[plug] Re: [OT] Television

[Leon Brooks]

On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 18:23, James Devenish wrote:
> If those two to four hours are instead spent on other activities,
> those activities need to be limited to what parents can logistically
> support given that the other 20-22 hours of a day are already spent
> on non-TV activities.

About ten of those are spent sleeping, about another two on meals, 
another one on stuff like showers and dressing, so we're down to 
roughly 11 hours. The difference between 11 hours and 7 hours is 
substantial.

> The time might then be occupied by:
>  - video games,
>  - solo sport,
>  - reading,
>  - puzzles,
>  - art,
>  - construction kits,
>  - computers,
>  - writing.

From my own crew:

   Drawing on the patio with thick chalks.

   Building and running plastic railroads.

   Acting out social situations with dolls.

   "Helping" the cook.

   Swimming.

   Driving Tonkas around in the dirt.

   Riding trikes and bikes around the back yard.

   Watering the lawn (fence, shed, walls, each other...).

   Bouncing on the trampoline.

   Running out with great acclaim to welcome royalty (e.g. Auntie Jane).

...and so on. None of these activities are exceptional, but in contrast 
to TV they are active (vs passive), creative (vs passive), exploratory 
(vs passive), and develop both gross and fine motor control (vs 
couch-potato-hood). Simply evading the flaccid passivity of TV for an 
extra 30% of your day is a major benefit all by itself.

Cheers; Leon