Screen-Free Week is April 18-24

HERE CCFC – April 15, 2011 By CCFC April 15, 2011

Contact: Josh Golin (617-896-9369; [email protected])
MEDIA ADVISORY

Screen-Free Week: April 18-24, 2011
Children Around the Country to Turn Off Screens and Turn on Life!

What: It’s almost Screen-Free Week—the annual national celebration where children, families, schools, and communities turn off TV, video games, computers, and hand-held devices and turn on life. Instead of relying on screens for entertainment, they play, read, daydream, explore nature, and enjoy spending time with family and friends.

When: April 18-24, 2011

Why: Children spend far too much time with screens: an astonishing average of 32 hours a week for preschoolers and even more for older children. Time with screens is linked to poor school performance, childhood obesity, attention issues and other health and social problems.

Where: Homes, schools, libraries, faith communities, municipalities, and businesses around the country. For a listing of Screen-Free activities, please see http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/events.html.

Who: Screen-Free Week is endorsed by seventy-five organizations including American Public Health Association, the National Head Start Association, KaBOOM!, the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity and the US Play Coalition. The City of Boston and the State of Massachusetts have proclaimed April 18-24 officially Screen-Free Week for residents. For a complete list of endorsers, see http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/endorsers.html.

Nationally recognized experts on children and media—as well as children, parents, and teachers participating in Screen-Free Week—will be available for interviews both prior to and during the week.

For more information about Screen-Free Week, please see http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/index.html.

For a fact sheet on children and screen time, please visit: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/factsheets/screentime.pdf.

This media advisory, endorser quotes, images and other publicity materials can be found at http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screenfreeweek/press.html.

HERE Date: Tuesday 10 January 2012
The Digital Diet: The Four-step Plan to Break your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in your Life