=>THEME: Down-shifting: Make time for what is important

=>Tip of the Week: Don’t stop with the TV. Take stock of everything in your life and decide whether it is truly beneficial to your health and well-being. If it is not, get rid of it. Be ruthless. If it is controlling your life, instead of you controlling it, get rid of it. If it distracts you from reaching your goals instead of getting you closer, get rid of it.

=>10 TV-FREE Activities that help you slow down and relax:

1.Tell your family and others you care about that you love them. It's easy to forget the simple things.
2. Make a healthy, home-cooked meal, instead of prepared or take out.
3. Call a grandparent, grandchild, or other distant relative on the telephone.
4. Go for a walk.
5. Get a massage. (great for couples, of course, but also great for children).
6. Take a nap.
7. Rest in a hammock
8. Go bird watching in your neighborhood.
9. Invite your neighbor for a cup of coffee.
10. Do a puzzle.

=> Free e-Book: Slow Down and Green Up. Find out what steps you can take to begin a simpler, slower, healthier life.

=> Website of the Week: The Simple Living Network has a wealth of information about taking control of your time, possessions and life.

=>TV News: Tom Cruise does not let his children watch TV, except for a few movies on the weekend. He joins Madonna n advocating a TV-FREE life. TV-FREE advocates have some interesting company.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a new report about the TV habits of infants and toddlers. They had some interesting findings. One third of children that age already have a TV in their bedroom. One-third of the families have a TV playing all or most of the time. I would guess that those families would be candidates for serious TV addiction. Also, it looks like TV for this age group is more about what the parents want then what the children want.

The government is looking into the problem of fake news, or undisclosed video news releases. I'm not holding my breath for anything to come of this.

=>Articles:

America’s TV addiction: It’s a matter of time, a lot of time. by Katherine Westphal

A brief essay, that considers the amount of time that people spend watching TV.

Fake News and other reasons not to watch TV news by Katherine Westphal

This is such a serious problem that I advocate not using the TV at all to get news.

Next Week: Dads, kids, sports, BBQ, and more