Many parents are concerned about how much television their children watch on a daily basis, because they are afraid that it is a large chunk of their day where they aren’t using their imagination or having any significant thought at all. For that reason, if you are concerned about this issue, let your kids know that you’ll be taking the TV out of its cherished spot in the living room one day a week. Remove it to the garage or some other location, and with that gaping hole, create something imaginative like a show with hand puppets.
This, of course, works best with young children. But if you have young children in the house, you’d be surprised at how engaged they’ll become with this real life “TV show.” Have them help make sets for the puppet shows or even hats or other accessories for the puppets themselves. And if you throw your time and energy into these shows, you might even hear your kids clambering for you to haul the TV out of the living room on more than one night a week.