EmpoweringParents.com

A Nielsen Co. reports kids are watching more television than ever and television viewing for children ages 2-11 is the highest since 1995.  Kids ages 6-11 watch 28 hours a week with about 4.5 hours on DVD.  And worse, kids age 2-5 are watching 32 hours—yes, that’s even more than the 6-11 year-olds, presumably because they’re not in school.

I’m not surprised about the Nielsen numbers.

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In the last week, we’ve witnessed the Balloon Boy saga, seen the Gosselins back in court, and heard that the Duggars had their first grandchild — and are expecting baby #19. Octomom has her own show, too, just in case you’ve forgotten about her.

I have to ask this question: would you allow your family to be filmed for a reality TV show? And why do you think so many parents are opting to create shows around their lives? According to the police, the Heene family put on the runaway balloon stunt in order to get their own reality show. By now everyone knows that they appeared on Wife Swap a couple times, and that they met in acting school in Hollywood. I’m not sure why this couple thought it was OK to pretend their son’s life was in peril in order to get publicity (who in their right mind would do something like that?) but  I do know that it seems like more people out there are hitching their wagon to the reality show star. I’m just not sure why it’s happening.

Liz Searle, author of Celebrities in Disgrace calls it “Attention Desiring Disorder” on her blog, and I think that’s a fitting description. It seems like people can’t get enough of fame in the form of T.V. time, in spite of what the camera reveals about their lives.

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Octomom just signed a book deal, a documentary deal and finalized plans for a line of diapers while seeking to trademark the word “Octomom”.

Sounds like she’s got it covered, right?

‘Cept Not!

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Recently, we finally broke down and got cable T.V.  My husband found a great deal, so we decided to take the plunge, even though we’d been hesitant about jumping into the 200+ channel pool.

What I didn’t count on was the lure of Sponge Bob. Or Lilo & Stitch. Or Special Agent Oso.

My son has officially become a T.V. addict, and it’s scaring me. I’m ready to stage an intervention: “Alex Honey, we love you, but your addiction is preventing you from living your life. When was the last time you rode your bike? Drew a picture? Combed your hair?” My son now quotes Phineas and Ferb on a regular basis. And don’t get me going on Sponge Bob –it makes him manic, I swear. (To be honest, I get a little slap happy whenever I watch. And even more alarmingly, I caught myself laughing like Sponge Bob at a party recently and had to pretend-cough to get out of it.) As for my husband Joe, a few weeks ago I woke to find him in the guest room at 2 a.m., watching an info-mercial with a giddy, expectant look on his face. “Look– we can grow tomatoes upside down on our porch,” he shouted with glee, when I asked him what was going on.  In short, in one month, Cable T.V. has taken over our lives.

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I’ve been saddened by all the reporting that’s been done on the Nebraska Safe Haven Law, which allows parents to abandon children without fear of consequence. The reason I’ve been saddened is because all the news reporting has been focusing on the parents’ irresponsibility and the weird way the law was written and passed. None of it focuses on the real problem, which is the amount of desperation parents feel.

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Is TV harmless, or does it encourage our kids to engage in risky behavior?

A new study out this month says that young people who frequently watch shows that depict sexual situations or conversations are twice as likely to get pregnant — or get someone else pregnant. (This is in comparison to  to kids who watch few or none of these types of programs.) In the study by the non-partisan Rand Corp., the pregnancy link was there even after accounting for factors such as delinquent behavior, those who wanted to get pregnant, and comparing kids who live in single-parent households to those with two parents present.

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