I must admit I struggle with this. Giving into my son’s demands to watch “just one more show” is a habit and although we do try to control his TV viewing schedule, it still involves too much screen gazing for comfort. Besides the fact that it’s a huge strain on his eyes (and he comes from a family of near sighted people), there’s the obvious impact on his mind.

There’s lots to watch that’s educative, but an equal amount that’s - lets’ face it - trash.

Yesterday, I came across an article in a magazine that had a reasonably doable plan to cut your child’s TV viewing. Here’s how it goes:

• Sit down with your child and a TV Guide, and make a list of all his favorite programs.
• Now, bring these down to just a few shows a week. The number of shows is your personal choice, and obviously depends on his age. Remember, you’re counting each episode as one show. So if he watches an episode each of two shows today, that makes it two shows for today.
• Write all these shows down on a sheet of paper, and put it up on the bulletin board.
• Every time he watches a show, tick against the name of the show.
• Continue until he finishes his quota for the week.

At least, that’s the plan.

Prepare for fierce resistance. I haven’t tried it yet, at least not in such a regimented manner, but it’s definitely worth a shot. I like the fact that it teaches kids the value of self denial, and forces him to make a choice about what he can do, rather than consuming as much as he can.