Tips to Encouraging Your Teen to Watch Less TV
Help your teen watch less TV by setting clear limits
- Limit your children's daily and weekend TV viewing time. For instance, no TV before school, during homework, or late at night.
- Keep the TV off during family mealtimes.
- Limit your teen's ability to watch shows that contain adult content or violence by using parental controls available on most televisions.
Set a good example for your teen's TV viewing habits. Be a role model.
- Turn off the TV when a particular show is over.
- Spend your free time reading, exercising, or interacting with your family.
- Watch adult programs when your teen is not present.
Be conscious of what your teen is watching away from home
- Talk to your teen's friends and their parents about your beliefs on TV viewing.
- Encourage your teen not to watch inappropriate shows away from home.
- Casually ask them what they did at a friend's house and use open ended questions. This will give you some insight into what they may be watching away from home.
Cut down the amount of time your teen watches TV - Involve your teen in other activities he enjoys.
- Put books, magazines, and board games in the family room to provide your teen the opportunity to do something other than watch television.
- Encourage your teen take part in sports, games, hobbies, and music.
- Designate certain evenings for special family activities, like a family bike ride or a game.
Want your teen to rethink his TV viewing habits? Go without TV for a week.
- Get the whole family involved and find activities you can do together.
- Be creative in finding alternatives to TV like scavenger hunts around the house.
Tips to keeping your teen from watching violence on TV
- Do not allow your teen to watch violence on television. To help monitor his viewing habits when you are gone, consider installing parental controls.
- Share your beliefs and values when it comes to watching TV, and set a good example.
- Be aware of what your teen is seeing on the news. Often the news can include graphic violence and other adult material that may not be suitable for children.
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