Family Meals: Let’s Bring Them Back

We can’t overstate the importance of screen-free family meals. Eating together and engaging in conversation builds strong family bonds. It’s an opportunity to help kids get in the habit of reflecting on their day, sharing stories, telling jokes, and talking about what’s going on in the world. It’s often during family meal conversations that family stories and family history get

passed down from generation to generation. Family meals can ensure healthier eating,

1 especially when they are screen-free.

2 They are linked to healthier behavior and closer child-parent bonds, particularly among adolescents.

3 The more family meals teenagers have, the less likely it is that they will engage in substance abuse and other anti-social behaviors.

4 The meals also contribute to a closer, more honest, and more authentic bond between

parents and kids. Three out of four teenagers report that they talk to their parents about what’s going on in their life during family meals.

5 And eight out of ten parents report that they find out more about what’s going on in their children’s lives when they eat together.

6 It’s easier to maintain family meals throughout adolescence when they are an enjoyable tradition early on. If, however, you’ve drifted away from family meals and want to embrace them again, try to plan ahead so that eating together is not overly stressful for anyone.

For single parent families, or when two parents are in the workplace, meal preparation, and cleaning up afterwards, can feel burdensome. It makes a big difference if everyone—even the youngest members—has a role to play.

Distribute tasks like meal preparation, serving, setting and clearing the table, and washing dishes among all members of the family. Or work together—it’s more fun that way. Try to agree on the menu beforehand, so that there’s no tension about likes and dislikes of the food being served. For many families these days, work and school schedules make it impossible to eat together every day. If you can only manage to do it one, two, or three nights per week, aim for the same day(s) of the week and at the same times. Creating a regular schedule will make it easier to turn family meals into a lasting tradition.

And remember—concentrate on the food and each other. Avoid electronic distractions!

1. Woodruff, S. J., et al. (2010), Healthy eating index-C is positively associated with family dinner frequency among students in grades

6-8 from Southern Ontario, Canada. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 64(5), pp. 454-460.

2. Fitzpatrick, E. et al., (2007). Positive effects of family dinner are undone by television viewing Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107, pp. 666-671.

3. Survey from the Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse (2010). The Importance of Family Dinners IV. New York: Columbia University; Sen, B. (2010). The relationship between frequency of family dinner and adolescent problem behaviors after adjusting for

other family characteristics. Journal of Adolescence, 33(1), pp. 187-196.

4. Ibid.

5. Sen, B. (2010). The relationship between frequency of family dinner and adolescent problem behaviors after adjusting for other family characteristics. Journal of Adolescence, 33(1), pp. 187-196.

game night and screen-proof our home

What a fun night is game night!

My children got a few new game for their birthday and tonight they wanted to play Clue Harry Potter edition. So their father read the direction and we all played it. It was fun!

I hope you do have those game night in your home.

I would also like to share with you those tips to screen-proof your home:

1- Rearrange the furniture. Turn your living room and family room into places for interaction, games and conversation, not mini theaters.

2. Make children’s bedrooms.

3. After Screen-Free Week, set consistent limits about children’s screen-time.

• No more than 2 hours per day on weekends and no recreational screens during the school/work week would be great.

And remember, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for babies

and toddlers under age 2.

4. Set limits on your own screen time. The example you set is as important as your rules.

5. Institute screen-free (and phone-free) meals. Talk, laugh, tell stories, and enjoy your food.

6. Try not to rely on screens as a babysitter.

7. Involve children in household chores, projects, and meal preparation.

8. Designate at least one day each week as Family Screen-Free Day

who is watching those programs?

CSI, Law and Order, Crimunal Minds... but who is watching those programs?

Those scenario are sick! I had to watch one or two to make my own opinion and I can tell you that I got nightmares! I am still haunted by those sick people depicted and analysed and exposed to us over and over again.

What is wrong with those producers?

Don't they see what they are doing by showing so many crime and deviated people?

All my friends around me cannot stand those programs.

I can just imagine that those enjoying seeing those are kind of sick themselves.

Even more scary for me is that considering that commercials repeat over and over the same message to persuade viewers to spend money on their product, how those program are working? Showing over and over crime and perversion?

I am convinced that they are nourishing all perversion in so many individual watching them.

What kind of messages television are carnying?

I understand the interest for police work like depicted in the old fashion show, Columbo or Agatha Christie. But all those series are sick!

Obviously adult are not responsible enough to simply not watch otherwise those shows will not proliferate . Isn't that time for the producers to take charge? Is profit going to be the lead to our new word?

Feeding people junk because it give a bigger profit that healthy?

Showing sick show because of the profit, denying all the impact those may have on our society?

I am sure that people sleep a lot better after watching an happy show like, let say "Dancing with the star" than after watching a sick one like Criminal minds. This one seems the worse to me right now as he really make the criminal the stat of the show, digging in his mind and perversity.

So yes I am asking, who is watching those sick programs?

cyber addiction

Just in third grade and already spending hours every weeks playing video game: seem familiar? If you know a child like this you should read this article:

We all enjoy the benefits of the Internet, and for many of us it is also an indispensable tool for work, education, and communication. While time spent on the Internet can be hugely productive, for some people compulsive Internet use can interfere with daily life, work and relationships.

When you feel more comfortable with your online friends than your real ones, or you can’t stop yourself from playing games, gambling, or compulsively surfing, even when it has negative consequences in your life, then you may be using the Internet too much. Learn about the signs and symptoms of Internet addiction and how you can get balance back in your online life:

http://helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm

Screen-Free Week is almost here!

Screen-Free Week is almost here! On April 18-24, children, families, schools, and communities around the country will turn off entertainment screen media (TV, video games, computer games, apps, etc.) and turn on life. It’s a chance to unplug and read, play, daydream, create, explore nature, and spend more time with family and friends.

Since 1996, millions of children and their families have participated in Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff). Each year, thousands of parents, teachers, PTA members, librarians, scoutmasters, and clergy organize Screen-Free Weeks in their communities.

Q: Why turn off all the screens completely? Can we do it for just one day?
A. Turning off the screens for seven full days helps participants realize that life without screen-time is not impossible and may actually be more fun. A week-long turnoff allows sufficient time to develop habits likely to be more productive and rewarding. A one-day turnoff is easier—but doesn’t give people enough of a break from the noise to reassess the power of screens in their lives.

Q: Are all screens bad? What about PBS?
A. One purpose of Screen-Free Week is to leave behind judgments about the quality of programming and focus instead on creating, discovering, building, participating and doing. Regardless of the quality of media, there is no denying that, for most children today, time spent with screens overwhelms all other leisure activities—and that too much screen time is harmful. Use Screen-Free Week as a catalyst for enjoying the world.

a new book which seems interesting

I did not read it yet but this book seems interesting.

FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST is an exciting guide for taking a liberating media fast in an age of increasingly fast media. It is the first book to provide readers a practical, user-friendly and thought-provoking guide to gaining a newfound control and understanding of their relationship with the media. This researched, seasoned manual provides specific guidelines, important areas for thought, creative options and life-changing opportunities.

FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST also shows how to take control of the media choices in our lives. This book is not a judgmental, media-bashing sermon, but rather an inspiring guide to cultural nutrition. In fact, most people do not typically choose to eliminate all media from their lives when they return from a fast, but rather make more informed and conscious choices about what to consume, how much, when, and why. Fasters also return more rested, revitalized, and thoughtful, often excited about new directions and purpose, or about being better organized and centered.

The reader of FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST will find out how to eliminate or minimize problems – stress, overwork, waste, burn-out, fuzziness, speed-up, apathy, emptiness, ebbing relationships -- which come from media overdoses in our modern world. She will learn that there are alternatives which allow us to regain control over our lives. FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST acquaints us with how fast media are changing our lives, and what we can do about it. Many readers will rediscover original thinking, creativity, what they always wanted to do, and to become deeply fulfilled in their lives.

http://gaetacommunications.com/store/FAST-MEDIA-MEDIA-FAST-Hardcover-Book.html

Commercial, repeat and food

Did you notice how many commercial and particularly how many commercial for junk food are in your favorites programs?

I am always astonished and even shocked by the amount of commercial American television shows in every single programs. And as News warn more and more American people about the danger of over eating and eating unhealthy, you may see almost simultaneously, a News report about obesity for example and then 4 or 5 commercial about pizza, ice-cream, Mc Donald, jack in the box...

Commercial repeat numerously because it works, it does create a desire or even a need in the person brain. One who finished to eat his diner and watch a TV program may feel hungry again after watching so many commercial about food and may get up to eat some more while watching his programs and more commercials about more food.

This is even more dangerous on young brain. Children are prompt to desire whatever they see. If you are walking in front of a candy store, there is a great chance your little one will suddenly desire some candy, even if a minute before he was not even thinking about any. It is the same with commercial and even worse as it works like if you are walking many time in front of the candy store!

Unhappily for us, greed is the nerve of the economy today. What is important is to make as much money as possible, as much profit as possible, so it does not matter that junk food are unhealthy and even becoming dangerous for the health. As long as people buy it, it is profitable and this is what is important.

As a result one end up with News report telling you how bad that kind of food is for your health while the following commercial is pushing you to run buy some.

The solution: boycott commercial and junk food!

Junk food will not be replaced by healthy food while it is still profitable, industrial do not care about people health. But people are free to make the right choices for themselves and their children.

My children are completely aware of all this as I raise them with media literacy. They know that commercial are designed to create unnecessary desire and need. They are also plenty aware of what junk food are and why it is bad for the body.

I wish media literacy to be taught in elementary school. Young children are naturally open minded and curious. They could learn how to protect themselves from the influence of commercial. It would also be nice to teach them more about nutrition.

Spelling and the internet

I do love the internet, it is so useful and fun for homework.

We often look on the web for picture and illustration of a special subject, like for example when social studies speak about native american and we can look for picture and even videos who make the lesson more exciting.

Another thing we do every week is a spelling test. It is an exciting and fun one as it is with my father as the extra student of the "class".

My children are really happy to work with their grand-father :-)

I play the part of the teacher as always. My 3 students listen to the dictation and carefully write it. Then they all read the text one after the other. Then their grand-father gave them "how many mistakes would be excused" and we correct together.

It makes the whole process a fun one!

Then if their grand-father have some more time, they will read to him :-) They may also read to their grand-mother :-)

Thank's to the internet and skype!

After school

One mom was proudly telling me today that her son is playing video games "only one hour after school every day". Appreciation of what is good for your family is something very personal. Each time a parent speak to me about how much screen time his child is spending, it makes me think about what my children are doing at that same time.

So today, as soon as they got home, they went to play outside for a couple of hours. My son was practicing his rip-stick skills while my daughter was having fun with their new hula hoop. Then they both played with their skate-board until I asked them to come back inside.
They are now reading the new book they just borrowed from the school library.

Yesterday they did enjoy some screen time, playing with their typing instructor on their laptop. Hopefully they will improve their typing skills :-)
This program is pretty well done and fun to do. They also have some educational cd-rom which are entertaining as well. I was amazed by how much they learned with those, and learned about all kind of field, geography, history, science... In case you wonder which cd-rom are those, they are coming from France, they are like virtual magazines which include a story, some games, some art and craft and plenty of information on a multitude of subject.

Screen and family

did you notice how much a screen, any screen, fill up the space and the time?

Let say that the children come home and their dad is on his computer, what happen? The children will certainly be happy to see their dad, say hi to him and eventually cuddle a little, they may even attempt to talk a little with him, if they do not feel that they are interrupting him from something which may be very important.

In fact, body language will guide them with what they will chose to do. If their father do not move much, keep his eyes on his computer or get back to it very quickly without moving from where he is sitting, the children will make it short and will go to do something else. On the other end, if their dad put his computer down or even better close it, and give them full attention, then the children will fully enjoy spending time with him, speaking about their journey, starting a real conversation.

You may observe this interaction in your own home, and not only with your husband but may be with yourself. It works for any screen, if you are watching TV and do not wish to be interrupted, your children will feel it because of your body language (or may be because you will ask to not be disturb).

When parents are fully available for their children, open to dialogue, it appears that the children enjoy sharing this time with them to talk about their journey. They will also certainly enjoy playing games with them.

I did observe in many families where parents love their own screen time that the child reproduce the same behavior. For instance, in this family where the father enjoy watching television and movies most of the time, his son does not really look to spend time with him playing or talking but instead watching a movie with him.

In an other family where the father spend most of his time on his computer, his son enjoy spending a lot of hours playing video games. Actually the son in the first case loves video games as well. In both case, kids are not involved in much active activities, they are not interested by the practice of a sport.

I am sure you could share some more examples and please do.
In some families, the TV is on in the living room, a parent may be on his computer and the children are in their bedroom watching their TV or playing video games. It is a very common family situation that can be find in any social level. Every one in the family is plug to a screen. Every one seem perfectly satisfy. Most of those families do not understand what could be wrong with this picture. After all, everybody in the family is happy, they are all enjoying their own "space". Let's say that it is a common evening, mom is cooking diner, eventually watching her program, Dad is watching his or doing his stuff on his computer and the children are watching their programs or playing video games or doing what ever they want on their computer. everybody is happy and satisfy. And it is like that everyday! Because everyday, mom has to prepare diner, dad has some stuff to do on his computer or a show to watch on TV and the children adapted to the setting, organizing their own center of interest around a screen.

But on week-end, they do stuff together, they may go out a little, have company. they may go out of town. Yes happily there is week-end where family may have more opportunity to really do something together away from a screen.

I believe it is worth observing your own family, your own interaction with your children and the consequence on your family communication and exchange.

Why we do not have time for TV

Beside the fact that after school our children like other have homework, after-school sport and like to relax doing their own things which in our home is reading, we do not have time for TV because of plenty of other things. Yesterday we went to the beach until sundown and have some friends over for diner. The children were having an amazing time playing together, and it is so nice to see 4 children laughing for hours.

Tonight, it was piano time, my daughter was practicing and as she was playing a waltz, I started to teach my son how to dance the waltz. Dad started to teach the dancing to and in no time the four of us were waltzing as my daughter wanted to learn it too :-)

Before going to bed, my children played piano, composing their own music and having fun, my daughter was enjoying teaching piano to her brother.

About piano, I would like to tell you this little story: I was visiting some friend the other day, they have 3 wonderful children, nice, smart and interesting. The boy is about 11 year old and plays the piano. He is pretty good and enjoys it. He was speaking to me about all those kids he knows who are spending hours playing video-games. It is not that he does not like video-games but he does not understand that they spend so many hours a week playing them.
He was nice enough to play a piece of music for us and then he told me "they play video-games, I play piano, my piano is my games-box"

Still no time for TV

Tonight again, we could not have watch TV, we were too busy. Before diner, we took some clay and the four of us, my two children, my husband and me, sculpted some white air dry clay. We made some little characters that we will be happy to paint when the clay will be dry.

We then started to read some fun magazines they just got from France. And during the diner, we laugh a lot as my children were telling us all the new jokes they have discover.

After diner we read a little more and we started a game: a bingo! Bingo is fun for all age, particularly when you always have some surprise prizes for each winner. The fun is also to announce each number faster and faster, so each player must read all his numbers really fast to not miss any.

And after the bingo, as it is vacation, the children grabbed again their magazine to do some cross puzzles.
Playing many games, particularly board games or cards games, is an activity we love in our house. I would say that reading and playing games are the main activities in the evening.

What do we do without TV?

When I speak with other parents or children I noticed that most of them have the same routine on school days, they get home, have their snack, or get their snack on their way to after-school activities, do their homework and then get some free time to play with their video-games or watch TV.

As I often say, we do not have much time to watch TV in our home, we do have a lot of activities after school and we do have homework too.

Just thinking about what we are doing when homework is done ?

Well, we laugh a lot. Tonight my children finished to prepare little card and present to bring to school and it took them a great deal of time. They had to create, design, write and decide when and to whom.

Then it was time for diner. After a little talk we decide to play one of my kids favorite game at the table: "les incollables" a game of questions and answers adapted to their grade, kind of a "trivial pursuit" adapted to each grade. It is fun and challenging and make them learn some stuff on the way. One of tonight question was an anagram from this word: "ceinturon". This is a French word and they are working on this anagram since half an hour now, with a lot of giggles!

As they are having a lot of trouble with this anagram, they are creating tone of new words with those letters and get even more giggles from all this creation's frenzy.

Oh well, I am going to interrupt them sadly as it is time for bath.

TV in the car

Today, I noticed a TV in the Van before me, a cartoon was on. A child was watching. I thought about what I do in the car with my children.

First what we do when I pick them up from school, well we talk! It is a fun time to recall what happen at school, exciting. It became a routine of sharing their day in their world.

We also sing in the car, and very often actually. My daughter likes to sing all the song she is writing, my son enjoy to learn them too and they put up the show.

We also listen to music for sure, mostly my son's favorites lately, a compilation of all the music he loves. We also listen to all kind of different music, from children song to rock and roll.

And we listen to stories, particularly if we are in the mood for a quiet relaxing time. We have a bunch of great stories, audio-books that we can all enjoy.
And as it is Christmas time, we are listening to Christmas stories right now.

Our car is turned easily as a fun place to be. So when I saw this TV with cartoon, I felt sad. TV help to silence anything and everything.

Thalassa and the discovery of the world

My children love the French Magazine anyone may watch on TV5monde, the French channel all over the world. Here is how TV5 presents Thalassa: Georges Pernoud and the entire "Thalassa" crew take you on board each week to visit faraway destinations and discover different cultures, people and continents."

This magazine is an amazing windows on the world, those reporters are discovering interesting situations, stories, people which gave us an opportunity to learn a lot about our planet, human kind, animals, culture...

It's not only the opportunity to learn about all those fascinating facts but also learn more about geography and professions that our children do not have much opportunity to cross in their daily life: scientists who work and research on all kind of field regarding ocean and nature, botanist, ecologist, marine biologist, microbiologist, zoologist...

My son really enjoy a lot this magazine :-)
I am not sure that children who watch TV on a daily basis and watch essentially entertainment programs like cartoon and movies, will be as interested by that type of program...

I would say that watching TV pretty rarely is making those program even more attractive. I can see that watching my daughter reaction, she loves entertainment, cartoons, movies. But she also loves watching TV so when I propose to my children to come watch "Thalassa" she is simply happy to watch something. But if I was to ask her, do you want to watch Thalassa or a cartoon or a movie, I know she will choose the cartoon or the movie. My son will still choose Thalassa.

And this is not the only example I have around me, I saw that when I was visiting homes where children watch television daily, they are not watching much documentary. I did this experience in a public school too, in second grade, in a class of 26 children, we show the children a fun documentary about the solar system, after 5 minutes already a few children were not watching anymore, then a few more and after 15 minutes only 6 children were still watching attentively the documentary, all the other were chatting, day dreaming or playing. All those children (beside mine) are watching television daily, most of them are also playing video-game daily.

I believe that those children got used to be entertain by those fictional programs, to not have to think, be in a passive state and that they became addicted to this.

It seems that children who do not watch TV programs daily and do not watch many fictional programs, have a better chance to appreciate documentaries.

Pictures in their brain

Special effects are an interesting aspect of movies so I showed my children videos of special effects, one was a video of a workshop actors attend in order to learn and experiment flying effect fight.. They sure loved them, seeing those adult pretending to fight and having fun.

I also show them two scenes of "Crounching tiger, hidden dragon", fight scenes, one where the father get a weapon in his head and end up dead. Not a good image, too hard. My son was chocked and a little disturbed. I remind them quickly that he was not dead, that it was just an actor and ask them to imagine which special effect have been used in order to give this appearance to the actor.

They just have screen how to make an hand looked bloody with a piece of glass in it, even if they found it disgusting, it gave them a good start to imagine how to make this "weapon looked inside the head" May be a piece of cardboard painted in a metallic silver color and glue on his head? They took the time to brainstorm some solution. The scene was so present in their head that the next day they told it to their friend, and the day after to another one. They had to share, they had to speak it out, they had to digest it, to proceed it.

The whole fight which is violent (it is still a fight) disturbed more my son than my daughter. He does not like movies and particularly those where people are mean and violent, so the fight, even if he found it interesting, made him uncomfortable. So to process it, he mimed it. He pretended to fight like them. But I know my son, I know that those images were not welcome in his head. I thought he was ready to screen how those fight were choreographed and how those special effects where made, which he was really ready for, he liked to see the actors workshop. But he did not appreciated to see the actual scene.

I know it will take some time to "digest" those violent scenes. Watching images is never without consequences. Just remember how well you did sleep after seeing a violent movie or an horror one?

I recognize that I avoid programs like CSI or Criminal Mind for example, Those stories are vicious, deviated, sick and are easily disturbing my sleep. They can even haunted me, particularly if they speak about children.
I believe that my reaction as well as my children reaction, is healthy. It prove that we are still sensitive.
Showing violent images always has consequence on the brain and his functions. I happily continue to closely choose what kind of images my children are exposed to. I am always there, present, available and ready to help them proceed what they saw.
Happily they never saw a violent movie. They did not see Star Wars even if they know the stories pretty well as they read many star wars books. I did show them one or two scenes of some star wars, particularly one with Yoda, so they know what those movies are about. But at 8 years old, they are too young for those images.

Watching TV 'is bad for children'

Children under two should not be allowed to watch any TV, experts say.

Older children should watch no more than two hours a day, the researchers at the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Centre in Seattle said.

Each hour in front of the TV increased a child's chances of attention deficit disorder by 10%, their research in the Pediatrics journal showed.

The study of 1,345 children showed three hours TV a day made children 30% more likely to have the disorder.

Dr Dimitri Christakis at the children's hospital led the study. He said: "The newborn brain develops very rapidly during the first two to three years of life. It's really being wired."

Children who were exposed to the unrealistic levels of stimulation at a young age continued to expect this in later life, leading to difficulty dealing with the slower pace of school and homework, he said.

"TV can cause the developing mind to experience unnatural levels of stimulation," he said.

Rapid

This was made worse by the rapid image change that television makers used to keep young children interested, Dr Christakis added.

Parents were questioned about their children's viewing habits and asked to rate their behaviour at age seven on a scale similar to that used to diagnose attention deficit disorders.

The youngsters who watched the most television were more likely to rank within the top 10% for concentration problems, impulsiveness, restlessness and being easily confused.

Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington in Seattle, another of the authors, said it was impossible to say what a "safe" level of TV viewing would be for children between the ages of one and three.

"Each hour has an additional risk. You might say there's no safe level since there's a small but increased risk with each hour," he said.

"Things are a trade-off. Some parents might want to take that risk. We didn't find a safe level in that sense."

Between three and five per cent of children in the US are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

The researchers admitted there could be problems in the study as the parents' views may not be totally accurate.

Also it was not possible to know whether the children already had attention problems early on that attracted them to TV viewing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3603235.stm

Too much screen time can psychologically harm kids

Negative effects occurs no matter how active children were during the rest of the day, study finds

NEW YORK — More than two hours a day spent watching television or playing computer games could put a child at greater risk for psychological problems, suggests a new study.

British researchers found the effect held regardless of how active kids were during the rest of the day.

"We know that physical activity is good for both physical and mental health in children and there is some evidence that screen viewing is associated with negative behaviors," lead researcher Dr. Angie Page of the University of Bristol told Reuters Health in an e-mail. "But it wasn't clear whether having high physical activity levels would 'compensate' for high levels of screen viewing in children."

Page and her colleagues studied more than 1,000 kids between the ages of 10 and 11. Over seven days, the children filled out a questionnaire reporting how much time they spent daily in front of a television or computer and answering questions describing their mental state -- including emotional, behavioral, and peer-related problems. Meanwhile, an accelerometer measured their physical activity.

The odds of significant psychological difficulties were about 60 percent higher for children spending longer than two hours a day in front of either screen compared with kids exposed to less screen time, the researchers report in the journal Pediatrics. For children with more than two hours of both types of screen time during the day, the odds more than doubled.

The effect was seen regardless of sex, age, stage of puberty, or level of educational or economic deprivation.

Psychological problems further increased if kids fell short of an hour of moderate to rigorous daily exercise in addition to the increased screen time. However, physical activity did not appear to compensate for the psychological consequences of screen time.

Give kids screen-time budget
The researchers also found that sedentary time itself was not related to mental wellbeing. "It seems more like what you are doing in that sedentary time that is important," said Page, noting the lack of negative effect found for activities such as reading and doing homework.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39612834?ocid=twitter

Netflix vs TV

The other day one of my friend was telling me that she was thinking about canceling the cable because she cannot control how much TV her son is watching. It is not easy for her to tell her son to turn off the TV, it turns easily to a struggle. Unhappily she was realizing that her son was not moving enough anymore and spending more and more time in front of the TV.
One of my friend had just canceled her cable to keep Netflix instead and was really happy with the result: No more commercial, only programs she approved, children still happy screening better programs.

So this is exactly what I suggested to my friend, Netflix appears to be a good alternative to TV. I am meeting a lot of parents who would like to limit their children screen time but do not know how. Most of them are mothers who also need to convince their husband that TV and video games are not good for the children. Many dads actually spent a lot of time in front of the screen, some for sport, some even for video games. So it makes it even more complicated for mothers to convince their children to reduce their screen time...

Netflix may be their best ally. And I would say that not exposing their children to commercials is already a great step forward.

why children may actually enjoy News?

Let me first remind you that I do not think that children younger than 7 years old should watch news. Why 7 years old?
Well, simply because 7 years old is the age of reason. At 7 "plus or minus one," your child begins to problem-solve in a new way, using reason rather than pure intuition. He can start separating fantasy from reality.

First I should explain what the kind of news I am speaking about is. I am certainly not speaking about local news where you may see police chasing car, or report on all kind of crime happening in your city or what happen to stars...
I am speaking about real news; those which speak about international news, economy, politics, sciences, ecology... news that are not interrupted by commercials.

In fact news via the internet is certainly the best option to select the news your child can actually safely watch and learn from. TV can be windows on the world and not everything in the world is appropriate for his eyes.

So, let say that you do select some news from the internet that you find interesting like the oil spill disaster along the Gulf Coast for example, this disaster was worth showing and discussing about, it is raising your child awareness of ecology. Children are naturally feeling concerned by the well-being of the planet.

Children can also be interested by politics. They are naturally fascinated by their president and want to understand why all adult are looking at him as an important person. Plus they understand he has powers, and powers do fascinate children and not only in cartoon.

Children, who do not watch television programs and not much entertainment, may tend to be more receptive to news and factual programs. However, this is probably more a question of personality. Some children are naturally more attracted to fiction than fact and the other way too. Exactly like when choosing books in a library, some children will look for fact, sciences, geographic etc, and some will be more interested by fiction, novel, fantasy.

I would tend to think that with those who like fantasy better, it is even more important to preserve and encourage their interest for reality and their awareness for the world around them. The real world is also full of stories worth knowing and eventually watching. I am thinking for example of those people devote to a noble cause, like saving animal here or there on a planet. I know that both my children felt very concerned when they learned that some people around the globe where fishing too much, ignoring the future of the ocean, the fact that in 50 years we may not have any more fishes in the ocean if they do not stop to think short term. “So in 50 years, we will not have any more fish to eat…” This was very scary for them, and it is also a good lesson about the consequence of selfishness.

So yes, News can be used as a great tool to discover the world, discuss as a family about interesting subject and increase our children knowledge in a fun way.