The numbers are alarming. These days, the typical American child spends about 900 hours per year at school - and about 1,023 hours watching TV. That's more TV than school time! All this TV time can have a big impact on your child's health. When compared to kids who watch little or no TV, kids who watch a lot of TV do more poorly in school and have lower reading scores. These kids often weigh more and are less fit. They are also more likely to use tobacco and alcohol when they get older.

Good news. There are many things you can do to reduce your child's TV time and encourage healthier activities. In fact, you and your family can find TV-free activities starting today. You can do that by . . .

Reducing TV time:

• Turn off the TV during meals, which encourages everyone to eat and talk together.
• Limit access to television by removing them from children's bedrooms.
• Avoid use of the television as a reward.
• Designate certain days of the week as TV-free days.

Starting up other activities:

• Exercise as a family by taking walks, riding bikes, or learning a sport.
• Play games with family and friends, such as chess, checkers, charades, and other board games.
• Plan and cook a family meal together.
• Take the dog for a walk, or borrow a neighbor's dog.
• Read a book, listen to music, or try writing a story for some quiet, down-time.
• Visit the zoo, the library, a park, the museum.

Additional Tips
Here are a few activity sheets to help your child reduce TV time.

Break Free of T.V. - A pledge and coloring sheet for your child to write down ideas for reducing TV time.
Break Free of T.V. (Spanish)

Get Active! Be a Healthy, Active Kid! - A list of activities and ideas for kids to be more active. Includes a TV viewing log.
¡Muévase! ¡Sea un/a niño/a saludable! (Spanish)

Online Resources
Here are a few online resources to help you find healthy alternatives to TV (keep your visit brief).

TV Turn Off - Learn more about reducing TV time and finding healthy alternatives from kp.org.

TV Turn Off Network - The national network supporting TV Turnoff Week with the latest news, events, and related resources.

We hope your visit here was short and you and your family are ready to enjoy a week (or more) of TV-free activities.