Are you protecting your child?  Have you set up a will, life insurance and college fund? Planning for the future of our children is one of the best ways we can look out for them.  It is not easy to put money aside for the future when most people could use the funds right now, however it is so important to be proactive.  Being responsible parents also means purchasing life insurance and setting up wills.  None of us want to think of anything happening that would take us away from our children, however if we do not make decisions about our children, the courts get to decide what is best for them.  This is not an easy topic but think of it as a gift to your child and an investment in their future.

Have you had an opportunity to check out the Moms on the Move section of the website this month?  Click on the Mom in the Spotlight for a visit with Maggie Grayson, owner of Stroller Strides Arlington.

What about our Dad's Scoreboard?  Click the MVP t-shirt to meet Mansfield Dad, Ed Deveau.

Tammara

Doing any spring cleaning?  Have you found some things to giveaway or sell?  Consider using the FREE section of the website.  You can post your items and add pictures.  With thousands of people using the website each month, your classifieds post is sure to be noticed.  Your items may also be featured in a newsletter!

Below is only a partial list of upcoming events and activities so be sure to click on our EVENT CALENDAR so you do not miss anything >>

Use the PARENT PLANNER to click on events and resources you are interested in and click PRINT MY PLANNER to print or email your list.

Center for SCREEN-TIME Awareness (http://screentime.org/)

Making screen-time-reduction a vital and integral part of all plans that improve health, education and wellness while building stronger families and communities.

Why Turn Off?
Screen Time cuts into family time and is a leading cause of obesity in both adults and children. Excessive use of screens for recreational purposes leads to a more sedentary and solitary lifestyle and that is unhealthy for all of us, both mentally and physically.

In the US and other industrialized nations around the world, screen time use continue to increase every year. The average daily usage for all screens, in some countries, has reached 9 hours per day. This is for recreational use of screens and does not include work time.

On average, people watch 4 hours of television and then spend another 4 plus hours with computers, games, video, iPods and cell phones. According to Nielsen, the average World of Warcraft gamer plays for 892 minutes per week! The company that owns Second Life (a virtual world) claims that its users spent over 1 million hours on line. These statistics hold true for children directed sites as well, including Webkinz and others.

Former US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said at the Kick Off of Turnoff Week 2001, "We are raising the most overweight generation of youngsters in American history...This week is about saving lives."

Center for SCREEN-TIME Awareness launches A Lifestyle for the 21st Century, a campaign to reduce screen-time and encourage real experiences with real people in real time.

How many people are in the average American household? 2.55

How many televisions do they have? 2.73

We are a society of more televisions than people!

50% of American homes have at least 3 televisions or more
19% of homes have only 1.

In 1975 only 11% of US households had more than 3 TVs...and 57% only had 1!

The average American home has the television on for well over 8 hours every day. That is an hour more than just a decade ago.

The average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of television each day.

Young people 12-17 years of age increased their television viewing by 3% just this year...a pretty big increase in just 12 months.

Teenage girls have dramatically increased their television viewing late at night and early in the morning...maybe they just don't sleep anymore?

All the above statistics are from Nielson 2006