Typically, I watch only the news at 10 PM and sometimes the “Everyone Loves Raymond” rerun following. I read at least two novels a week, so it’s safe to say that IF I HAD TO I’d prefer to give up TV.

If I had to give up one, I’d give up the TV, but I don’t think it’s necessary to do so. The keys in our house have been to limit TV/video game time using a timer and to let our kids see us reading books, papers and magazines often. Frequent trips the library are fun for our family and let everyone pick out something that they like. My 8 y/o son loves the Capt Underpants series…it’s not my cup of tea, but if bathroom humour gets him to enjoy reading, I’ll deal. He also reads the box scores in the paper with my husband and enjoys selections from the “Everything Kids” series. The nearly 3 y/o enjoys Dr. Seuss and any books that feature characters from his fave Nick shows. We keep books in every room in the house and a few in the car so they can read when the urge strikes. And we read together most nights, each person with a different book or magazine and relaxing music in the background; it’s a nice way to unwind together.

I agree with the others who wrote that kids will pick up on a parent’s interest in and love for reading. Let them choose books that reflect their interests and encourage them to join you on the sofa with their own book.

My son is only 14 months old, but we read to him every night. I like reading books quite a bit. When I was a kid I read all the time. If I were sent to my room, I’d end up there all night reading a book, even if my came and told me I could come out. Reading is great for a developing mind. Even though the story is told for you, you get to make up many of the details of the book such as the way a character looks or sounds. There’s no imagination involved on a TV. It’s not even a question, I’d drop the TV in our house in a second if I had to choose.

I’m not one of those “I hate TV I never watch it” people, either. I was glued to Saturday morning cartoons (which I just realized recently that those are long gone), and as a family, I remember regularly watching Family Feud, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk (with Lou Ferigno), Fantasy Island…. etc etc etc. Sadly, thanks to my Mom, I’m a 34 year old male and I can still name most of the characters from Dynasty. I watch a quite a bit of it now, too. I just have and always will like to read too.

The answer of how to get you kids to read is an easy one, and what my parents did to me all the way through high school: a strict bedtime. No TV, video games, computers, or any other electronics are allowed in the kids rooms. Everyone has to be in bed at 9 PM, but can read for as long as they like. This is good for everyone in the house - parents get kid-free time every night, kids get at least an hour of reading every night. Everybody wins.

We limit out children’s video/TV time to no more than 1 hour per day except on special occasions when we all sit down to watch a family movie. This includes not only TV, but video game systems and computer games. Computer research for school projects does not count. We also have “reading nights” quite frequently as both my husband and I are voracious readers and enjoy quiet time to read our own books and my husband has been in college for the last several years and requires quiet study time. The only way to accomplish this was to teach our children to read their own books and be quiet so that they do not disturb others around them. We firmly believe in teaching by example so when our children see us get really into books they start to want that experience for themselves. Some days our TV never even gets turned on. On cool spring or fall evenings we might go to the park and each take a book to read sitting on a blanket under a tree and when the weather is very cold and drab in the winter we take trips to the library to get out of the house and spend time scouring the shelves for interesting reads. If I had to choose, I would definitely choose to eliminate the TV, no question about it.

I got rid of the TV when I moved out into my own apartment. I have been married for 6 yrs and my wife and I don’t watch TV. We do watch DVDs but we control what is on. We regularly read. My wife more than I since she has more free time. I enjoy a few good books each month plus all of the online and print news that comes out. TV won’t go away but the best way to not have it rule our (your) lives is to turn it off or not have one at all.

I could eliminate TV. And the reasoning is very simple…

The necessity for reading is all around us. Virtually everything, including this very blog is only useful if you can read. There are street signs, advertisements, I will even go so far as to mention your paycheck. What about labels on food and other store bought products? How would you know what you were buying if you couldn’t read? You wouldn’t.

Reading is all around us.

From the simplest of things like the S & P etched on the salt and pepper shakers to more complex things like construction blueprints, you have to read… How else will you know how to program and hook up that 50″ plasma TV?

We’ve managed to pass on the reading bug - both my husband and I were avid readers when we were younger and had the time. I read lots and lots and lots of bedtime books - using lots of silly voices to make it even more fun. I was worried that my oldest wasn’t going to catch the bug because his reading skills were poor when he started school. But by 2nd grade he was finally able to tackle books with a plot! I was soooo proud when he started reading kiddy sci-fi that I promised to track down every Animorph book we could find.
The schools have a program called Accelerated Reader that works for some kids. The important part is that they are allowed free access to the library so they can keep checking out books to take the tests (on the computer) and keep advancing. I had to provide a little home bribery to get him to want to advance, but eventually he started reading for his own sake.
But some kids don’t take to the AR system, and it just teaches them to read the minimum requirement to get the points they need. They won’t read anything that doesn’t get them points…kinda sad.
These days we make time to read books together out loud. We’re read all the Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, and this month its the Princess Bride. We also watch TV together, so that its part of family time. No tv in the kid’s room - we have two sets, that’s enough. I let my oldest watch a movie a day on vacation so I can get stuff done, but in the evening time it has to be something we can all enjoy.

Sending out a message as worthy as “Books before Television” in a periodical publication is the same as the old adage of ‘preaching to the choir’. Most of us have seen Aisha’s message BECAUSE we love to read, not because we open up the paper while the commercials are on.

The only place on television where you’ll find messages encouraging people to read is PBS, from shows like Reading Rainbow and Read Between the Lions. If we really want to get our culture to get the message to turn off the television and open a good book, we’ll have to come up with something clever for a spot during the Superbowl, since, with the advent of DVR, those are the only commercials anyone will watch anymore.

Also to note, I think it is easier to say you’d do without TV in favor of books, because, well, that’s what you are supposed to say. I think realistically for most, it’s more practical if we HAD to choose, to choose TV. Several readers have said it’s all about a good balance - which is what I agree with also. But if I had to say which I could live without, it would have to be reading - again from a practical standpoint.