Madonna raised some eyebrows when she declared that "TV is trash" and that she does not let her children Lourdes and Rocco watch TV, save one movie on the weekend. Madonna: "We have TVs but they're not hooked up to anything but movies. TV is trash. I was raised without it. I didn't miss anything. TV is poison."

Getting rid of the family TV is not as horrible as it may sound. In fact, not allowing her children to watch TV is perhaps the best decision Madonna could make as a parent. It was certainly the best decision I made for my children and me. Here are the top ten reasons why Madonna is right:

1. A PERSON WHO WATCHES 3 HOURS OF TV PER DAY IS TWICE AS LIKELY TO BE OBESE AS A PERSON WHO WATCHES ONLY AN HOUR PER DAY^*

TWICE as likely! That is a significant correlation. Several studies have shown that men, women, AND children who watch more than three hours of TV per day are twice as likely to be obese. That is not surprising considering that the only activity that burns fewer calories is sleeping. Doing anything besides watching TV will help you burn more calories. If you are seriously trying to lose weight, you may wish to consider losing that TV first.

2. PARENTS SPEND ONLY 38 MIN. PER WEEK IN MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION WITH CHILDREN ON AVERAGE^*

Yet pundits are perplexed at the decline of the family. Parents spend over 31 HOURS watching TV versus 38 MINUTES actively engaging their children. How much better could families function if those numbers were reversed?

3. STUDY SHOWS THAT TOO MUCH TV AT AGES 1 & 3 RESULTS IN ADHD SYMPTOMS AT AGE 7^*

"TV rots your brain" is not just an urban legend. It is especially damaging for developing brains. It is linked with attention problems in young children. Because of the risks, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of two should not watch any TV.

4. 2 LONG-TERM STUDIES SHOWS THAT VIEWING TV VIOLENCE CAUSES AGGRESSION LATER IN LIFE^*

According to one long term study by Dr. Leonard D. Eron, watching television violence at age 8 was the strongest predictor of aggression later in life--stronger even than exhibiting violent behavior as children. A second, 15-year study reached similar conclusions. Even if you are an otherwise ideal parent, by allowing your children to watch violent television, you may be unwittingly setting them up for a violent future.

5. CHILDREN WITNESS 16,000 TV MURDERS BY AGE 18^*

16,000 TV murders on average. Plus, they witness 200,000 violent TV acts during that time frame. Even if this TV violence does not make your child more violent, it certainly is not healthy.

6. CHILDREN ARE EXPOSED TO AN AVERAGE OF 50,000 TV COMMERCIALS PER YEAR^*

What does this mean for parents? The advertising industry calls it the "Nag Factor". If you don't have kids yourself, you've probably at least witnessed the "Nag Factor" at work at your local store.

7. THE "NAG FACTOR" INFLUENCES $300 BILLION IN SALES PER YEAR^*

In 2001, the "Nag Factor" influenced an estimated $300 billion in sales. That amounts to over $4,000 per pestering child per year. No one knows how much more money was spent on the subsequent sales of headache relievers.

8. STUDENTS WHO WATCHED TV ONLY 1 HOUR/DAY SCORED THE BEST ON ACHIEVEMENT TESTS.*

The content of most programming is usually not educational. Plus, TV tends to shut down the logical sections of the brain, making it difficult to learn anything from TV.

9. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN STUDY SHOWS: TV VIEWING IS ADDICTIVE^*

A recent Scientific American article showed that television is addictive. Why else would we trade our family time, our health, and our hard earned money for something that humanity has survived without for hundreds of thousands of years?

10. THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WATCHES OVER 4½ HOURS OF TELEVISION EVERY SINGLE DAY^*

The most recent figure from Nielsen is 4 hours and 32 minutes per day. Now, let's add that up. That is 31½ hours every week, almost a second job for most people. That is 5½ days per month and more than two whole months every year. By age 70 that is over 13 years watching television! Aren't there more important things you would rather be doing with this time?

Make your own decision

As a parent, I encourage you to make your own decision about what to do with your TV. Don't take Madonna's word or mine. Take note of the amount of time you watch TV. Then consider if there is something better you could do as a family. Also, the next time the TV is playing just look into your precious children's eyes as they assume a zombie-like stare. Then take note of how many times your child nags for something she saw on TV. Finally, take Trash Your TV's TV Addiction Quiz and measure how much TV is controlling your life.

Once you really examine the costs and benefits of watching TV, you will probably agree that the former Material Girl is right. TV is trash. Trash Your TV.

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Katherine Westphal is the founder of Trash Your TV! and the author of a revolutionary e-book system, The TV-FREE System. Get in control of your TV watching and create the life you want, whether it is to create the body, the mind, the business, the family, or the community of your dreams. Receive free sample pages of the TV-FREE Workbook, when you become a member at Trash Your TV!.

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