counseling, and consulting.

counseling, and consulting. She has deisgned and led workshops in family relationships, communication skills, and life planning, for a variety of organizations, including church, educational, and government agencies. Her experience in" parenting has recently expanded to grandparenting.

The workshop, which will meet for four sessions, will start Thursday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m., at the Rappahannock Mental Healtlf Clinic.

The fee will be $12 for the series, $15 for a couple. For further information, call the Clinic at 675-3329.

TV Or No TV?

When the average Rappahannock County child graduates from school, he will have spent more time in front of the TV set than he will have spent in school itself. Television is clearly a dominating force in American life. There is some hope for parents. Dr. Robert Alley and Dr. Irby Brown of the University of Richmond say that the negative effects of TV—violence, sex, pressures to be popular, differing morals—can be overcome if children would develop “creative viewing skills.”

These include, among others, learning more about how television works, being critical of shows, examining their themes and characters, and being selective about what they watch—not just sitting and accepting everything that comes on.

There are things you can do too. You can consider setting limits on use of the TV set, the same as you do about your child’s allowance, bedtime, use of the family car and dating. You can look for good shows—all three networks, as well as public television, have them—rand encourage your children to watch them.

You can watch some of your children’s favorite programs and comment on what you see. A few wellplaced comments such as, “That’s silly. That’s good, or People don’t really act like that,” will help make you, not the TV set, the head of the family.