I was taken aback when I read in the article entitled "Limit 'genius' TV like any other" from Monday's paper "media researcher" Deborah Linebarger's comment: "anyone who claims they don't use TV as a babysitter is either childless or lying." How anyone associated with the University of Pennsylvania could make sure a short-sighted and ignorant comment is baffling. As a parent of three children myself, I have found my New Year's resolution: contact Ms. Linebarger and personally invite her over and give her a demonstration which will amend her research and show her how it's done. It's apparent her research hasn't been very thorough. Here are some rules we've followed: Rule one: no TV under three, four if possible. If it can't be avoided (like at a friend's house), discuss with child that TV is a privilege and is alright on occasion but is not a core daily activity. They will understand. My research has proven this. Rule two: don't make the TV the centerpiece of any room. Big TV's aren't good either. If the child sees how important parents think the TV is, they will think the same. Rule three: limit TV to one hour per day, preferably after three. Even at six, our daughter is allowed one hour per day. The funny thing is that she does not max out her quota every day. When kids do watch it, stay nearby and open a book. Rule four: stick to PBS; if for nothing else, because there is a lot less advertising on PBS than the so-called kids channels. Believe me, this makes trips to the store much easier if children have minimal exposure to advertising. Trust me on this. Rule five: no DVD players in vehicles; EVER! This is the worst idea ever. I don't have enough time and space to explain how decadent this is; this is one comment I can make that needs no research to support how bad this is for children. Our research is backed by frequent driving trips to Pittsburgh and to Canada and our conclusion is that a DVD player is completely unnecessary for any car ride, long or short. Rule six: read to your children; read to them early and often. Introducing them to activities they can do themselves like crafts or simple games is essential too. My research has shown that following these rules will greatly reduce any inclination of even thinking of using the TV as a babysitter. As for the accompanying article regarding the Baby Einstein videos, my opinion is that if you want to defame the name Einstein, just package it and market it as a "video." Let's not forget the gauche irony of the naming as no one needs to do much research to find out how much TV Einstein watched as a boy.