TV for kids: Freeview Viewtrition Campaign

Healthy balanced viewing

• Monitor your family’s viewing habits for a week.
• Balance time spent watching TV against time spent in other healthy and enriching activities.
• Make sure your viewing is as viewtritional as that you wish for your child.

Viewtritional content

• Research, read up about and discuss with other parents the relative value of programmes watched.
• Choose programmes that complement your child’s interests and also challenge their learning.
• Plan and record your children’s balanced TV diet.

Don’t snack

• As you don’t want your child to graze on junk food all day – don’t let them graze on junk TV all day.
• Pre-record and series link those programmes that you find nutritional using a digital TV recorder.

Don’t gorge

• Monitor time spent watching TV.
• Use TV – for a limited time - as an incentive after other important tasks have been done.

Don’t consume alone

• TV is best enjoyed and has greatest impact for children when shared and discussed – this is called “co–viewing”.
• Pause and rewind  live TV using your Freeview+ box, and discuss what’s on the screen.

Be active when watching TV

• Ask questions of your child as you are watching – the pause button on digital TV consoles can help with this.
• Get interactive via the red button and also going onto TV programme websites.
• Use the TV programme as inspiration for other activities – a “web of learning”.
• Use TV to capture your child’s curiosity and then build on this with books  or discussion.
• Help your child understand links between what they view and the wider world.

Keep TV as a delicious treat

• Limit them to watching the main family TV set
• Make sure the TV is not on all the time so that it becomes valued and appreciated when it is
• No TV at meal times
• Pre-record family programmes that can be enjoyed all together

Help your children learn about Viewtrition

• Discuss what they are watching and why.
• As they get older let them decide with you what they enjoy (and why.
• Recognise that a little bit of junk here and there is not going to cause long term damage in most children – so be calm.

You can download a free copy of A parent's guide  to quality TV for kids from www.freeview.co.uk