The Good Old Days by Katherine Westphal

"As I write this, I am outdoors with the sun gently warming my skin. A gentle breeze is caressing my face. The air is fragrant with the blossoms on my peach and plum trees. My sons are giving Thomas the Tank Engine a ride down the slide. My daughter and her friend are playing "Ice Cream Shoppe". It is simply one of those perfect moments."

"A couple of years ago we might have missed a moment like this. Like many others, we would probably have been watching TV, even though it was a gorgeous day outside."

Top 10 Benefits of Living Without TV by Katherine Westphal

Think you can’t live without your electronic companion, the TV set? Elections without TV attack ads, holidays without commercials, time to pursue your dreams are but a few of the benefits that await when you "Trash Your TV!"

"The Secret" and TV: How Watching TV May Help Manifest Violence, Poverty, and General Negativity by Katherine Westphal

"The Secret" proposed a startling idea: we create our experiences with our thoughts through the "Law of Attraction". If you are trying to attract positive experiences into your life using the principles in "The Secret", then you need to know how the TV may be sabotaging your efforts.

The Law of Attraction and the News by Krzysztof Sroka

". . .interesting statistics: immediately after highly publicized suicide stories the number of people who die in commercial-airline crashes increases by 1,000 percent. The number of people who die in car crashes increases dramatically as well."

Getting kids away from TV: It's not "Mission Impossible" for Tom Cruise by Katherine Westphal

Tom Cruise recently revealed that, like Madonna, he does not let his adopted children watch TV, except for movies on weekends. Has he gone crazy or is this a sensible parenting decision?

All That You Can't Leave Behind by Katherine Westphal

"U2’s song “All that you can’t leave behind” is a timely message for the survivors of the recent hurricanes. Since the immediate crises of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita have passed, it is now possible to draw some lessons from this tragedy. These lessons could benefit both the survivors and the others who watched the tragedy from afar."

How I Decided to Trash my TV by Katherine Westphal

"My journey to trashing my television set began on September 11, 2001. That day my boyfriend decided to put me, then pregnant, our one-year-old son, and my daughter out onto the street. We were homeless. However, something strange happened with the children. They began to behave better. It took about a year to isolate the cause to the absence of television. It took another year to decide to get rid of the TV. It has been a strange journey to say the least."

Turn off the TV -- and Turn on to Physical Activity! by Rae Pica

Once upon a time, children ran and skipped, climbed trees, jumped rope, played hopscotch, and rode their bicycles for blocks. Most likely you remember some of that yourself. Before you were old enough for school, it seems you were never indoors. You and the neighborhood children ran screaming through each other’s yards and even down the middle of the streets. You raced each other to the slide and the swings, chased butterflies, and got grass-stained practicing your tumbling skills on the lawn.

Send the Kids Outside! by Rae Pica

Unfortunately, a great many of today’s children will grow up without such fond memories because today’s children spend far less time outdoors than did previous generations. According to William Doherty of the University of Minnesota, over the last twenty years there has been a 25 percent decline in the time children spend playing and a 50 percent decline in time spent in unstructured outdoor activities.

Your Television Viewing Might Keep You Awake by Brandon C. Hall

"Watching an exciting movie in the evening is a favored way for many people to relax after a long day of work. They look forward to getting home, having dinner and then sitting down to be entertained. After hours of watching television, they decide to turn in for the night and instead of falling fast asleep, they spend the next several hours rolling around in their bed, suffering from insomnia."