TV-Turnoff Week Coming: Get Kids Out

RealAge.com taps their parenting expert to offer tips on how to keep your child from becoming a fat couch potato by age 10.

Helping to prevent your child from becoming obese via couch potato status is probably one of the best things you could do for them, especially in the younger years. With next week being National TV-Turnoff Week, the folks at RealAge.com have tapped Jennifer Trachtenberg, MD, their parenting expert, to offer some tips on getting your kid moving.

Select studies, said RealAge.com, have revealed "limiting screen time in childhood increases the probability that a child will grow into an adult with a healthy BMI." Dr. Trachtenberg added to this commentary by stating as well that "kids who eat in front of the TV tend to consume fewer fruits and veggies, more snack foods and soda and ultimately, more calories. What’s more, the average child watches 20,000 TV commercials per year, most commonly for sugar-laden cereals, candies and sodas as well as fat-packed snack foods-inevitably influencing their choices."

What this all adds up to is not letting your kids have more than a suggested two hours of glowing screen time, be it computer or television, per day. Some suggested tips from RealAge.com to enforce this rule:

• Plan ahead: Choose programs together with your child then turn off the TV before the next show begins. Similarly, choose one DVD or one video game with an agreed-upon time limit.
• Watch together: Help your child understand what he or she sees and hears, including ads and music lyrics.
• Hide the remote: It’s harder to mindlessly channel surf without one.
• Minimize sets: Allow one or two TVs in the house, never in a child’s room or near eating areas.