The last week of April was TV-Turnoff Week, but don't tell my kids. We're celebrating a little longer at our house.

The movement to darken as many TV sets as possible for seven days is mostly reported in newspapers. Our kids get all their news from the Disney Channel, so it was easy to convince them TV-Turnoff Week extends into May.

A better version for us would actually be called Disney-Channel-Turnoff Week. That's mostly what our three little girls are missing.

Disney Channel streams endless episodes of kiddie shows such as "That's So Raven," "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," and that ever-present little songstress, "Hannah Montana."

Our twins just turned 5, and they know the words to every bubblegum hit Hannah Montana ever popped out.

It was cute at first, but now I'm wishing young Hannah would ride on off into the Montana sunset.

Our household is mostly sold on the notion of killing the TV in the interest of more family time, healthier lifestyles and better grades in school.

I say mostly because there's been some cheating.

"Who turned on the TV?" I yelled from the kitchen.

"I did," my wife said, flatly.

"Is it time for the news?" I asked.

The ground rules for our version of TV-Turnoff Week include brief allowances for news and weather updates.

"Nope," Sharon said. "It's time for 'American Idol.'"

That reminded me of the longest TV drought in the history of the Rutledge family.

The people at the TV-Turnoff Network, a nonprofit organization that promotes less devotion to the tube, should have hired my father as a consultant.

Dad always viewed television sets as poor investments of time and money — especially money.

When we moved from Albemarle to Tennessee in 1968, the church where dad was pastor gave the family a big, console color TV.

We kept the tubes glowing inside that old Magnavox for most of 10 years.

Then, without warning, it just quit. Right in the middle of the theme song to "Gilligan's Island."

"No phone, no lights, no ..."

No TV.

Dad seized the opportunity to add more family time, healthier lifestyles and better grades to our home.

Call it TV-Turnoff Year. We celebrated for two years before dad broke down and bought a 14-inch portable. My sister, Martha, was having a bad day and wanted to watch the Country Music Association Awards.

I don't have my father's resolve. In fact, I must confess to doing a little cheating myself this week.

Late one night, when everyone else was in bed, I plugged in the earphones and turned on Letterman. It was too easy. I couldn't stop.

I was into my second "Andy Griffith Show" rerun when something upstairs went thump.

I turned off the TV and held my breath. It was only a book or a toy falling off one of the girl's beds.

That's it! No more TV-Turnoff Weeks at our house. Next year, we only recognize Disney-Channel-Turnoff Week.

Let Hannah Montana chew awhile on that bubblegum.