What do you do when your kids pester you for more and more and more goodies, toys, and other things? The source of all that "gimmie-itis" may surprise you.

A new study has shown that for every hour that a child watches TV, there is a parallel rise in asking for toys or food they've seen advertised. Makes perfect sense and almost seems foolish that money would have been spent on such a study. I think most parents could tell you of this correlation.

But then again, if it were such common sense, why do so many parents still allow their children to spend so much time in front of the TV and/or video games (both were linked in this study to increased "wants")?

This is an interesting conundrum, considering our church leaders have counseled us to reduce our desire for material goods and to increase our desire for spiritual "good's" and a lifetime of increasingly Christ-like living. TV apparently isn't helping us in this category (like, that's a no-brainer).

No wonder we have been counseled by the Prophet and others to be choosy in what we watch and to curtail the amount of media time our children are exposed to, so that we can know joy in following Christ and his ways.

Here are a few suggestions to prevent the Gimmie monstor from taking over your household:

1. Hold a family counsel.
Share this study with your family (a link is included to the news report at the bottom of the page). Ask them why they think this has some people concerned. Ask for ideas on how to curtail wanting what the world tells us to want. Ask for other ideas on how to increase in desire of that which the Lord wants for us.

2. Spend more time as a family in fun.
A family that plays together, stays together.

3. Spend more time as a family in prayer.
A family that prays together, stays together.

4. Spend more time as a family in scripture study.
A family that reads scriptures together,....well, you get the idea.

All three of those preceding sentences work, don't they? Whether we're playing together as a family, praying together as a family, or studying scriptures together, all three of these activities will make a difference in bonding a family and increasing our strength to resist the siren call of the world - which experts portray as heating up as advertisers increasingly market to younger and younger children. The Savior is the way, the truth, and the life and eternal joy can only come through Him and His grace - not that which the world proffers so brashly and insistently.

I don't know about you, but I don't want my children to be eaten up by the monster of the "Gimmies". And if studies are intimating that watching TV apparently increases material desires, I know that this is one household which will be spending more time together outdoors and otherwise, rather than in front of the TV.

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