Take control of kids" TV, or it will control you

Dear Chris: We have a running battle in our house. I push the kids outside in the summertime and we keep the TV time and video game time under control, but they insist they have to watch TV in the winter because there’s nothing else to do. What argument do I have about winter? I don’t want to be hard and cruel about it. MAXIMUM MOM IN FOX LAKE

Dear Mom: Go ahead and be hard. It will do wonders for your children. Aside from fast food restaurants, is any other factor endangering children more deeply that immersion in television and video games? Not for my money.
No doubt about it — TV, interactive video games, and the Internet can be excellent sources of education and entertainment for kids. But too much screen time can have unhealthy side effects.
That's why it's wise to monitor and limit the time your child spends playing video games, watching TV, and playing games on the Internet. And here’s the hard fact: You can’t manage your children without actually a managing them. 
There’s no automatic default button on children. Management is actually work in itself; so you need to set up some rules that you can apply, and they can live with it.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under age 2 have no screen time, and that kids older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming. It's also a good idea to make sure kids have a wide variety of free-time activities like reading, playing with friends, and sports, which can all play a vital part in helping them develop a healthy body and mind.
Here are some practical ways to make kids' screen time more productive.

* Stock the room in which you have your TV with plenty of other non-screen entertainment (books, kids' magazines, toys, puzzles, board games, etc.) to encourage kids to do something other than watch the tube. 
* Keep TVs out of kids' bedrooms. 
* Turn off the TV during meals. 
* Don't allow your child to watch TV while doing homework. 
* Treat TV as a privilege that kids need to earn — not a right that they're entitled to. Tell them that TV viewing is allowed only after chores and homework are completed. 
* Try a weekday ban. Schoolwork, sports activities, and job responsibilities make it tough to find extra family time during the week. Record weekday shows or save TV time for weekends, and you'll have more family togetherness time to spend on meals, games, physical activity, and reading during the week. 
* Set a good example. Limit your own TV viewing. 
* Check the TV listings and program reviews. Look for programs your family can watch together (i.e., developmentally appropriate and nonviolent programs that reinforce your family's values). Choose shows, says the AAP, that foster interest and learning in hobbies and education (reading, science, etc.). 
In a coming column I’ll give you some more ideas about how to manage your kids’ TV universe (for their benefit and yours) and also we’ll try to figure out if the new generation of physically interactive video games can actually help a child stay fit.

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Who am I, and why would a person listen to me? Both fair questions. I'm Christine Hammerlund and I've been a nurse for 40 years. I have delivered babies, saved lives, and cared for hundreds of patients through their medical triumphs and tragedies. Now I run Assured Healthcare, a multi-million dollar medical staff provider in Illinois. I live in Antioch, Ill. Got health questions for me, whether large or small? I’ll answer. Chrishammerlund@yahoo.com