation as resting in front of the TV can but without the negative effects that television can have. A 2004 study conducted by the Children's Hospital in Seattle found that for each hour watched a day, the risk of developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder increased by nearly 10 percent. Spending that time reading will reduce the risk, and give children's minds a workout that is lacking from passive TV watching.

7. Be your own TV set. What better way for children to be active TV viewers than to be the programs themselves. Encourage your children to put on a play or puppet show, to write a story and read it to the family, or to draw their own flipbook cartoon. Older children might enjoy borrowing a camcorder and shooting their own movie or television show. Being in control of the story line, the images, and the characters helps to give children an appreciation for creating their own entertainment that is not found with TV watching.

8. Connect as a family. Sometimes instead of looking for something to do to fill the time usually spent watching TV, sitting down as a family and just enjoying each other's company is all that is needed. Think about the last time you sat down as a family and talked. If you can not remember when you were able to do that last then you need to start now. Rather than spending an evening in front of the couch watching television take the time to be together as a family. Find out what is happening in each other's lives. Ask questions, share stories from your childhood, find out what your children are doing. By taking the time to connect as a family you can teach your children how to enjoy being together without needing the TV as a uniter.

9. Invite over friends. Make a date to invite over friends or to go to their house for TV-free fun. Any time you pull together a group of children they can find something to do that rarely involves the TV. Have a picnic, go swimming, throw a costume party, or just talk. Almost anything that you could do with your children can be fun with a group. As your children see their friends having fun without a TV it will encourage them to be TV-free as well.

10. Play. Really, the best way to entertain children without TV is just to play with them. Puzzles, colors, dolls, cars, board games, or whatever your children enjoy. Be an active part of their lives and share their joy with them. Young children rarely notice a TV because they love to actively play. Returning to this state of simple fun can not only entertain you children, it can help create bonds between them and yourself, and it can show them that the TV is not a central part of their lives.