Pulling The Plug On TV

By Barbara Cornell

Six years ago, the O'Brien family of Dripping Springs, Texas, committed hara-kiri American-style: they unplugged their TV. Dennis O'Brien, a salesman, recalls zoning out on an NBA game when his toddler Colin invaded his Miller-time moment. "He looked at me, then he turned off the TV and said, 'Read me a book!' What was a father to do?"

Lots of things, according to a new survey released to TIME. After studying nearly 300 families nationwide who watch TV less than six hours a week, Barbara Brock, a recreation-management professor at Eastern Washington University, concluded that most want to rediscover a gem called time. The Gurney family in Rhinebeck, N.Y., for instance, prefers woodland treks, charades and stories by candlelight. "It's really fun," says Franklin, 11, "because you're not glued to a box."

Fun isn't the only potential fringe benefit, however, since TV gobbles up 40% of Americans' free time. Brock's TV-free families seem to have found antidotes to some of the nation's social ills. Inactivity? More than 80% of nearly 500 children in the survey play sports. No interest in reading? Four-fifths of TV-free children have above-average reading skills; 41% read an hour or more a day. Fractured family time? Nine of 10 families eat dinner together at least four times a week. Overall they average nearly an hour a day of meaningful conversation. "It seems like such a simple solution," says Brock.

Since only 2% of Americans live without a television, Brock initially despaired of finding even 20 TV-free families. Yet small ads in three family-oriented publications eventually elicited 280 responses last March to her 22-page questionnaire. The respondents were diverse, cutting across a swath of incomes, education levels, ethnic and racial backgrounds. But they were not entirely typical American families: nearly half had moms at home, and nearly 40% of the children were younger than three.

Is pulling the plug the only solution? John Wilson, senior vice president of programming services at PBS, points out that his two children love books, are active and eat dinners with their parents. They also watch TV. "What if I did all these things and watched TV sensibly?" he asks. "Then I would have the best of both worlds."

Moderation can be tough, though, especially with hundreds of cable channels. Emory Woodard, an author of the Annenberg Public Policy Center's Media in the Home survey, says many parents are asleep at the remote. "A significant proportion of parents," he says, "can't name even one program they would discourage their children from watching."

For parents who decide to tune out--or cut back--Brock's survey offers tips. Among them: stash the TV in a hard-to-reach spot; phase out cable, then the networks; post a list of favorite activities other than channel surfing. "If you can live through 20 minutes of whining," Brock advises, "your children will find something to do." Maybe they will find their favorite reality-based show is real life.

--By Barbara Cornell