| Dick Estell The Radio Reader Public Radio's Reading Program |
| (non-fiction) |
| The Big Turnoff: Confession of TV-Addicted Mom Trying to a TV-Free Kid by Ellen Currey-Wilson Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2007 |
| Airs August 3 thru September 3, 2007 |
Like most parents, Ellen Currey-Wilson and her husband aspire to do a better job
of child rearing than their own parents. Currey-Wilson spent far too much of her
childhood watching The Beverly Hillbillies and Hawaii Five-O, maintained intimate
long-term relationships with Mary, Rhoda, and Phyllis. But now she longs for her
son, Casey, to know the people around him better than he knows the Teletubbies.
In this revealing and funny take on parenting in a media-crazed world, the author
recounts her increasingly outlandish behavior: becoming a human shield as she
throws herself in front of the TV set at her son’s playmates’ houses, experiencing
fits of insecurity as she worries whether Casey will be ostracized for not knowing
the theme song to Spongebob Squarepants.
In an age when it’s easier to flip on the TV than to truly interact with the people
around us, The Big Turnoff shows what can happen when one woman decides to
buck the trend.
of child rearing than their own parents. Currey-Wilson spent far too much of her
childhood watching The Beverly Hillbillies and Hawaii Five-O, maintained intimate
long-term relationships with Mary, Rhoda, and Phyllis. But now she longs for her
son, Casey, to know the people around him better than he knows the Teletubbies.
In this revealing and funny take on parenting in a media-crazed world, the author
recounts her increasingly outlandish behavior: becoming a human shield as she
throws herself in front of the TV set at her son’s playmates’ houses, experiencing
fits of insecurity as she worries whether Casey will be ostracized for not knowing
the theme song to Spongebob Squarepants.
In an age when it’s easier to flip on the TV than to truly interact with the people
around us, The Big Turnoff shows what can happen when one woman decides to
buck the trend.
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