THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 18, 1994 TAG: 9411160174
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 192 lines
WHEN THE PLAN was first proposed, some stomped their feet and flatly refused to cooperate. Some raised their eyebrows and said nervously that it would be interesting to try. Others shook their heads and predicted it probably couldn't be done.
The plan: To go without watching television for one week - or at least five days.
For the 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds at Greenbrier Primary School, it seemed to be a tough sacrifice, especially considering the daily temptation of ``The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.''
One kindergarten teacher even reported that her students complained of not being able to watch television because they were following so closely the situation in Union, S.C., where a mother is charged with murdering her two boys.
But, surprisingly, many of the children and their parents said by the week's end, life without television wasn't as torturous as they thought it would be. In fact, it was entertaining and productive.
The idea of doing without television was suggested by the school's Parent-Teacher Association as a way of curbing children's overreliance on television. PTA members asked students and parents to unplug their TV sets from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 and to keep a daily journal about the experience. The experiment, dubbed ``Greenbrier Unplugged,'' was prompted by startling national statistics about the amount of TV children watch and was held, in part, as an observance of National Reading Month.
American children watch enough TV to steal two months out of every year, according to a recent national health survey. By the time a typical child graduates from high school, he or she will have spent more than two years watching TV, the survey said.
Although most Greenbrier parents said they liked the idea of cutting down on their families' TV viewing, many were pessimistic at first.
``Originally, I wanted the week to be a full week. Seven days. That's how I envisioned it,'' said Barbara Morel, president of the Greenbrier PTA. ``But our PTA board discussed it and said. `Oh, it's not possible, not with the weekend and all. People can't do it.' So we settled for a (five-day) school week.''
The first TV-free day was Halloween. That made the sacrifice a bit easier because the children were preoccupied, scavenging door to door for candy and sorting through the loot when they returned.
Later in the week, parents found their children were surprisingly ingenious in finding ways to keep busy.
``My son was painting his little pumpkin, and then I asked my oldest daughter to read him a few chapters of his book,'' Morel said of the family's first day without TV. ``When I turned around, she had taken some Windex and was cleaning the door where the dog is always pressing her nose up against the window and breathing on it. Then her little sister, who's 4, started helping her dust the furniture!''
The emptiness of a house without the sounds of a television took some getting used to, parents said. Even Morel found herself gravitating toward the television set on the first day. ``Then I would remember we're not watching .
Instead of watching TV all week, students reported noticing rainbows, wrestling with their fathers, reading books, baking cookies, inventing games and volunteering for household chores.
On the fourth day of the challenge, Pamela Brooks was outside playing with her son, Richard, 5, and daughter, Katherine, 7. With pink and purple pieces of chalk, the family drew pictures of themselves on the sidewalk in front of their home. Later Brooks said, they had all pitched in to make eggs, bacon and grits for a change of pace for dinner.
``What I've learned through all this is that I've been the lazy one, and I haven't been coming up with creative things to do. It's easy to say, `Well, just go watch TV,'' Brooks said.
During their week without television she said she and her daughter have made bracelets with a kit, her son has been busy creating things with Lego toys and both children have been painting at night.
``I think the kids actually enjoyed it because they've spent more time with me,'' she said.
On the second day of the experiment, Myra Davis said her family hadn't gone through any major withdrawal yet.
``It's going fine. The only critical time is when the `Power Rangers' is on,'' she said. ``You see, last week they introduced the White Ranger - he's a new character - so this is really a big deal.''
Davis said that ``Seinfeld,'' cooking shows and news programs are among the favorite shows of her and her husband. Her children are fond of cartoon shows, ``Transformers'' and ``Care Bears.''
``But this is easier for us probably than for most people,'' Davis said. A computer with mostly educational games keeps 7-year-old Christopher and even 4-year-old Adam entertained. ``Even my 4-year-old, who doesn't really play the game, gets really excited when Christopher wins or, you know, when he gets to the 15th math level.''
When the experimental week was over, many parents and students eagerly flipped the TV switch on but vowed that they would try to continue regulating the hours of television watched.
For the Morels, hiking through Northwest River Park, coloring, reading and pressing leaves together, allowed the family to spend more time together. A book entitled, ``365 TV-Free Activities,'' also helped the family get through the week. One activity it suggests is to decorate a large box as a television set and make up your own skits.
In a box that once held a new dishwasher, Morel's children entertained themselves.
``They were making up their shows in this cardboard box for hours! They loved it,'' Morel said. ``It was the best programming I've seen in a long time.'' [The following appeared as a side bar to this article.] JOURNAL EXCERPTS
Excerpts from journals that Greenbrier Primary School students kept during their ``unplugged'' week. ADRIENNE GODETTE, 6, first grade
``Our family did not watch television for six days. We started on Sunday, Oct. 30. We all thought it would be an impossible task. Surprisingly, we did not miss TV as much as we thought we would. According to my mom, we had one of the most peaceful weeks in months.
``We all agreed there was less yelling to get my sister and me to come to help with dinner, to eat dinner or to get ready for bed. By not having the TV to distract the family, we were more organized. The morning routine was much easier. Bedtime has been on schedule the past week, therefore it was easier for us to get up in the mornings. We did not have to run to the bus at all last week.
``I did not miss TV like I thought I would. My mom loved being `unplugged.' My sister survived not having `TGIF' on Friday night. Last week, my dad had time to teach me to play chess, and my sister and I had time to play a few games that had been collecting dust.
``We read my library book on the first day I brought it home (instead of the night before it is due back to the library.) My sister had more time to read books, my mom caught up on her school assignments and my dad kept up with the daily newspapers. My mom also liked that we had more time to clean our rooms. Most of us in the family liked the calmness of the past week and we agreed to continue to leave the TV unplugged for two to three nights per week.
``We will watch TV on Fridays for `TGIF,' but TV will be limited to just a few hours on Saturday instead of most of the morning and afternoon.
``As I said, most of us liked not having TV. My dad had the hardest time. My mom caught him watching TV on Thursday night. Of course, he was watching after we went to bed. Sneaky, isn't he?
``Today is Sunday and we have spent this beautiful fall afternoon planting flowers and working in the yard.
``None of us realized how much TV watching had interrupted our family time or how it slowed down our daily routine. Dad agrees that life is better for us (the children) not to watch TV, but he has not accepted the same philosophy for himself. We girls are still working on him.'' KIYOTAKA HIRANO, 5, kindergarten
Monday: ``I wore my Power Rangers costume and enjoyed trick-or-treat with my brother, Takeru, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. We went to our parents' friend's house to show our costume.
Tuesday: ``I studied English phonics and addition. After my father came back from his work, I played sumo wrestling with him. My mother read me a story.'' LAUREN MAWN, 6, first grade
Thursday: ``I danced and listened to music.''
Friday: ``My mom and I looked for constellations in the sky. We found the Big Dipper!'' MATTHEW PRICE, 5, kindergarten
Tuesday: ``Before breakfast, I put puzzles together with my mom. After school, I played with Playdough, worked on puzzles again and drew pictures. I colored some also. Later, I played outside with my friends. After supper, I wrestled with my dad, reviewed my letters and numbers and played with my train set. We read books at bedtime.'' JAKE LESHNOVER, 7, first grade
Wednesday: ``After school, I did a book report on `Spinky Sulks,' a very funny book. Then I played at my friend Brad's house until dinner. After dinner, my mom went to a meeting and dad took my sisters and me out to the Dairy Queen for Blizzards. Yum. Yum.
Friday: ``I told mom my class is studying Japan. She was excited because my family lived in Japan for three years before I was born. I helped my mom look for Japanese things to bring in for `Show and Tell.' Then I called my friend, Jack, and we rode bicycles until dinner time.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by PETER D. SUNDBERG
Color photo on the Cover
Katherine Brooks, 7, and her brother Richard, 5, spent a lot of time
reading when the family spent a week without television.
Dave Morel watches his children, Bryan, 6, and Katie, 4, play a game
with their mother, Barbara, president of the Greenbrier PTA.
Richard and Katherine Brooks enjoy reading a book together.
Barbara Morel watches her daughter Katie finish a coloring project.
The Morels posted a reminder over the television.
by CNB