There are so many reasons to dramatically cut down on television or to cut it out altogether. You’ll find in the end that your children will be much more likely to become avid readers and, as a result, perform better in school and in life. Instead of acting out the drama and degradation on popular TV, your kids will demonstrate the values you seek to pass on to them. You’ll also find your own productivity will increase, and oftentimes, a marriage will be sparked back to life by eliminating television. It may be a challenge at first to get used to your new lifestyle, but soon the benefits will be so rewarding that you’ll be too busy enjoying your higher quality of life that you won’t even think about the absence of television in it.

Tina Turbin

iStoryTime, the iPhone App Developer for DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon,” announces release of New App with Sign Language Interpretation of Award-Winning Children’s Picture Book “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy”

Los Angeles, CA [August 11, 2010] — iStoryTime, a publisher of children’s storybooks for the iPhone and iPad, announced today the launch of a groundbreaking app for deaf children – a vivid audio-visual presentation of “Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy” that includes a sign-language interpretation.  The app is the first of its kind, paving the way for many more cutting-edge products to assist this underserved population.  http://www.istorytimeapp.com

“We are extremely proud to release the first-ever children’s book app for the deaf community,” said iStoryTime co-Founder, Woody Sears.  “Our goal is to use technology to make children’s books accessible and entertaining and we are delighted to be involved in the production of a book that will provide deaf children with the opportunity to read the popular ‘Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy’ story.”

iStoryTime’s book apps, which can be downloaded directly to an iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad, are simple to use and known for their creativity, illustrations, narrations and animation.  Options for narrations on different stories include voices of adults, kids, and characters.  The narration can also be turned off so that parents can read to kids.
iStoryTime books are available globally for $.99-$2.99 in the iPhone App Store in 80 countries.  For a sneak peak of ‘Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy’ visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bijyi6sO20k

About iStoryTime

iStoryTime is part of FrogDogMedia, LLC.  The company was founded in 2009 by two fathers and an uncle who love to have fun with their families.  Driven by a passion to make children’s books more accessible and entertaining, iStoryTime is the pioneer of children’s book apps for the iPhone.  The organization has created a new medium for established and first time authors to showcase their work at no expense.  The new publishing platform provides parents with a library of compelling children’s books available anytime, anywhere.

My new Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD (including sign interpretation for the deaf) is quickly becoming quite popular with parents, teachers, librarians and children alike. This is a very unique video.

Sacramento’s “Moms Like Me” and Sacramento’s ABC News 10 talkshow entitled “Sacramento and Company” will feature a television segment about my DVD between the hours of 9 and 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, Friday August 16th (for those who are in the Sacramento area, please tune in to your local ABC station to watch the show live). They will air a few DVD clips and are hosting a terrific give-away to 5 lucky winners, to each receive my DVD!

Please be sure to tune in by visiting the above mentioned links for live streaming and/or by tuning in to ABC News television.

There’s a good chance you could win my Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy DVD for yourself!

Tina Turbin

     Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does—television, that is. One of the best decisions I made years ago for myself and for my family was to cut down on television drastically. At first this may seem like a daunting task, but with a few simple tips, parents find it’s much easier than they suspected it would be.

     First of all, there is the matter of reducing the amount of TV your family watches to just a few shows a week. In order to do this, I recommend a family meeting to discuss your goals as a family and as individuals. Then take an honest look at what everyone is getting out of television. Everyone will agree that they should watch less TV and spend more time pursuing their own goals. With a meeting like this, your kids and spouse will be much more likely to go along with their new lifestyle of less TV because they’ll understand the reason behind it.

     I highly recommend implementing a service such as TiVo ® to help keep TV watching to a minimum. After deciding on the reasons for watching less TV, each family member can decide on a handful of shows to watch together as a family, plus a personal favorite or two, to watch only during designated watching times—Friday nights or Sunday afternoons, for example.

     Finally, come up with stimulating alternatives. Take the kids to the library or play board games. Have larger, longer family dinners at the table. Keeping everyone busy will get their minds off this missing element in their lives. I highly recommend using this time to get the kids to strengthen their reading skills and develop a strong interest in reading. Soon you might find that your family—gasp!—may prefer reading over watching TV.

Tina Turbin

     The fact that kids need good literature is not a new one. Just look at the number of awards available in the United States alone to reward authors for superb children’s literature. The long list of such awards includes the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Award, and Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. With such an extraordinary effort made to celebrate good children’s literature, there must be something important about it.

     I know how short the attention span of a child can be yet how thrilling it is to watch a child’s imagination partake in an exciting adventure story. However, why should a child read good literature rather than watch an “educational” television show or an entertaining children’s movie? The answer lies in the benefits of reading to your child.

     Research continues to support that reading benefits children of all ages in a number of ways. Reading helps to build your child’s vocabulary, develop his imagination, and improve his ability to communicate. In fact, there is a direct relationship between how many words an infant hears in a day and his language skills, and even his intelligence quotient. Reading is crucial in exposing your baby or young child to a variety of words. The images and colors in children picture books and illustrated books are also stimulating of the imagination. This is part of the reason why I spent a whole year interviewing illustrators after writing the first book in my series, Danny the Dragon—I knew from reading to my own children just how much children appreciate art in children’s literature.

     So the next time you’re shopping for the kids at Wal-Mart, think twice before you get them another DVD, remember the pleasure you get from curling up with a good book, and pick out some high-quality children’s literature instead.

Mara Rouse has a history of exceptional credits to her resume to add another jam packed filled week of applying make-up for the celebrity pre-parties to the Grammys as well as the Grammys this year, 2010. Mara Rouse is now the make-up artist for any parties or shoots we do while in Los Angeles.

Mara specializes in Special Effects but loves it all. If it involves applying make-up she has interest. Mara moved here from Washington state to pursue her career working and apprenticing with Top people in the business. Hard work and perseverence got her to where she is now and we are very proud to have her as part of our LA team.

While in LA there are many times we need a little make-up done on the kids or me ( not Danny of course), to look just a bit better on a video or film shoot with the lighting. She has helped in the past and she has officially signed on as our “team”, unless something more important comes up- like the Grammys.

Mara Rouse is available fo hire: http://www.myspace.com/maramakeup

Thank you Mara. Tina Turbin

Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Even though last season’s hit shows were full of stuff you didn’t want your kids to watch or even know about, you turn on the television to find that this season’s shows are even more shocking. One of the best decisions I made years ago for myself and for my family was to cut down on television drastically.

As an author, researcher, and humanitarian, I am often approached by parents about a variety of issues. One topic that never ceases to come up is family issues such as how to promote family togetherness. As a family advocate and mother of three grown children, I speak from experience when I tell them that cutting down on or eliminating TV is the first step in strengthening the family. At first this may seem like a daunting task, but with a few simple tips, parents find it’s much easier than they suspected it would be.

First of all, there is the matter of reducing the amount of TV your family watches to just a few shows a week. In order to do this, I recommend a family meeting to discuss your goals as a family and as individuals. Then take an honest look at what everyone is getting out of television. Unless someone is a professional television critic in your family, chances are good that everyone will agree that they should watch less TV and spend more time pursuing their own goals. With a meeting like this, your kids and spouse will be much more likely to go along with their new lifestyle of less TV because they’ll understand the reason behind it.

I highly recommend implementing a service such as TiVo ® to help keep TV watching to a minimum. After deciding on the reasons for watching less TV, each family member can decide on a handful of shows to watch together as a family, plus a personal favorite or two. These will be the shows that you’ll record with TiVo ® and watch only during designated watching times—Friday nights or Sunday afternoons, for example. These should be shows that are entertaining and also enriching in some way. They don’t necessarily have to be historical documentaries, but avoid the shows which might be properly called “garbage.”

How do you stick to this reduced TV watching schedule? The best way is to come up with stimulating alternatives. Take the kids to the library or play board games. Have larger, longer family dinners at the table. Keeping everyone busy will get their minds off this missing element in their lives. I highly recommend using this time to get the kids to strengthen their reading skills and develop a strong interest in reading. Depending on their ages, read to them or have them read to you. Soon you might find that your family—gasp!—may prefer reading over watching TV.

I always recommend to parents the importance of setting a good example. If you want the kids to see how much fun reading can be, let them catch you in the middle of a book. If you want the kids to appreciate family togetherness, turn off your cell phone during family time. By diving enthusiastically yourself into activities besides watching television, you will influence your kids to do the same more powerfully than any words could.

There are so many reasons to dramatically cut down on television or to cut it out altogether. You’ll find in the end that your children will be much more likely to become avid readers and, as a result, perform better in school and in life. Instead of acting out the drama and degradation on popular TV, your kids will demonstrate the values you seek to pass on to them. You’ll also find your own productivity will increase, and oftentimes, a marriage will be sparked back to life by eliminating television. It may be a challenge at first to get used to your new lifestyle, but soon the benefits will be so rewarding that you’ll be too busy enjoying your higher quality of life that you won’t even think about the absence of television in it.