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C2 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday May 7, 2003 Oakville family gave up TV and survived By Paula Henriques OAKVIIU-: BRAVER STAFF Not being able to watch television for a week would make most people scream, or at least make their hair stand on end from fright, but an avid TV watching family took the challenge and survived. Meet the Carter family - Cathy. Tim. their daughter Brittany and cat Misha - who abstained from television watching, internet surfing and video game playing in a week-long campaign called TV Turnoff Week. Coordinated by the Halton Active Living Network, the campaign's aim is to promote active lifestyles. They esti mate 7.000 Halton residents traded their screens for physical activity April 21 - 2 7 . According to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, more than half of children and youth aged 5 17 are not sufficiently physically ictive for optimal growth and developmeit. Cithy explained that at first she did n't knov how the family would perse vere throjgh the week but by the end of the clullenge. the family was in agreement tint not turning on the tele vision wasn't as hard as initially thought. "We are a TV family, but when we made a conscious effort not to watch it. it wasn't hard at all. Once we took the focus off TV there were lots o f things to do," said the leader o f the 43 Oakville Guides Group. She said the family watches almost three hours o f television a day. She personally is hooked on sitcoms Everybody Loves Raymond, Will & Grace, Survivor. H G TV ... Not only will she watch them, but she'll tape her favourite day-time shows like Oprah to view them later while doing laundry. "It's almost embarrassing to admit." she said. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, the average Canadian child watches 23 hours of television each week. It is recommend ed that they spend no more than a total o f one to two hours of screen time per day. The Carter family opted instead to spend some good ol' fashioned quality time together by playing board games, reading books, taking walks, riding their bikes, and baking. "We made a lot of bread this week." said Cathy. Nine-year-old Brittany said she did n 't mind not watching her favourite show. Lizzie MacGuire for the week: she had her friend Sam Cowell to keep her company. She and Cowell, along with feline friend Misha, would jum p rope, bake goodies, create new dances and songs "and do homework." And when that w asn't enough activ ities to pass the lime, there was her social calendar: piano lessons on Peter C. McCusker · Oakville Beaver A bstaining from television for a week, the C a rte r family - Tim , dau g h ter B rittany, her friend Sam Cowell and wife C athy - opted instead to play Oakville On Board. Tuesday, Girl Guides on Wednesday and swimming on Thursday. "It w asn't as hard as I thought it would be," she said. Though the goal o f the campaign is to be 1(X) per cent TV-free, it does allow watching up to one hour a day of TV. For Tim, who is an investment rep resentative with Edward Jones, he con veniently had a hectic week at work, so filling the void o f television wasn't a daunting task. But he did admit it affected his hockey watching. "Since you only had an hour of tel evision allowed a day. you become selective. I watched the overtime." he said. Thursdays in Black symbolizes courage, strength May is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and The Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services of Halton (SAVIS) is launching once again the Thursdays in Bku;k campaign. It began as a silent protest in the early 1990s in Israel and Palestine to stop violence against women and children in times o f war. SAVIS is inviting women and men to wear black as a symbol o f strength and courage, rep resenting our solidarity with victims o f vio lence, while demanding a world without vio lence. T-shirts and buttons with the Demanding u World Without Violence logo will be sold at SAVIS, Hopedale Mall, 1515 Rebecca St., Suite 227, throughout the month o f May. Tshirts cost $15 and buttons cost $3. People are encouraged to purchase a t-shirt and wear it year round on Thursdays in an effort to help educate others on the issues of violence. On May 29 at 7 p.m. at the Oakville Knights of Columbus Hall. 1494 Wallace Rd., there will be performances by four female artists - Daisy DeBolt, Laura Bird, Tannis Slimmon and Restless Eve - to help bring the month to a close. Tickets cost $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Sexual assault is one of the most under reported crimes in Canada. Which isn't surprising considering 85 per cent of the vic tims know their assailants according to Montreal Health Press Inc. There are also fac tors such as fear o f retaliation, being judged and being discredited and re-victimized in the court system. Eighty-four per cent o f the vic tims of sexual assault are female and 97 per cent o f the perpetrators are male according to the Deptartment o f Justice, 1992. Girls are two to three times more likely to expe rience sexual assault than boys (Johnston & Saenz. 1997). Although males are victims of sex ual assault as well, the majority of victims remain women and the majority of offenders are hetero sexual males. SAVIS of Halton began in 1986 when a handful of women recog nized a need for sexual assault services in Halton. SAVIS provides one to one counselling, a 24-hour crisis line at 905-8751555. multicultural outreach counselling and groups, and information packages. SAVIS of 1lalton can be reached at 905-825-3622. LA-Z-BOY FURNITURE® GALLERIES B U R U N G T O N PO W E RC E N T R E QIW S B R A H T S M I ·1905)3317600 Moa-w. 9TM-9 p m . S o l 9m -6 p m .S u n . IOcm-5 pm tzZi'ZsC' lO t t l x , CdC C c C-Lt ^ ) c i-U j t-CCA/. . . Home Decorating Create a quick makeover with new colours Sooner or later, you' l l need to redecorate that room. You know the one that is so outdiited it has become the eyesore o f your home decor. But you've waited this long became you can' t afford all the grandiose plans you have fo r its makeover. How about starting with a simple change in colour? " Painting is one o f the most economical ways to make a noticeable difference in your home. Instead o f investing is costly new furniture and accessories, homeowners can spend minimal dollars to paint their walls and ceilings to create a fresh change in their surroundings," explains Dominique Pepin , Senior Product Manager fo r Sico, the largest Canadian paint manufacturer, and member o f the Colour Marketing Group. Even fo r those choosing paint fo r the first time, the decision should not be daunting. Pepin offers the following advice that will help you create your signature look in a room. 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