SpongeBob impairs little kids' thinking, study finds

You may read this article in the LA Times and see how industry would denie anything in the name of profit.
By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times / for the Booster Shots blog

September 12, 2011, 6:06 a.m.

Watching just a short bit of the wildly popular kids TV show"SpongeBob SquarePants" has been known to give many parents headaches. Psychologists have now found that a brief exposure to SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and the rest of the crew also appears to dampen preschoolers' brain power.

Angeline Lillard and Jennifer Peterson, both of the University of Virginia's department of psychology, wanted to see whether watching fast-paced television had an immediate influence on kids' executive function -- skills including attention, working memory, problem solving and delay of gratification that are associated with success in school.

Television's negative effect on executive function over the long term has been established, the researchers wrote Monday in the journal Pediatrics, but less is known about its immediate effects.

To test what those might be, Lillard and Peterson randomly assigned 60 4-year-olds to three groups: one that watched nine minutes of a fast-paced, "very popular fantastical cartoon about an animated sponge that lives under the sea;" one that watched nine minutes of slower-paced programming from a PBS show "about a typical U.S. preschool-aged boy;" and a third group that was asked to draw for nine minutes with markers and crayons.

Immediately after their viewing and drawing tasks were complete, the kids were asked to perform four tests to assess executive function. Unfortunately for the denizens of Bikini Bottom, the kids who watched nine minutes of the frenetic high jinks of the "animated sponge" scored significantly worse than the other kids.

"Connecting fast-paced television viewing to deficits in executive function ... has profound impacts for children's cognitive and social development that need to be considered and reacted to," wrote University of Washington pediatrics professor Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, an authority on children and the media, in an editorial accompanying the study.

A different type of expert begged to differ. Nickelodeon, the network that airs "SpongeBob SquarePants," told CNN that "having 60 non-diverse kids, who are not part of the show's targeted demo, watch 9 minutes of programming is questionable methodology. It could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust." The network noted that "SpongeBob" is intended to be viewed by kids ages 6 to 11 and not by preschoolers.

Video Games for more violence

Not surprisingly, boys maintain a slight edge over girls in overall gaming, with 65 percent of boys playing screen games daily. The most worrisome part of video games is the cycle of violence from screen to seat: 63 percent of teens who play games report that fellow gamers become mean or overly aggressive while playing with them. Additionally, there's a wealth of evidence that playing violent video games makes teens less empathetic to others’ suffering. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have even shown that after playing violent video games, players' brain networks responsible for suppressing inappropriate or unwarranted aggression become less active. In an effort to improve the media landscape for kids, CommonSenseMedia has launched a site that includes reviews and age-specific searches for appropriate video games and more.

http://www.physorg.com/news116155534.html :

The yellow area of the brain is the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, or right ltOFC, which has been previously associated with decreased control over a variety of behaviors, including reactive aggression. The first graph illustrates that as the number of violent movies watched increased, the right ltOFC activity diminished. The second graph shows that when subjects watched the non-violent control clips, there were no systematic changes in the activation of this area. Credit: Columbia University Medical Center

Violence is a frequent occurrence in television shows and movies, but can watching it make you behave differently?

Although research has shown some correlation between exposure to media violence and real-life violent behavior, there has been little direct neuroscientific support for this theory until now.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center’s Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Research Center have shown that watching violent programs can cause parts of your brain that suppress aggressive behaviors to become less active.

In a paper in the Dec. 5 on-line issue of PLoS ONE, Columbia scientists show that a brain network responsible for suppressing behaviors like inappropriate or unwarranted aggression (including the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, or right ltOFC, and the amygdala) became less active after study subjects watched several short clips from popular movies depicting acts of violence. These changes could render people less able to control their own aggressive behavior. Indeed the authors found that, even among their own subjects, less activation in this network was characteristic of people reporting an above average tendency to behave aggressively. This characteristic was measured through a personality test.

A secondary finding was that after repeated viewings of violence, an area of the brain associated with planning behaviors became more active. This lends further support to the idea that exposure to violence diminishes the brain’s ability to inhibit behavior-related processing.

None of these changes in brain activity occurred when subjects watched non-violent but equally engaging movies depicting scenes of horror or physical activity.

“These changes in the brain’s behavioral control circuits were specific to the repeated exposure to the violent clips,” said Joy Hirsch, Ph.D., professor of Functional Neuroradiology, Psychology, and Neuroscience and Director of the Center for fMRI at CUMC, and the PLoS ONE paper’s senior author. “Even when the level of action in the control movies was comparable, we just did not observe the same changes in brain response that we did when the subjects viewed the violent clips.”

“Depictions of violent acts have become very common in the popular media,” said Christopher Kelly, the first author on the paper and a current CUMC medical student. “Our findings demonstrate for the first time that watching media depictions of violence does influence processing in parts of the brain that control behaviors like aggression. This is an important finding, and further research should examine very closely how these changes affect real-life behavior.”

Source: Columbia University Medical Center

some stats

http://www.frankwbaker.com/mediause.htm

Screen Time limits

Michelle Obama Calls for Limits on Screen Time in Childcare Settings

We’re so pleased that earlier this month, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled an important new effort to reduce children’s screen time in childcare settings and at home. As part of her new Let’s Move! Child Care initiative: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/08/first-lady-unveils-lets-move-child-care-ensure-healthy-start-youngest-ch

We are often hearing this common expression: "Life is too short"

We are also hearing or saying "I do not have enough time to do this or that"

But let's do an honest experience and count how many hours we spend in front of a screen, watching TV, Video or Video Games. And let's count it on a week or a month.

Let's also add our children screen time.

And then, let's calculate how many hours that will be, let say, on 10 years and see how many days were spent watching a screen?

Do preschoolers need mandatory screen time?

With preschoolers already spending an average of 32 hours per week with screens outside of classrooms, the last thing they need is mandatory screen time in school or daycare.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children has issued a draft of its new position statement on Technology in Early Childhood Programs. Because NAEYC is the nation's premier professional organization for early childhood educators, the statement will have a profound effect on young children's media use both in and out of classrooms.

http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/technology

101 Screen-Free Activities

At Home

1. Listen to the radio.

2. Write an article or story.

3. Paint a picture, a mural or a room.

4. Write to the President, your Representative, or Senators.

5. Read a book. Read to someone else.

6. Learn to change the oil or tire on a car. Fix something.

7. Write a letter to a friend or relative.

8. Make cookies, bread or jam and share with a neighbor.

9. Read magazines or newspapers. Swap them with friends.

10. Go through your closets and donate items to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or a local rummage sale. Have a garage sale.

11. Start a diary/journal.

12. Play cards.

13. Make crafts to give as gifts. Try a new craft.

14. Do a crossword puzzle or play Sudoku.

15. Save money: cancel your cable TV!

16. Learn about a different culture. Have an international dinner.

17. Teach a child some of your favorite childhood games.

18. Study sign language.

19. Write a letter to your favorite author.

20. Cook dinner with friends or family.

21. Make cards for holidays or birthdays.

22. Play chess, bridge, or checkers.

23. Play charades.

24. Have a cup of coffee and a conversation.

25. Repair or refinish a piece of furniture.

26. Make a wooden flower box.

27. Wake up early and make pancakes.

28. Read a favorite poem. Read poems by poets new to you.

Outdoors

29. Learn about native trees and flowers in your area.

30. Plan a picnic or barbecue.

31. Go bird watching. Learn the names of local birds.

32. Walk the dog. Wash the dog.

33. Plant a garden. Work in your garden.

34. Take a nature hike.

35. Feed fish or birds.

36. Watch the night sky through binoculars and identify different constellations. Observe the moon.

37. Learn to use a compass.

38. Take photographs and then organize them into an album.

39. Do yard work.

40. Go camping.

41. Take an early morning walk.

42. Climb a tree.

43. Watch a sunset; watch the sunrise with a friend.

Around Town

44. Attend a community concert. Listen to a local band.

45. Visit the library. Borrow some books.

46. Visit a local bookstore.

47. Visit the zoo.

48. Visit the countryside or town. Travel by bus or train.

49. Attend a religious service.

50. Walk to work or school.

51. Attend a live sports event.

52. Look for treasures at a yard sale.

53. Try out for a play. Attend a play.

54. Collect recycling and drop it off at a recycling center.

55. Learn to play a musical instrument.

56. Go to a museum.

On the Move

57. Go roller skating or ice skating.

58. Go swimming. Join a community swim team.

59. Start a community group that walks, runs or bikes.

60. Organize a game of touch football, baseball, or softball in the local park.

61. Go for a bicycle ride.

62. Learn yoga.

63. Play soccer, softball or volleyball.

64. Play Frisbee.

65. Workout.

66. Go dancing. Take a dance class.

In Your Community

67. Organize a community clean-up or volunteer for charity.

68. Become a tutor.

69. Join a choir. Sing!

70. Start a bowling team.

71. Visit and get to know your neighbors.

72. Start a fiction or public policy book group.

With the Kids

73. Make paper bag costumes and have a parade.

74. Design a poster for Screen-Free Week.

75. Discover your community center or local park activities.

76. Blow bubbles.

77. Draw family portraits.

78. Build a fort in the living room and camp out.

79. Research your family history. Make a family tree.

80. Invent a new game and teach it to your friends.

81. Make a sign to tape across the TV during Screen-Free Week.

82. Play hopscotch, hide & seek, or freeze-tag.

83. Organize a neighborhood scavenger hunt.

84. Play board games with family and friends.

85. Clean up or redecorate your room.

86. Make puppets out of old socks and have a puppet show.

87. Write a play with friends. Perform it at a nursing home.

88. Construct a kite. Fly it.

89. Go on a family trip or historical excursion.

90. If it’s snowing, go sledding or make a snowman.

91. Create a collage out of old magazine pictures.

92. Shoot hoops with friends. Play a round of H.O.R.S.E.

93. Make a friendship bracelet.

94. Create a cookbook with all your favorite recipes.

95. Tell stories around a campfire.

96. Plan a slumber party.

97. Bake cakes or cookies and invite friends for a tea party.

98. Construct a miniature boat and float it on water.

99. Write a letter to your grandparents. Make a special card.

100.Create sidewalk art with chalk.

101.Everyone! Have a huge party to celebrate a Screen-Free Week!

Green hour

A Green Hour is time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. In 2007, the National Wildlife Federation launched GreenHour.org, an online resource providing parents the inspiration and tools to make the outdoors a part of daily life.

NWF recommends that parents give their kids a "Green Hour" every day.This can take place in a garden, a backyard, the park down the street, or any place that provides safe and accessible green spaces where children can learn and play. Scientific researchshows kids are happier and healthier when outdoor time is in better balance with indoor time.

http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There/Why-Be-Out-There/What-is-a-Green-Hour.aspx

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.