GIGO
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009As parents we all know that it is in our kids best interest to limit their TV time. We also know that it is in our best interest ( and our family’s ) that we take a shower on occassion. When the kids are young that may mean letting them watch some TV while you jump in the shower or start dinner or whatever it is that you need to do.
But we also know that what goes into their young impressionable brains stays there and the old saying “Garbage in – Garbage out” holds true.
If you are letting them watch garbage shows then you know what you can expect. Kids who hear bad language on TV repeat it. Kids who see bad behavior on TV repeat it. If TV were not that impressionable then companies would not spend millions of dollars for 30 second spots of advertising on it.
So, what is a parent to do? The short answer for our family was TIVO. When we got our first TIVO years ago it changed our life. We were able to watch our favorite show when we wanted to and we could watch football games as a family ( the pause feature allowed us to pause the game and only restart it when everyone had had a chance to take a bathroom break or go to the kitchen for a snack ). So, I love TIVO.
But now TIVO is even smarter – if that is possible. It can be managed from the Internet. With a few clicks of the mouse you can program your TIVO online and make sure the kids are catching the programming you want them to watch and not the garbage you don’t.
We recently received info on a new program put together by the Smart Television Alliance that allows you to do just that. Visit their website for more information and there is also a great sweepstakes going on right now ( last day to enter is Dec 25 so check it out now )
