Turn Off TV Week

This is national Turn Off Your TV week. For the most part, my family and I plan to celebrate it (though the kids certainly do not consider it a celebration).

I certainly agree that television watching contributes to poor health, obesity, and probably stupidity. That said, I enjoy it. I allow the kids to watch in moderation (tonight, for example, they are watching some documentary on gorillas with their father. Boy am I sorry I'm missing that.) We'll break the "rules" on Thursday, myself, for the new Grey's Anatomy episode.

Sometimes I eat cheesecake (and I don't even try to pretend that it's a dairy serving). Sometimes I stay up for hours reading a novel. Not every choice needs to promote health--just, oh, say, 99 out of 100.

Will having less screen time create the mental and temporal space for more creativity, interaction, affection and energy? Probably. But I have a problem with the "all or nothing" approach to cutting back screen time (promoters want us off our laptops and video games, too, of course).

Rigid rules are recipes for failure. If you really want to improve your life, you need to make flexible plans instead.

I really hope you join me this week and go relatively TV-free. Are there any shows you simply won't live without? Plan your screen time now, and use the free hours to dream, to play, to nap in a hammock (or to pack those winter clothes in the basement).