Question by Warren D: How can we encourage children to read instead of watching television and how can we get them to be more active
I grew up before there was television where I lived. I read, watched movies, and played actively. Games, sledding in wintertime, bicycles. When we did get television it was just on nights.
How can we go back in time to something like this? How can we save our children?
Best answer will be thoughtful and helpful.
Best answer:
Answer by paintballer_on_ice
turn tv off they get 30mins tv at night if they read for 30mins and playout for 30mins a day but of corse they can read and play out for longer
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Related Posts :
- December 28, 2011 -- What was the top television show from June 1968 and from July 1968? read more for further detail.?
- June 11, 2011 -- How to Limit Television Watching for Children
- October 17, 2010 -- Children Need To Exercise More With Products Specially Made For Them
- May 21, 2012 -- Q&A: I want to start watching children from my home how to start a daycare?
- May 8, 2012 -- I got a spam mail claiming to be PayPal but they weren’t. They wanted bank information. Please read more!?
- May 1, 2012 -- Q&A: Did you read the article about pets polluting the earth more than SUVs?
- April 13, 2012 -- Do more educated and civilized guys drive SUVs instead of pickups?
- April 12, 2012 -- What are some Christian children books that children read in the 19th centry, besides the bible?
- April 2, 2012 -- Why do white people get all anal when a minority clearly knows more than them?
- April 1, 2012 -- Q&A: Do Children grow more if they Sleep longer?
Tags: active, Children., Encourage, instead, more, read, television/, Them, watching
I do believe the Harry Potter books brought a lot of people back to reading. So more good books need to be written.
1) If you have young children, READ TO THEM!!! If you wait until they are in school, you’ve waited too long.
2) Lead by example; let your children see YOU reading. Don’t do the “Do as I say, not as I do” routine – kids have more sense than that.
3) Get books into your home. Don’t count on the library; BUY THEM; an inexpensive used paperback tells the same story as a pricey leather-bound volume.
4) Turn off the &%$ #@ TV (and stick to it!!!)
you go out yourself and get them to play with you.Get them to read b4 they go to sleep.
Be more strict. Have rules e.g. only watch television until 8 pm.
If you dont allow them to play computer games, video games and watch television all day then they have to find something else to do. Try board games and play with them. A very enjoyable game is Settlers of Catan.
Never put a television in the main living room. Living rooms are for people, TVs should have their own room, away from the main family room. TV should be something you use and put away, not the focal point of all the furniture in the room.
The best way children learn is by example. When they’re small, read to them. Go to the library, buy them books. (Do they see you reading books?) Art supplies are good, too. That encourages their imagination. (Have them make up a story and draw the characters of the story together.) If you want them to play games, play with them. Take them to the movies (age appropriate). Go bowling. Parental involvement is the very best teacher.
Parental participation.
We cannot expect our children to achieve a healthy balanced lifestyle in the new century without setting the example for them. Media rules have to apply to the entire family to have any effect at all.
This is what my mum did: she got rid of the TV and also the computer. Seriously, she gave the TV away to our church and the computer to one of my aunties. She wanted both me and my younger brother to pick up reading. She’s one of those “few” parents who believe reading is the key to leading.
That was about 6 years ago. Now i’m in college and i’m glad that my mum got rid of the TV. I usually do better than my mates because I know more than them as I read more than them.
I read about a guy is America who had his son’s TV run off a car battery, that got charged off an exercise bike. So to watch a favourite programme, he had to put some exercise in. Also he avoided watching trash that just drained his battery.
Smart parent or what!
Interesting question…I was raised on a farm and the TV was rarely ever turned on….late 60′s early 70′s. But my parents had trouble keeping me in the house. But, that is a different story.
To answer your question you have to give the kids something else to do. It is as simple as turning the TV off (you are the adult) and actually being a parent…not just someone that has a child.
When I was raising my daughter…I was very busy running a business and raising a child by myself…but I always made four nights that were just ours. Two of them were story nights (one from me and one from her)…the other two where to get out of the house and do something outside.
Oh, I almost forgot….I also played a lot of music to entertain us too. This actually gave us something to talk about too…I could ask her what she thought the lyrics meant…and then I would tell her my opinion.
This might not work for everyone…but, it seems I did something right she speaks three languages and is a manager of a major corporation…she is doing well.
And, yes I know that you aren’t looking for a definite answer…you just wanted to start the idea.
Well, it was a very good question…and everyone should answer it before having kids.
want to borrow my kid for a week ?
my son is only 13 months old..and i always have the tv on..but he pays zero attention to it, he only watches commercials that have lots of bright colours going around or a catchy song..otherwise he is running around the house, playing with his toys and he has a favourite book that he carries where ever he goes…if i try taking it off him so i can read it to him ..he doesnt let me..he “reads” himself..he opens the book ..and looks at the pictures..and point and reads..(baby language)..i just let him..he does that because he sees me and his dad read..and we sometimes use our fingers so we dont loose the line we are in because we get interrupted alot, so he does the same..its cute.. i know he is not literally reading..or that he understands what he book is saying..but he copies us do it, i do read to him, but he doesnt pay attention all the time, sometimes he does..but even if he walks off ..i still continue reading..and he’ll come back..and look at the pictures..
I also put music on for him..and we dance..he loves dancing..
he is very active..and gets bored very easily..so i’ve got to keep him entertained..and swap toys with him..and give him new books..that catch his attention..
I suggest the following:
Participation by parents (led by example)
Provide incentives (exercise caution here: no junk food, tell them to read a number of books for maybe 6months and pay them or buy them a gift upon completion)
As the mother of four boys, I wonder this myself sometimes. The best thing for me has been for our boys to see my husband and I reading. When they started reading, I wasn’t picky in regards to the medium. If they wanted to read magazines, or comics that was ok…as long as they were reading. I am an avid reader myself, and I think them seeing me enjoy reading helps. Our two oldest, 14 and almost 12, are at the age, where we actually share some books…they love adventure…so Clive Cussler, Matthew Reilly….and it is fun to read them and then talk about them together. For our 8 year old, who is still learning, I created an incentive program. Each month he has to read a certain number of minutes…if he does he gets to pick a place to have lunch with Mom and dad…just the three of us. Oftentimes he gets so into the story and will read well past the 15 minutes we ask him to read. Our youngest is three, and his older brothers love to read to him! He loves looking at the pictures and having his older brother’s undivided attention. They take turns reading to him.
In short, the best thing we can do is keep plugging away…try to find books that interest our kids and understand that if comics or video game magazines are the only thing they are reading, that it OK…use them as jumping points. And most of all, IF you want your kids to read, don’t see it as a chore for yourself. Kids learn by example.
We can’t go back in time and we wouldn’t want to for so many other reasons. I’m not sure how old your children are and that definitely matters as far as strategies are concerned. If your kids are not old enough to use the tv themselves, then take advantage of that and leave the tv off. I would try not to pit the tv and computer against reading. In their minds, computers and games and tv come out on top. They are so much more initially stimulating and offer immediate gratification. READ to your kids, out loud no matter how old they are. Read to each other out loud. Talk about why or why you did not like a book and its characters and story. Read the newspaper and share the info with each other. Be sure your children see you reading for pleasure. Let them read for pleasure. Leave books all over the house — in the bathroom, on your nightstand right near your bed, on coffee tables. Gotta go now.
We are a society that allows the TV to play babysitter from day one. We buy all of the ‘educational’ DVDs in hopes of making our child smarter. We prop that child up and let them watch TV just so that we can have that one moments rest as early as two weeks old.
I firmly believe that’s where we go wrong. You hear about kids, infants, at merely four months of age ‘loving’ the new Sesame Street DVD. What ever happened to teaching your child colors, numbers, and letters from just talking to them about it?
It all starts there. Then as time goes on kids decide on their own and find that educational is not always entertaining. They start to watch Hannah Montana, I’m So Raven, Zach and Cody, plus all of the other stuff they ‘just have to watch.’
Meanwhile parents don’t force their children to go outside. Shoot, they won’t even let them go outside alone at a decent age because something *might* happen to their child. Then they have to be the ones to take the kids out to the park.
A few bad days of work later the child gets the much needed exercise after mom begged and begged him to go to the park peeling him away from the TV. The kid has no fun. Mom is sitting right there. All the other kids aren’t at the park because their parents, too, worry that they *might* have something happen to them. Mom gets tired and tells little Johnny to read a book before bed. She’s going to watch TV. He grabs his hand-held video game and plays that under the covers.
So, it’s a visious cycle. We shove TV in our kids faces when we want them to leave us alone and then we end up taking them from the TV kicking and screaming. How does this make sense? I have no clue. Haha. On top of all that we have parents who are too afraid [even though they live in a good part of town] that their child will be harmed in some way. Sure, things can happen but sheltering your child isn’t doing him/her or you any good. Then parents just don’t find it fun to read to their children or have their children read to them. Therefore, kids loose interest in reading and get instant gratification by watching a movie or TV show. There are so many other things that contribute too. I just feel these are the main reasons!
The average child will see 8000 murders on television by the time they finish elementary, and see 200,000 acts of violence by the age of 18. Spending roughly 9 years of life watching a black box by the time they reach the age of 65.
Those are scary figures.
I used to be glued to the boob, every night after work I would spend 2-3 hours watching mindless televison and million dollar commercials. This isn’t the way I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I was just another stat, I must have seen way more than 8000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence, until I changed my lifestyle.
Seeing 20,000, 30 second commercials a year is insane. As a vegan and someone with the environments best interest at heart, I wouldn’t idly watch this TV without feeling dirty inside from food commercial after food commercial and beauty industry products that are advertising beauty in animal testing.
Throwing out (okay, giving it away for free) the tv was the best choice I’ve ever made. I might have a tv in my home in years to come for watching movies that I choose, but not for viewing television, and it will not remain on to keep me company any longer. This will be passed down to my children, our home will be cable/satellite free.
Within doing so, I believe I can help my children live a fruitful life without feeling pressured to look a certain way, act a certain way or buy products to make them cool. There is enough media pressure on your future generations without the added stress of television.
When minding children (I’m a nanny currently) who don’t have a television or cable in their homes, I rarely hear the words “I’m bored” uttered, they simple know what makes them happy and find fun creative things to do, that spark is always missing from children raised in homes with the constant black box on, from what I have first handedly experienced.
So, in short, how can we go back in time to something like this, simple. Throw away the television or even just limit TV time to one 30 minutes EDUCATIONAL video segment per week (or work up to this slowly over time).
Unplug the TV during the week, and keep it covered *they are so ugly anyways*.
Saving our children from mass media propaganda which can lead to a number of growing health concerns such as obesity, diabetes, not enough physical exercise, etc etc. It IS hard for the first while, without a doubt, but the long term benefits our outstanding and well worth it.
I don’t remember many of the shows I watched as a child, they are just blank spaces in my memories. It isn’t fair to subject our children to this, each being younger and younger everyday. TV’s aren’t babysitters and should never be used as one. Teach your child about cooking whilst making dinner, save our children’s childhoods and have an impact on their lives, their children’s lives and our environment.
My motto is “Livre sans temp mort” or “Live without dead time”
hide all the televisions on a weekend play little games or turn off the lights and tell ghost stories, tell them stories about what you did when you were kids. my kids love listening to my grandad when he tells stories,
I was a role model for my children as they saw me reading a lot. I took them to the Library. I bought them books for birthdays and Christmas. I now buy my Grandchildren books for their birthdays. My eldest Grandson would much rather read than watch T.V. or play video games. He will be off to college in a year!He received books as always from me. He looks forward to new books from me. He is 15 and he was skipped a year in school. I attribute reading to this.
When my son’s were growing up we had a games night. We had several different games we would play, & the T.V. was off. We also had an artistic night. We would draw pictures and write poetry. I am a published poet and I taught my son’s that it wasn’t such a tricky game…
to think of words that sound the same…
My son’s looked forward to those no T.V. nights. Parents must become involved in their children’s lives insofar as the children discovering the joy of reading.
One son has used his poetry skills to write songs and he has had one song recorded and the other son went to college on an art scholarship.
In conclusion parents must take time to be a role model to their children they must take the time to read with them they must take an active role in their child’s learning process.
You buy a TV guide, and turn the TV on to watch specific programs and off at the end. Not on and off at particular times of the day. And you have _a_ TV. Not one per kid, or one per room.
My kids DO read and play outside instead of watching TV – sure they watch TV sometimes, but they watch their favourite programs and nothing else. It’s not as a background “lets watch whatever’s on” activity. It’s perfectly achievable without banning TV completely. But it has to be a mindset of the whole family – it’s never going to work demanding that your kids stop watching TV and go read a book, if you’re sat in the kitchen yourself with the TV on all day.
Turn the TV off most of the time. Turn it on only for shows that the children request or that you wish to watch. Far too often the TV is on all day. The children will go play if you do this more.
One of my grandson’s is two. He carries his teddy bear with him everywhere. He has a video in the back seat of the car to watch movies. He has access to a computer to play games.
One day last month, he did something bad and was punished by taking away the VCR. Instead, his dad read to him every night about teddy bears. He loved it so much that one night he grabbed the book from his dad and said that he would read. He memorized the books and read them word for word to his teddy bear!
Reading, what a novel punishment!
I grew up without T.V. as well we listened to the radio and we did read a lot. I encourage my grandchildren and great grandchildren to read. I give them books and I read to them.
It may seem counter intuitive to turn to a web site, but the Library of Congress has a great campaign that is meant to encourage kids to develop their own passion for reading. Their web site enlists the help of classic children’s stories to entice kids to explore new worlds through books. It’s worth checking out –
http://www.loc.gov/literacy/storybook/flash
Good question. I know my daughter read much as she grew up. My son wasn’t a reader & instead got caught up in games & online games. And that seemed to be a big hole in the pocket.
He still isn’t reading much today. So? I know I read to them as children. But maybe I read less to my son because I was more busy, etc.
So? Looking back, I think when we read to them regularily & dramatically, this gives them an interest in reading; & when they learn to read for themself, then they enjoy reading.
In so many families these days, both parents have to work to make ends meet. Of course, there are those parents whose desire for the best of everything necessitates two incomes to pay for things they want, not necessarily need. With that said, I believe the decline in the numbers of fulltime stay-at-home mothers has had a significant impact on the children.
A lot of children in homes where both parents work have to compete for their parents’ time. When the parents get home they are usually tired. The mother still has supper to fix, wash dishes, clothes to wash, and so forth. Some fathers help with the chores, but so many don’t, leaving the mother with a heavy burden to carry.
Setting aside some “family time” in the evenings would help parents reconnect to their children’s needs. Interacting with the children by asking them about their day and allowing them to ask questions about their parents’ day would open a line of communication. Family time can also be used for reading, playing board games, or crafts.
We can read to them. I use to ask my kids then my grandchildren to read to me. We can let them see us reading as well.