'My husband watches too much TV...'

Dear Diana

Dear Diana,
My husband is a couch potato. Whenever he is at home, he is glued to the TV set. As soon as he comes home from work, he turns on the TV. He does everything in front of the TV. Whether eating, drinking or talking - it is all in front of the idiot box. He watches shows till late night disturbing my sleep. He does nothing else at home, but plonk himself in front of the box. On holidays, he sits and watches TV - morning to night at full volume. If there is a cricket match on or a newsbreak, he will not even get up for a moment. This has really started to bug me. When the TV is on, no one can talk so that he does not miss even one moment of what is going on. What example is he setting for our 19-year-old son who is fast following in his father's footsteps?
- Payal


Illustration/Amit Bandre

Dear Payal,
After all these hours of continuous viewing, I shudder to think about the physical ailments that excessive television viewing can cause. He is straining his eyesight, especially if he watches till late night. At the same time, he will end up with back issues sitting all these hours glued to the box. Tell him exactly how you feel about it. His likely reply will be that he has nothing to do in life, so this is his way of keeping himself occupied. Assign some household chores to him. He needs to take some responsibility in domestic issues as well. It appears that you are single-handedly doing all the work, it is time he did his bit. In this way, he will be forced to spend some time away from the tube. Assign each of them some work like running errands and picking up the mess. Also, your son needs to pursue a sport or outdoor activity. When not studying, he needs to get out and not be stuck in front of the idiot box.