Seven days, no TV

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Dr. Lance Shirai, his employer Kaiser and the TV-Turnoff Network want you to pull the plug for TV-Turnoff Week, but Shirai will give you the equivalent of a papal dispensation for one hour this week:

(He's a graduate of Maryknoll, so school pride may be clouding the judgment of the cardiac pediatrician who normally extols the virtues of kids turning off the TV and getting more exercise.)

But seriously, folks, last year, about 7 million people in thousands of such groups pulled the plug, according to the nonprofit, Washington, D.C.-based TV-Turnoff Network, whose Web site can show you how to coordinate a similar effort.

Lauren, Maryna and Maurie Feldberg have fun without TV.

From left, Mary Jane Feldberg of Hawai'i Kai reads with dog, Sugar; daughter Maryna, 10; husband Maurie; and daughter Lauren, 8.

Maurie Feldberg and daughter Lauren play a board game at home in Hawai'i Kai. They're among the many American families who are turning off the TV and finding more rewarding ways to spend time together. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

If all goes as planned, second-grader Lauren, 8, and Maryna, 10, will spend afternoons playing basketball at the park across the street, trying to beat their parents at Scrabble and piling into bed to read "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke or Lauren's favorites, one of the Lizzie McGuire and Judy Moody series of books.

Mom admits giving up her weekly fix of "Survivor All-Stars," "CSI" and "Without a Trace" gives her pause.

"It will be hard," she said. "It depends how involved the whole community becomes in it."

Will it be easier because of concerns over the appropriateness of what's being broadcast these days?

"One reason viewers come to TV-Turnoff Week is because they're troubled by the messages they see on TV, and that's a perfectly good reason," says Frank Vespe, TV-Turnoff Network executive director.

His organization takes a dim view of TV, regardless of "good" or "bad" programming. His greater concern is the amount of time we spend with TV, suggesting it could be better spent on other things. In the past year, the cumulative health consequences of excessive TV-watching, particularly among the young, have seized national attention; the federal government saying overeating could soon replace smoking as the No. 1 preventable cause of death.

Of the nearly 17 weekly hours (on average) of TV binged on by youngsters 2 to 11, slightly more than nine hours is kids' programming, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"It's pretty clear excessive TV time has been implicated in the childhood obesity crisis," says Vespe.

Kaiser Permanente is one of the sponsors of the program.

The Feldbergs might be itching for the remote on Tuesday night. After all, Maryna fancies herself a singer, so she may want to croon along with Jasmine: "We'll probably read the newspaper to find out about 'American Idol,' " said Mary Jane. "And we'll use the VCR for those few hours we feel necessary."

Staff writer Mary Kaye Ritz (mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8035) contributed local material and Frazier Moore of the Associated Press contributed the national material for this report.