Advice to Parents Have you forgotten? Don't you know?

 
We'll say it very loud and slow! 
The most important thing we've learned, 
As far as children are concerned,  THEY...USED...TO...READ! They'd READ and
Is never, never, NEVER let  READ, 
Them near your television set -  And READ and READ, and then proceed 
Or better still, just don't install  To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks! 
The idiotic thing at all.  One half of their lives was reading books! 

In almost every house we've been,  The nursery shelves held books galore! 
We've watched them gaping at the screen.  Books cluttered up the nursery floor! 
They loll and slop and lounge about,  And in the bedroom, by the bed, 
And stare until their eye pop out.  More books were waiting to be read! 

They sit and stare and stare and sit,  Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales, 
Until they are hypnotised by it,  Of dragons, gypsies, queens and whales, 
Until they're absolutely drunk  And treasure isles and distant shores 
With all that shocking ghastly junk.  Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars, 
And pirates wearing purple pants, 
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,  And sailing ships and elephants, 
They don't climb out the window sill,  And cannibals crouching round the pot, 
They never fight or kick or punch,  Stirring away at something hot. 
They leave you free to cook the lunch 
And wash the dishes in the sink-  Oh, books, what books they used to know 
But, did you ever stop to think  Those children living long ago! 
To wonder, just exactly what  So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, 
This does to your beloved tot?  Go throw your TV set away, 
And in its place you can install 
IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!  A lovely bookshelf on the wall. 
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD! 
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!  And once they start - boy, oh boy! 
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND  You watch the slowly growing joy 
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND  That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen, 
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!  They'll wonder what they'd ever seen, 
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!  In that ridiculous machine, 
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!  That nauseating, foul, unclean, 
HE CANNOT THINK - HE ONLY SEES!  Repulsive television screen! 

"All right!" you cry. "All right!" you say,  And later, each and every kid, 
"But if we take the set away,  Will love you more for what you did.
What shall we do to entertain 
Our darling children? Please explain!" 

We'll answer this by asking you, 

"What used the darling ones to do? 
How used they to keep themselves contented 
Before this monster was invented?"