TV Turnoff Week is this week

Have you ever heard of TV Turnoff Week? I remember it from when I was in school. I can remember we did it as a two-week project - the first week, we wrote down what our television watching habits were, and then the following week, we were to watch no TV at all and to write down what we did instead. It was an interesting experiment, and apparently, it still happens (I so didn't know that - thanks Google). I'm going to see about convincing Husband to try to do that with me this week.

It's interesting, there are lots of times where I feel like I lose track of time when the television is on - and oftentimes, it's not even anything good on TV. That's just silly. I could be spending the time reading a good book or blogging or (what a novel idea) talking to my husband (assuming he's home). I can totally see how something like TV Turnoff Week could help you whittle down your TV viewing habits.

There were some really interesting facts about television watching I came across when reading up about TV Turnoff Week...including...

• Number of 30-second commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
  
• Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 38.5
• Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
• Percentage of children ages 6-17 who have TV's in their bedrooms: 50
• Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
• Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
• Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500
• Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66

Wow, right? I've been wickedly strict with Baby as far as TV watching is concerned. He doesn't do it. The AAP (Academy of Pediatrics) says not to before the age of 2, so I've kept him away from it. It's been hard at times, when I've been desperate to just keep him busy for more than three seconds, but so far, I haven't really cracked. He's watched a few short videos on my computer of "Sesame Street." But that's it. I know I'm probably overcautious about it, but Baby is my first kid, and I am totally Type A...

So what do you think? Does TV rule your life? Do you think you'll try to participate in TV Turnoff Week?