The sun is setting and a warm spring day is coming to an end, but that is not going to stop the Waline family of Story City from going outside to play and enjoy the last few hours of the day together before bedtime.

Although TV-watching is not a regular routine for the family, this week it is especially important for the family to avoid sitting down in front of the television. They are one of about seven million families across the nation participating in TV Turnoff Week.

Executive Director of TV Turnoff Network Frank Vespe said there are two main purposes behind the week, which takes place from April 21-27. First, the network is trying to raise awareness and have the country thinking about the role of television in their lives. The second goal the network hopes to accomplish is a “springboard reaction” for those participating, resulting in a change of behavior within families.

“The average American child spends more time in front of the TV than they do in class,” Vespe said. “TV Turnoff Week is an effort to put a focus on this issue and for families to get a handle on [television watching].”

For the last three years, Karen and Brad Waline have decided to take the challenge of turning off the three televisions located throughout their split-level home at 126 Grand Ave. in order to spend more time with their 6-year-old daughter, Kirsten, and 5-year-old son, Grant.

“It’s a good way to realize the way people rely on the TV and a great chance to realize what other things there are other than TV,” Karen said. “The TV is an easy way to entertain kids if [parents] want to get something done.”

Monitoring their children’s viewing habits isn’t anything new for Karen and Brad, however, because they decided from the beginning they didn’t want their children watching an abundance of television. Until a few days ago when a satellite dish was installed into their home — primarily for Brad to watch sporting events — the only thing on television for the kids to watch would have been public television shows and other educational programs.

“We try to teach them about uneducational versus educational TV. With being an educator, I realize what happens in certain homes and the influence of knowing certain kids who sit at home in front of the TV and don’t know how to entertain themselves,” said Karen, who teaches art, computer and health classes at Nevada Middle School.

“TV teaches kids to turn off their minds. You don’t think when you watch TV.”

Even young Grant knows what happens when kids watch too much television.

“It makes us stupid,” he said. Even though he’s not supposed to use that word, his mom allows Grant to use it when pertaining to television.

Karen and Brad started reading to Kirsten and Grant when the children were very young. Although the children still like to read, their interests have expanded into many different activities. Kirsten and Grant enjoy playing a variety of sports, especially when their parents play too, including soccer, basketball, gymnastics, ice-skating, Rollerblading, football, swimming, and T-ball in the summer. The bright yellow T-shirt Grant wears also displays one of his favorite sports, hockey.

“There are lots of other activities that are better for them. We want to [get] them used to doing things other than plopping in front of the TV,” Brad said.

Other projects the kids have been doing throughout the week are puzzles, playing a new computer game, visiting people at the nursing home across the street, painting and playing outside.

“When it was pouring rain on Saturday they played outside for an hour and a half,” Karen said. “If they would have been watching TV, they wouldn’t have used that energy. It’s amazing what they can find to do; they’re pretty good at entertaining themselves.”

Although Kirsten and Grant have many temptations to watch television when they visit friends or other relatives, they both said they’d rather not watch television since they get to spend more time together and get more attention from their parents, especially during TV Turnoff Week.

“I think our kids watch less TV than most, and I think they play better together when they are forced to turn off the TV,” Karen said. “It’s really sad lots of families don’t do [TV Turnoff]. They won’t develop a relationship with their kids and when they get older they won’t have that foundation.”

Carol Alexander Phillips, administrator of the ISU Palmer Child Development Laboratory School, said TV Turnoff Week is important because too many people spend too much time in front of the television.

“It’s just a reminder that although TV has been a window on the world, there is a downside,” she said.

“I hope parents think about how much TV watching children do and hope they make better decisions about the use of TV in family settings.”