QUESTION: Which one of these photos represents 120 calories?

ANSWER: All.

Do you feel the need to lose a little weight after the excesses of the holidays? Believe it or not, according to a new study, simply watching less TV could cause you to burn an average of 120 more calories per day!

That doesn’t sound huge, but according to the New York Times, that is the number of calories burned on a one mile walk.  It is also the number of calories in these servings of foods.

According to Dr. Jennifer Otten, lead author of the study:

“We need a longer-term study to see if this would be an intervention that would help with weight loss, or even weight gain prevention.  But if you add it up over time, it’s equivalent to walking eight miles a week.  Over a year, it might help prevent weight gain of 12 pounds.“

Why does unplugging have this effect? According to the study by Dr. Otten published in the December 14-28 of the Archives of Internal Medicine, adults who cut their TV viewing in half spent more time in light physical activities, or even couch-potato activities that burn more calories than TV-watching does (simple “unplugged” activities like reading, playing board games or scrapbooking!).  Their eating patterns did not change*.

The study was based on 36 overweight and obese adults who watched at least 3 hours of television per day.  20 of those people were asked to cut their viewing in half (enforced through a TV lock-out device).   Armband accelerometers measured the movements of all participants.

*NOTE:  An interesting inference from the NY Times Article is that children who cut back on TV actually DO EAT LESS TOO!  Would kids benefit even more than adults by cutting TV viewing in half??

Interesting links:

What Does 120 Calories Look Like? (Be sure to look at the 38 photos at the bottom of the page too)

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?

Click Off the TV, and Burn More Calories

THE STUDY: Effects of Television Viewing Reduction on Energy Intake and Expenditure in Overweight and Obese Adults – A Randomized Controlled Trial

Nielsen released a study last Monday (October 26) which found that children ages 2 to 5 watch more than 32 hours of TV per week. Kids ages 6 to 11 only watch about 28 hours per week (but they are in school more which accounts for the reduced TV watching).

When you consider that most adults work a 40 hour week, I find those numbers to be astonishing.  Apparently this is the most television viewing for 2 to 11 year-olds since 1995.

Also according to this study, kids aged 6 to 11 also watch more commercials than older kids or adults. Thanks to the wonders of DVR, they also watch the same programs over and over again.

What about video games?  The same study says that children ages 6 to 11 spend nearly 2.5 hours per week playing video games on a TV.

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SOURCES:

Nielsen Wire Blog: TV Viewing Among Kids at an Eight-Year High

MSNBC – Study: Many Tots Watch 32 Hours of TV a Week

Are you trying Turnoff Week this week? Don’t know what to do? It’s Wednesday, are you running out of ideas? Here’s a brainstorming-type list. See if you can find some inspiration here:

- Cook together – Bake fun goodies or make dinner.  Try something exotic – kids are far more likely to eat “weird” food if they make it themselves. Have a Kids Cook Night!

- Be tourists – visit a local attraction that you have never visited before.

- Try a craft or an art project. For ideas, you can always search the old Unplugged Projects (the category is: “Unplugged Project” of course!).  Be sure to check out readers’ links for ideas too.

- Flip a rock to see what’s under it.  Photograph, draw, or write about your results.

- Go outside and play.  If you live in a city and have no yard, then go to the park.

- Read a book out loud.  By the way, you don’t have to read only simple picture books to toddlers.  They love those, but a nice, appropriate chapter book read in bits can hold their attention (and yours) too.

- Put on some music and dance.

- Dejunk your house, or a room of your house.  Eliminating and organizing stuff might not always be fun, but it leaves you with a lightness of spirit when you are done.  Here’s a post with some ideas for what to do with your cast-offs:  Sort, Junk, Donate.

- Volunteer with your child for a local charity.  If you are unfamiliar with the organization it is best to call first to find out what they need and whether a child the age of yours would be welcome.

- Play some board games together, or have a formal family game night. My advice for preserving your sanity: try to pick a game that your children like, but that is not deadly boring for the adult participants. (ie. stay away from Candyland – that one sends me into an immediate coma.)

- Write a story together and illustrate it.

- Play with your pets, wash the dog, teach him dog tricks, put the cat away and get the bird out …

- Learn a new skill together: knitting, crocheting, French knitting (aka. corking, mushroom knitting, knitting knobby, knitting nancy, spool knitting), finger knitting, weaving, embroidery, needlepoint, wool felting. If you don’t have a French knitter, make one out of a tin can.  If you don’t have a weaving loom, make one out of a picture frame!

- Take a walk around your neighborhood, or be adventurous and go on a real “nature hike!” Check out these sites for more outdoors/nature-related ideas: Backyard Nature, Green Hour

- Organize a family (or neighborhood) soccer game.  Or basketball, or baseball, or tag, or “Mother May I…”

- When all else fails…bring out the Mommy I’m Bored Box.

Uh oh, I almost missed it and the dates are actually posted here on my very own blog.  National Screen/TV Turnoff Week is now twice a year and the September Turnoff Week will be from September 20th -26th which is next week!

Have you ever wondered what would happen in your family if you eliminated (or reduced) TV?  Mutiny? Peace? More reading?  Less arguing?  More arguing?  Boredom?  More playing outside?

Now’s your chance to find out.  People all over the United States (and the world?) will be turning off TVs for one week.  No real commitment is necessary.  You don’t have to blow-up your TV, or even donate it to the local thrift store.  Just turn it off for one week (unplug it from the wall if the kids know how to turn it on by themselves).

I know that many readers of this blog are already TV-free (or at least minimalist when it comes to “The Box”).  How about trying to minimize other screens that week?  My personal downfall is of course the computer.  I will try to turn it off (as much as possible*) that week.  [*See?  Am I already waffling?]

I will TRY.  That is what counts.  Perfection is not required.

By the way, from my past experience with feedback from TV Turnoff Week, it is usually the husbands rather than the kids who put up the most fuss about eliminating the tube.

Something to think about.

PS.  I am not sure about organizing a formal Turnoff Blog Challenge this time.  Is there any interest?

So, here is my first TV-related post in a while for anyone interested in television and its effects on children.

Many thanks to my friend Wishy who is always way more up with current news than I am, and who kindly emails me links to any article she thinks might be of interest on my blog! I guess she is my Director of Current Affairs.

Here is Wishy’s latest find: Even Background TV May Delay Children’s Speech.  This article is nearly a month old, but that’s how long it took me to get around to writing my post.  Oh well.

According this MSNBC article, a new study* has found that for each hour of television exposure (even as background noise), infants heard 770 fewer words spoken to them by adults (a 7% decrease).  There was also a decrease in the number and length of children’s vocalizations, as well as child-adult conversation.

The possible explanation for this?  Here is the researchers’ conclusion:

“Some of these reductions are likely due to children being left alone in front of the television screen,” the researchers write in the June issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, “but others likely reflect situations in which adults, though present, are distracted by the screen and not interacting with their infant in a discernible manner.”

I would imagine that most mothers have been naturally chatting away with their pre-verbal babies since language first began.  But experts now realize that two-way linguistic interaction with adults is absolutely crucial for infant language development.

By the way, one startling fact from this article is that 30% of households have the TV on all the time.  Wow!

A final thought:  I wonder if too much talk radio would also have the same negative effect on language development.  I know when I am trying to listen to the news on NPR, I am not paying a whole lot of attention to what my children are saying either.

This is a good reminder for us all I think.

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* The study, entitled Audible Television and Decreased Adult Words, Infant Vocalizations, and Conversational Turns, appeared in the June 2009 issue of The Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.  Here is a link to the abstract.  The full article is also available online with membership, or for a one-time access fee.

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(Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com)

April 20th through the 26th is Turnoff Week (formerly TV Turnoff Week, but now it applies to all “screens”).  As I mentioned previously, I will once again be hosting a Blog Challenge for those who dare to give the no screen (or reduced screen) thing a try for a week.  A few intrepid souls have already expressed an interest in giving it a try.  Thank you!

I am very late in posting the instructions.  Usually I start a few weeks ahead of time!  However this year, I have been really busy with other, “real life” obligations.

Finally though – for those who have already indicated that they want to give it a go, and anyone else who wants to attempt it, here is how the 3rd Annual Turnoff Week Blog Challenge will work:

Phase 1 –

1) Write a post about the challenge that sets forth your goals, reasons for joining in, etc. The more people we can reach and get to join in, the more fun and educational it will be!  Remember, it is not just about giving up TV, what about the “other screens” in your life? The computer is my personal downfall so I will be concentrating on reducing that.

2) Link to your post in Mr. Linky below (leave a comment too in case Mr. Linky goes haywire, as occasionally happens, and I have to take him off).

3) Steal the Blog Challenge badge and put it in your sidebar, linking to Unplug Your Kids. Let me know if you need help with this step.

Two sizes:

Phase 2 –

Do your best to meet your goals from April 20-26. If you aren’t successful, it’s OK. What is important is to try, and to learn something from the experience.

Phase 3 -

1) After Turnoff Week ends (April 26th is the last day), write a post about how it went: the good, the bad, and the ugly! Sharing experiences helps everyone.

2) I will also write a “How it Went” post and I will put up a new Mr. Linky. Put the link to your “How it Went” post in the new Mr. Linky (plus comment just in case).

3) On Wednesday, May 6th I will draw a random name from among those who completed the challenge by putting up their final post (remember, whether you met your goals or not, completion just means blogging about it!).  If you don’t put up your final post and enter it in the Linky before that date, then I can’t enter you in the contest.  A random person will win a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

Finally, I have to apologize to a few of you who asked me questions that I have not answered yet.  I have just been SO busy this past week, that I haven’t had a chance to think about the blog, or email, or anything much.  I do appreciate your questions, and I will try and send you an email tomorrow (Sunday).

Here is the first Mr. Linky.  Anyone who wants to enter the 3rd Annual Turnoff Week Blog Challenge should write a post about their intentions and link to it here.  Even if you indicated in the comments to my last post about this that you wanted  to join, please be sure to link to your goal-setting post here, to make it “official!”

This year’s National Turnoff Week begins April 20th and runs through April 26th. I plan on hosting another Turnoff Week Blog Challenge for those who want to take the plunge and give the TV-free life a try!

Can you turn off your TV for one week? Can you turn off your computer for one week? Can you at least reduce your family and personal screen time for one week?

These are things to think about. The idea is not to feel guilt about doing it or not, “succeeding” or not, but simply to gain awareness of the amount of time that we all spend in front of screens these days.

Even without TV, I have my own “screen-issue.” The computer is my downfall. I will try to reduce my computer time that week.

Think about it. Discuss it with your family. Perhaps this would be a good time to try reducing your screen time if you have been considering it.

I’ll post more later about how to join in the Blog Challenge (as always, there will be a small bribe prize for a random participant!!), but I just wanted to plant the seed in your thoughts today.

So, is anyone interested in giving it a try?

I am depriving my children of an “essential good.”

In Brazil, I might be prosecuted in court.  Did anyone hear this little NPR blurb yesterday?

A Brazilian man missed out on soccer matches, the news and a “popular reality show,” when a store did not replace his faulty TV.  The judge found in favor of the man, ruling that in modern times, TV is an “essential good.”

Are those of us who do not have TV in our homes, guilty of child abuse?  Are we depriving our little ones of an “essential good?”

What about those whose children (TV in the house or not) miss Sponge Bob, Hannah Montana and PBS.  OK, Sponge Bob and Hannah Montana are arguable…but PBS?  What about Discovery?  Is censorship of our children depriving them of an “essential good?”

Am I depriving my children of educational/cultural experiences by not having TV at all?

I wish we could elect to get a few select Discovery Channel, National Geographic, PBS, History Channel shows without receiving all the other stuff.  But even those channels can be edgy at times.  We were away recently and the only thing on History (or was it Discovery?) was the history of torture devices.  Another of those educational channels had a show about Hitler.

I am not depriving my children by having a TV-free home.  Culturally they get a lot on the playground:  they know about Sponge Bob and Hannah Montana.  As far as education goes, my kids get a huge amount of that from school and reading books, just like kids did before TV.

Am I depriving my children of an “essential good?”  Personally, I think not.

Many times when people find out that we have no TV they look at me as if I am from another planet.  I suppose to them, it is as if I am saying that we have no indoor plumbing, or running water.  TV has become as much a part of our lives nowadays as central heat and a flush toilet.  Most people take TV for granted and view it as one of life’s necessities.

However, just because I have no TV does not mean that I am a luddite.  Obviously I love my computer and my high-speed internet access (perhaps too much).  Technology can be a wonderful thing, but like many wonderful things, I believe that it is best used in moderation.

Deciding to adopt an unplugged lifestyle is a matter of degree.  The one extreme would be no TV, videos, computer…nothing with a screen…EVER.  The other end of the unplugged spectrum is to allow the use of all those things, but in moderation.

For those of us who do wish to live some form of screen-free life, the degree to which we do so is very much a matter of personal choice.  What works for one individual or family, might not work for another.

My family is somewhere in the middle.  Although we are without a TV signal here in this remote part of Arizona (having chosen not to install cable or satellite), we do own “the box” which I inherited from my mother.  I allow occasional videos or DVDs.  I also allow some limited computer time for the two oldest who like to play educational games.  We have no TV-based video games and I even try to avoid loud talking, flashing toys.  I prefer quiet ones that offer more open-ended, imaginative play.

When we are away from home and someplace with a TV, I allow the kids to watch some.  They find this totally fascinating and consider it a big treat.  What’s more, they’ll watch ANYTHING and are just as happy watching the Food Network as they are PBS Kids.

So for anyone who has been lurking here because you are considering reducing or eliminating screens from your family’s life, I hope you feel encouraged by this post.  It never occurs to many people that it is all simply a matter of degree!

You don’t have to cut it all off.  You don’t have to do it cold turkey.  You don’t have to rip out your plumbing and build an outhouse.

My advice:  Don’t be afraid to experiment.  Adjust your screen time until you find just the right balance for you and your children.

When you have a child who is reading very well at an early age, it can sometimes be difficult to find books that are challenging enough for your young reader, yet innocent enough for a child who is not ready for more mature subject matter.

I have a few suggestions.  If you have not yet read Parts 1 and 2 of this series, then please head on over for some other ideas.

This week, I want to mention another lesser known set of books that we just adore.  These would appeal to boys as much as to girls.

I already reviewed the first book in the series a long time ago, so I feel a bit like I am cheating.  But things get buried in a blog and I MUST mention this series again because I think it is so wonderful!

This week’s suggestion is the “Noisy Village” series, by Astrid Lindgren (most commonly recognized as the author of the well-known Pippi Longstocking series).

I desperately wish there were more, but the series consists of only two chapter books: The Children of Noisy Village and Happy Times in Noisy Village.

There are also two short picture books (32 pages): Christmas in Noisy Village, and Springtime in Noisy Village (which is harder to come by).

The very charming Children of Noisy Village is actually one of the first chapter books I ever read out loud to my two oldest children.  We sat on the sofa in front of the fire on a boring, snowy Sunday and all three of us laughed out loud at the funny adventures of the Noisy Village children.  Much to my delight, I even found a bit of more subtle humor in the book that escaped my children.  These moments kept me wanting to turn the pages as much as my children did.

In case you missed my first review, the three Swedish farm houses that comprise “Noisy Village” are inhabited by a pack of mischievous children ages 9 to 11 (as well as a baby or two).  The tale is very convincingly narrated in the first person by 9 year-old Lisa.

The era of the book is never specified, but according to the “About the Author” section, Astrid Lindgren’s writing was greatly influenced by her childhood on a small Swedish farm.  Since she was born in 1931, that would probably place the setting of this book sometime around 1940.

None of these simple adventures are mean or malicious, but are completely innocent and charming.  I was also struck by the fact that the children never talk back, or act in a disrespectful manner to each other or their parents, as I find to be the case with many books of this genre nowadays.

If you read these books out loud, make sure you have plenty of time since you might be begged to read them cover to cover in one sitting.

For silent-reading I would place them on the same level of complexity as the Fairchild Family books by Rebecca Caudill that I reviewed last time.  That is, not suitable for beginners, but perhaps not quite as advanced as the The Little House series.

More details to help you determine the suitability for your child:  each of the two chapter books is about 120 pages long and is divided into 14 chapters.  Typeface is medium and there are quite a few sweet line drawing illustrations (by Ilon Wikland) scattered throughout the book.

The only picture book I have seen is the Christmas one.  I don’t like it as much as the chapter books.  There are more illustrations, and they are in bright colors.  Somehow, I prefer the subdued black and white line drawings of the originals.

Also, although the story is fun in the short Christmas book, there is a scene where one of the older boys pretends to be Santa and brings in the gifts. In my mind, this brought up the whole “is Santa real” question.  Fortunately however, it seemed to escape my children and we didn’t have to address that issue.  The Christmas chapter in The Children of Noisy Village was different and didn’t venture into such perilous territory.

Conclusion: I can’t recommend these chapter books enough, for both girls and boys!