| Sample activities for No TV Week -- from “Family Ministry” |
WISE CHOICES Of the 97.1 million households in America, 98 percent have televisions, according to Rebecca Piirto in American Demographics magazine. Further research in American Demographics shows that children ages 5 to 11 watch 14 hours of TV each week. And by the time a child leaves elementary school, he or she will witness more than 108,000 acts of violence on TV, according to the National Institute on Media and the Family. Not all TV is harmful, however. The key is making wise choices. Here are resources that can help: • National Institute on Media and the Family -- This organization has tools to help you make informed decisions about the media’s impact on your children. Their Web site (www.mediaandthefamily.com ) includes a section to evaluate your family’s media habits and a rating system of more than 300 TV shows, movies, and video games. Call (612) 672-5437 to receive a free copy of their quarterly MediaWise newsletter. • The Media-Wise Family -- This informative book by Ted Baehr helps parents understand the effects of mass media on children. It offers practical solutions for parents on how to teach children to know the good from the bad in today’s mass media market. Cost is $11.99. Available from Chariot Victor Publishing, 800-437-4337, (719) 536-0100. MEDIA FAST Families who participate in a media fast discover how much family time they lose in front of the TV, video games, or computers. Fasting families also enjoy the extra time they have to interact with each other. So declare your own family media fast to draw your family closer together. Have everyone sign a commitment to go for one week without TV shows, movies, video games, or the Internet. Each night of the media fast, a different family member can choose the activity for that night, such as • staging a drama of your favorite Bible story, • pitching in together and creating a fun snack, • having a dance-a-thon with your favorite Christian music, • making a family craft, or • roasting marshmallows and having a sing-along around your barbecue grill. End each night with a family devotion and prayer. Celebrate the final day of the media fast with a special family outing. Larry ShallenbergerLEFTOVER MOBILE Here’s a fun family craft that uses household leftovers to teach families about each person’s special gifts. For each family, you’ll need 3-foot lengths of hemp jewelry cord and two 12-inch wooden sticks. You’ll also need scissors and glue. A week before the project, ask each family member to bring 10 to 15 small, leftover items they own that might otherwise be thrown away. Have families lash their sticks together at the midpoint of each stick, creating a cross. Then family members can each decorate a length of hemp jewelry cord with the leftover items they brought. Once all the cords are decorated, tie them to the sticks. Secure the knots with glue. Create a hanger by tying 12-inch pieces of hemp jewelry cord to the ends of each stick. Tie the cords together. Remind families that each person brought something special to the activity -- even though it might’ve seemed worthless alone. Together we’re all better. Tell families to hang their mobiles near a window at home. B.Y.O.F. BONANZA Invite families to honor fathers, grandfathers, and special men with an after-church barbecue and sports bonanza. Recruit volunteers to bring outdoor grills. Have families bring their drinks and food (including something to grill). Along with games of volleyball, tug of war, and tag football, try these ideas for relays. • Volleyball Pass -- Have families form teams with equal numbers. Have players lie on the ground in a line and put their feet in the air. On “go,” the first person passes the volleyball using only feet to the next person in line, and so on. The teams compete to get the volleyball to the end of the line first. • Football Races -- Cut four large footballs out of butcher paper for each team of 10. Split teams in two. Have half the team line up facing the other half, with a distance of 25 feet between the two sides. On “go,” the first player uses the footballs as steps, laying one football in front of the other until he or she reaches the other half of the team. The first person in the facing line takes over, stepping on the footballs to the other half of the team. • Water Balloon Waddle -- You’ll need four buckets. Fill two of the buckets with water balloons, and place them 10 feet apart. Have families form two lines, one behind each bucket. Place the two empty buckets 30 feet away from the other buckets. On “go,” the first person in line has to put a water balloon between his or her knees and waddle to the empty bucket and drop it in. If the balloon drops or pops before the player makes it, the player runs to the end of the line and the next person goes. • Leaky Bucket Run -- For each relay line, you’ll need one plastic toy bucket with holes poked in the bottom and two large tubs of water. Have players line up behind one tub. Set the other tub 40 feet away. On “go,” the first player in each line dips the bucket in the tub of water and makes a lap around the second tub. Whenever the leaky bucket is running low, participants must refill it. If the bucket runs out, the participant has to backtrack to the previous tub to refill it. |