National Turnoff Week is April 20-26, 2009, a week devoted to unplugging and powering down all the screens in your home. Nemours Health and Prevention Services encourages you to give Turnoff Week a try.
According to Nielson, the average American home has more televisions than family members. A 2007 Center for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey found that in Delaware 39% of youth watch more than three hours of television per day. That compares with the national statistic of 35.4%. Excessive use of screen media, specifically too much TV, is one of the few behaviors with a direct link to childhood obesity.
Turn off the TV and discover what you’ve been missing — one-on-one time with your kids, outdoor activities, family meals, reading, and game nights! If you’d like to try unplugging during Turnoff Week, visit www.makingkidshealthy.org/tv for tips, resources, and more information.
Also included on the website are ways to reduce screen time beyond Turnoff Week, making it easy to follow the "2" in our 5-2-1-Almost None formula for a healthy lifestyle: eat at least five servings for fruit and vegetables every day, spend no more than two hours per day in front of a screen, get at least one hour of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.