Comments (9)

By Mom Unplugged, September 16, 2008 9:14 pm

I just discovered this bit of “news.” Disney and its ABC broadcast subsidiary have declared the week of September 21st to be Stay at Home and Watch TV Week! They feel that this would encourage Americans to protect the environment by staying home and conserving gas.

Oh, and that just happens to be the week that Disney and ABC will launch its new series. Coincidence? Screentime.org (organizers of the annual Turnoff Week) thinks not.

Screentime.org is encouraging people to join in its first ever fall Turnoff Week. When? The week of September 21st of course!

Here is a quote from screentime.org:

They [Disney] are making this a playful campaign, highlighting family time and fun, but the reality is ABC and Disney are broadcasters with a host of cable channels (many directed at children) that are instruments to sell advertising. ESPN, a Disney/ABC company, knowing that many of their viewers are children, will not even consider limiting the advertising of beer and other products that are not appropriate for children. So, Center for SCREEN-TIME Awareness, with the short lead time we have, is launching a BIG test to see if we can get people to hold our first “September Turnoff,” starting on September 21st. All we ask is that you pick a day, or two or three that week and “turnoff” all the screens.

So, if you have been on the bubble about turning off the TV or other screens in your life, or if you worry sometimes about the effects of networks, big corporations, or advertisers on your children, now may be the time to try going without TV (or other screens) for a day or more.

If you feel REALLY strongly about this and have an opinion to share, screentime.org is holding an international conference call tomorrow (Wednesday, September 17th) at 3PM Eastern Standard Time. Here is more detailed information from the screentime.org website:

The call in numbers are as follows:

Conference Dial-in Number: (269) 320-8000

Participant Access Code: 921805#

All are welcome to join the call, please invite others to join us as well. Ideally, those who can put small groups together would be helpful, but individuals are welcome. There is a great deal to discuss and your comments are important to us.

We hope to speak with you soon!

Comments (0)

By Mom Unplugged, February 29, 2008 8:41 pm

What makes your pre-school or elementary-aged child shine?

“Bubblegum Books is asking kids to write about – or even draw – their most creative ideas for doing fun things during the week of April 21–27, 2008 [TV Turn-Off Week]. Submit fun and educational ideas about ‘what makes you shine.’ It can include an activity, person, adventure—or even something imaginary.”

Reminder: Deadline for the Bubblegum Books/TV Turn-Off Week Contest is March 14th.

For more information, please read my post: An Unplugged-Contest! “Show Your Shiny Side” or visit the Bubblegum Books contest page.

The contest is based on the book Something Shiny, Something Round, by Julie Goulis and illustrated by John Ferguson.

NEW INFORMATION: Bubblegum Books welcomes homeschoolers!

“Homeschoolers can definitely join in the fun too. The contest is open to all elementary-aged and pre-school aged children. Just specify what grade level your child is. Prizes will be awarded by grade level. Where it asks for school phone/address, etc., just include your home information. The organizers of TV-Turnoff Week and Bubblegum Books work with a lot of schools, so the form is probably geared more for schools. We hope you’ll be able to enter and show what makes you shine when the TV is off.

- Brad Hauber - Bubblegum Books”

So don’t forget…March 14th is the deadline. And if you win something, please let me know!

Comments (11)

By Mom Unplugged, February 20, 2008 9:32 am

“What if there were no TVs, computers or video games in your life? That’s exactly what national TV-Turnoff Week is all about – and the “Show Your Shiny Side!” contest is asking elementary-aged kids to come up with imaginative ways to spend their time during those days.” -Bubblegum Books, TV-Turnoff Contest

It’s February, which means it’s almost March, which means April will soon be here. What happens in April? TV-Turnoff Week of course! April 21-27 to be precise. It is also time for Bubblegum Books’ annual TV Turn-Off contest.

Last year I wrote about the 2007 contest (which was based on their book The Things a String Can Be by Julie Goulis and John Ferguson), but back in those days no one but my sister and my ever faithful friend Wishy read my blog. Hopefully this year, I can drum up a bit more support for this fun and worthwhile contest.

Here are all the details:

This year’s contest, again held in conjunction with the Center for Screen-time Awareness, is based on the book Something Shiny, Something Round, also by Julie Goulis and illustrated by John Ferguson. Bubblegum is committed to inspiring children to be creative and use their imaginations. Each book comes with a bonus activity guide too.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

HOW DO YOUR KIDS ENTER AND WHAT DO THEY DO?:

+ Dream Big! Let us know what makes you shine. You can draw and/or write your idea(s) on a separate sheet of paper. Go ahead and get creative. The more details, the better.

+ Open to elementary-aged kids.

+ Complete the ENTRY FORM and staple it to your entry. Please print clearly. Attach one form for each individual entry. (Teachers: Please mail class sets in one flat envelope.)

+ All entries become the property of the Center for Screen-Time Awareness and Bubblegum Books. Please make a copy of your submissions as submissions will not be returned.

+ Submit to:

Center for Screen-Time Awareness

2000 29th Street, N.W.

Lower Level # 1

Washington, DC 20007

DEADLINE: March 14th, 2008

WHAT CAN THEY WIN AND WHEN WILL THEY KNOW???

+Winners will be announced during Turnoff Week (April 21-27, 2008)

+Prizes will include t-shirts, frisbees, pencils, stickers, books and other rewards for excellence.

+The grand prize will be a visit by the author and/or illustrator to the winning school.

NOTE TO TEACHERS - Special Educator Contest:

Educators - develop the most interesting way to make this “shiny” contest part of your class. We are looking for integration, educational value and fun. The plan should also be submitted no later than March 14. The winning teachers will receive gift certificates to a local store and/or a local restaurant.

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To read the press-release, here’s the link. For an easily-printable PDF version, click here. Why not print this and hang it in your children’s school or library? Let’s make this a national Unplugged Project!

Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, May 7, 2007 12:57 pm

Just because it is no longer “officially” TV Turn-Off Week, doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to be conscious of your family’s screen-time.

There are a lot of great reasons out there for “turning it off,” or at least minimizing your TV and computer usage. Here are a few internet resources that I have come across that really address this issue nicely:

• The Not Quite Crunchy Parent, a participant in my TV Turn-Off Week Blog Challenge, wrote two very interesting posts about TV. The first, TV Turnoff Talk, is a great general list of some excellent reasons to turn off the TV. The second, The Ancillary Impact of Too Much TV, contains some great links to current scientific research on the effects of TV on children.

A few reasons on her list include the well-known facts that excessive TV appears to contribute to childhood obesity and violence, as well as the behavioral benefits demonstrated by TV-free children: less aggression, more creativity, longer attention spans, and an interest in reading.

• The Simple Dollar has a great post entitled Ten Financial Reasons To Turn Off Your Television - And Ten Things To Replace It With. If money is what speaks to you, then read it!

Think of what you could spend your money on (or put into savings) without a cable bill and the added electricity of one or more TVs in your house. Then there are the less obvious financial benefits such as less exposure to commercial marketing (perhaps you’ll save money there too!) and spending less money on fast-food or ready-made meals because you don’t have time to make a dinner from scratch if you have to catch your favorite show.

I really like this post because it has some very creative reasons for turning it off, many of which I had never thought of before. It is definitely worth a read and will make you think about your money, and how TV affects your spending.

• There are websites out there that also encourage less TV-watching. I link to some of them in my left sidebar. I won’t relist them all here, but I will highlight a few of them.

The Center For Screen Time Awareness may be the best known of these websites, since they are the sponsor of the annual National TV Turn-Off Week. Several others that are a good resource and have lots of interesting links are TV Smarter, LimiTV, White Dot and Kill Your Television (rather “emphatic,” but quite complete). White Dot also has a Turning Off TV Forum.

• If you are wondering what TV-free kids are like, here is a link to one of my favorite articles (found on The Center For Screen Time Awareness website): “TV Free Families: Are They Lola Granolas, Normal Joes or High and Holy Snots?” This article presents the results of a 1999 study conducted by Barbara Brock, a professor of Recreation Management at Eastern Washington University. She sent a 22-page questionnaire to nearly 400 TV-free families and had a 72.7% response rate. The results are very interesting and seem to confirm the beneficial effects of turning off the TV found in other research.

My children have been TV-free their whole lives and I sometimes wonder about how that will ultimately affect them, so I find this study to be very reassuring!

• Finally, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age 2 watch no TV at all. Please read their recommendation at my post TV and Toddlers. For a while now, I have had the following sign on my blog:

It is finally being noticed and has appeared on several other blogs too. I am so pleased that others are willing to help spread the word, and I have moved my sign to a more prominent location. Please feel free to place it on your blog too. It can be found at Aylmer Press. You can also print full sized ones to hang in schools or other public places if you would like. Steve Kokette found my blog and was kind enough to contact me about his sign, so please include a link to his site if you use it. Thanks for helping spread the word!

Comments (3)

By Mom Unplugged, March 5, 2007 7:07 pm

Looking for something for you and your kids to do during your non-TV viewing time? Enter the “My String Is A…” contest sponsored by the Center For Screen-Time Awareness and Bubble Gum Books!

The contest is based on the picture book “The Things A String Can Be” written by Julie Goulis and illustrated by John Ferguson. Apparently, the book follows a little boy and his friends who use their imaginations and a piece of string to dream up many adventures. Bubble Gum Books’ press-release says:

“Based on the book’s theme of using the imagination, the ‘My String Is A…?’ contest encourages elementary-school children, teachers and families to use their imaginations to come up with their own ideas of fun things that can be done with string. It could be an activity, project, adventure or anything using string. The idea is to be as creative and imaginative as possible.”

Sounds fun! But hurry up, the deadline is March 16th, 2007 (National Hiccup Day, more on that later)!! The ten most interesting ideas will be announced during TV-Turnoff Week (April 23-29, 2007) and prizes will be awarded. The grand prize is a visit to the winner’s school from the author and/or illustrator of the book.

Click here for details of how to enter. Good luck!