Who should read this chapter? All parents who watch television.

Summary: Television affects adults by stealing parenting time away from our children. Many parents choose to watch TV rather than spend time with their children. We could all be better parents and our children would all benefit, if we would spend more time with our children and less time with our TV.

Television has come a long way. It is very entertaining and convenient. With a single pushbutton, we can turn the TV on, adjust it, record it, play it back and select between many different programs. Popping in a video tape or disk takes more work. We might actually have to move a few more parts of our bodies to get this task accomplished. TV is so good, it's not surprising to find that many kids and adults can spend long periods of time watching TV; an afternoon, an evening, a whole day, an entire weekend, etc. Some TV programs have some educational benefit, but most do not.

What if parents and children watched TV all day long? We would all grow up to be like TV characters because this is what our perception of the world and models for proper behavior would be. While TV has many good aspects, we would all agree that its use should be limited. Homework, chores and other more important tasks should be done before any TV. There are poor role models and violence on TV. As parents, we should help our kids to watch TV more effectively, by recommending appropriate shows and giving them appropriate information about what they are watching so that the correct messages are sent and received during their TV exposure.

There is much to be said about how TV affects children so we need to pay close attention to this. Should there be concerns about how TV affects parents? YES. Basically, many parents watch too much TV. My message is a simple one: Spend more time with your children and less time watching TV.

For parents who watch a lot of TV, you should be spending more time with your children instead. Work with them on a special project. For example:

1. This weekend, we will learn about magnetism.

2. This weekend, we will learn about why we have day and night and how the planets rotate and orbit.

3. This month and next, we will work on memorizing the multiplication table. Two numbers each weekend. Today we will learn 2x2, 2x3, 2x4, 2x5, 2x6, 2x7, 2x8, 2x9, 2x10.

4. This weekend, I will teach you how to change the car's spark plugs.

5. This weekend, I will teach you how to use the sewing machine.

Spend time with them in the outdoors. Play soccer with them and improve their kicking skills. Throw some baseballs back and forth with them. Play some golf or tennis with them. Play some volleyball, basketball or football with them. Take them fishing. Fly a kite with them. Go skating or bike riding with them and point out some safety tips. Visit the local zoo or aquarium.

Try some indoor activities. You can read with them. You can play games like chess, checkers and card games with them. You can play with building bricks, blocks and logs with them. You can take them on a tour to the local university or take them to the neighborhood library.

But if parents would rather watch TV, does this mean that the TV is more important than their children? This appears to be so. Many parents watch sporting events on TV while their children play outside or somehow occupy themselves. Many parents watch soap operas and game shows on TV rather than spend time at school volunteering to help in their child's classroom. Is the Super Bowl more important than your children? Think about this.

Actually, I'm not recommending that you throw away your TV and yes, it is OK to watch the Super Bowl, the World Series and the NBA Championship. But we should try to spend more time with our children and less time with our TV. If you find yourself watching several shows in a row or several sporting events in a row, this is probably too much TV. Snap out of it now. Don't let the TV hypnotize you. You can spend this time with your children who need you most. Your children should remember you as a parent who cared and spent lots of time with them rather than a parent who spent lots of time watching TV.