Comments (0) Be sure to stop by The Toby Show to read Jonah Lisa’s update on how her “7-Step TV Trap Action Plan” is going. Her 7 step program appears to be successful so far, so head over to her site and take notes if you are trying to cut back your children’s TV viewing time too!
(In case you missed it, here is my original post about Jonah Lisa: Cutting Back TV - “OK, But How?”)
URGENT! TIME-SENSITIVE BLOG POST!!
In anticipation of TV-Turnoff Week (April 21st-27th), Diane at dkMommy Spot is giving away a copy of the book Living Outside the Box: TV-Free Families Share Their Secrets
by Barbara Brock. Please read Diane’s review of this very interesting-sounding book, which is based on a 1999 study of over 500 TV-free families.
I have heard of the study and the results are quite fascinating. This book is definitely on my “to read” list!
Unfortunately I am so behind with my blogging, emailing, etc. (due to my week away - or perhaps simply due to massive disorganization), that I regret to report that Diane’s giveaway ends tomorrow, April 2, at noon EST. Sorry I didn’t get the word out sooner, but you still have time to hurry over to dkMommy Spot, read her review of this very worthwhile book, and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.
Good luck!
I have been so behind on my regular blogging schedule, that I have not yet had a chance to thank Yarrow for her very sweet little gift to me: a wonderfully pretty “You Make My Day” award. Thank you so much Yarrow! If you have never been by Yarrow’s blog, you should pop in. Yarrow of Witchwood is a potpourri of crafts, nature, paganism, green living… all sorts of interesting topics!
Now it’s my turn to pass this along. A few people who make my day are:
+ Jenny of Wildwood Cottage because she seems like such a nice person and I love reading her thoughts on books and life;
+ Jen at Never a Dull Moment because her blog is so very real and she always makes me laugh;
+ and finally my best friend in real life, Wishy of Wishy the Writer, even though she dislikes being “tagged!” -You can just ignore it if you want Wishy!-
I spend a lot of time talking about the benefits of reducing children’s television viewing, but I don’t always say much about HOW to do it. For us, it has always been pretty easy. Since my children have never had TV, they don’t miss it. Definitely the easiest way to go.
But how do you reduce or eliminate TV-watching when your children are used to it, and most likely really enjoy it? I imagine that this could require some…hmmm…”delicate handling.”
Of course for the very strong among you, cold-turkey is always an option. While you’re at it, cold showers, 10-mile winter hikes, and cod liver oil are probably good for kids too. But let’s be real here: is it really worth it? The resulting drama, weeping and wailing that could possibly occur, might make life not worth living for the parents! So what can parents do to reduce TV-time without undue suffering?
Jonah Lisa has some ideas. She wrote an interesting and witty post about how her son Huck’s television-viewing gradually and insidiously increased. Finally, caught in a “shame spiral” about his viewing-time, she decided to take action and came up with a very practical TV-reduction plan (her “7 Step TV Trap Action Plan”). Last I heard, the plan has been in place for a week and seems to be working with minimal misery for all!
I will not list her ideas here since they are her ideas, not mine. Instead I will send any of you interested readers over to The Toby Show to read Jonah Lisa’s “7 Step TV Trap Action Plan” for yourselves. Her post is entertaining and the advice is great! Please stop by if you have any interest at all in reducing your children’s TV-viewing.
One last thought: National TV-Turn Off Week is coming soon (April 21st-27th), so if you plan on giving it a go, now might be a good time to begin, or at least think about decreasing TV-dependency, so that turning it off for one whole week is not quite such a shock!
Photo courtesy of morguefile and photographer Kristine Kisky.
Here I am, ruminating in my corner about Christmas and fussing to myself about the annoying day I have had (running late…then a glass fell and exploded all over the kitchen/dining area requiring extensive and immediate vacuuming…running really late…then forgot it was son’s “Snack Day” so had to rush to grocery store on way to school…running really, really late, etc, etc…all day long). Meanwhile, it is Children’s Book Week this week and a good part of my blog is about … children’s books!
Oh well, I blame Pluto and my biorythms.
I discovered that it is Children’s Book Week by finally catching up on some of my blog reading and finding this interesting post at Not Quite Crunchy Parent. MC Milker cites an interesting statistic in her post:
“…60% of children’s books sold are entertainment tie-ins or based on licensed characters.”
I find this fascinating, yet not surprising. In this day and age it is pretty obvious that a child can see the movie, watch the TV show, buy the plush toy and the action figures, go to McDonald’s and get more toys, and read the books all tied in to the same commercial character.
I guess this is all a form of “branding.” However the flip side is that if it takes Sponge Bob, Care Bears, or Transformers to entice a child to read, I suppose these books do serve some purpose. But there are so many other WONDERFUL children’s books out there, that you don’t have to settle for boring, silly, and commercialized.
Even if you have spent only several minutes reading this blog, I think you will probably have figured out that my preference leans towards what I call “Unplugged Books,” books that do not tie in to TV shows or movies. As MC Milker points out, these books can be harder to find. Walmart doesn’t usually carry them, and even at a “real” bookstore like Barnes & Noble or Borders you might have to know what you are looking for when you go in, or at least be prepared to spend a lot of time digging around.
Of course, root around your local library too. Sometimes a good children’s librarian will put interesting, high-quality, lesser-known books on display. Those displays can be a good place to start.
Where I live, our only non-religious book sources are Walmart, Kmart, and a tiny, poorly stocked bookstore. Our library is pretty small too, so I end up buying a lot of books online.
My tricks for finding “Unplugged Books” online are the following:
- Find some online toy stores that sell “natural” or “Waldorf” toys and see if they sell books. Many of them do. I can guarantee that you won’t find any Sponge Bob or Scooby Doo at those stores (or save time and check my Unplugged Book Stores list).
-These types of “natural” stores often have links to other similar stores or websites, and those links might lead you to books. Look for a “links” section in the main page index.
- Find an interesting-sounding recommended title on a blog (such as mine!) and pull it up on Amazon. Look at the section labeled “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” and any “Listmania!” links that might appear in the left sidebar. I often find wonderful books I had never heard of, simply by following these links. Also, check for other books by the same author. I guess this is the online equivalent of browsing at a good library. I love it!
- There are a lot of blogs out there that often write about children’s books. You won’t find these bloggers recommending anything too mainstream either. The blogs I am familiar with that often recommend children’s books in the posts or sidebars are the following:
Painted Rainbows and Chamomile Tea
A Wrung Sponge (the blog author, cloudscome, is a children’s librarian)
If you know of other useful children’s literature blogs, please tell me about them in the comments.
- Of course, I must humbly mention that I also write a lot of reviews of children’s books. You can find them by clicking my category “kids’ books” (right sidebar, “What I Write About” drop-down menu). You can also click the subcategories to help find the kind of books you are looking for.
- Lastly, in case you missed it earlier, I should once again direct you to my list of Unplugged Book Stores (top right sidebar). These are stores that sell non-mainstream, “Unplugged Books.” Please check the list regularly because I am always adding new links as I find them.
I hope you find this advice helpful in your search for great children’s books. It takes a bit more effort, but trust me, the results are really worth it! Have fun!
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