Keep your child from passively surfing television programs from the time she gets home to bedtime. Set good viewing habits with these five tips:
- Set firm limits on how many hours a day your child watches TV.
- Don't let your child have a TV in his bedroom or have the TV on for "background noise" while he does homework.
- Record shows and watch them later so you can fast-forward through commercials.
- Lose the remote. Make your child choose a show and stick to it.
- Find shows that teach and inspire your child to think about life issues. Watch them together and then turn the TV off and talk about them.
