First lady advises families to turn off television for day

? First lady Laura Bush is asking parents to turn off the television today and instead read to their children and perhaps light a memorial candle.

“Don’t let your children see the images, especially on Sept. 11, when you know it’ll probably be on television again and again the plane hitting the building or the buildings falling,” Mrs. Bush said in an interview Friday with Univision, a Spanish-language TV network.

First lady Laura Bush, seen here with her husband, has encouraged Americans to spend one-on-one time with their children today, on the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Photos and videotaped images of that day appeared in TV newscasts, newspapers and magazines as the country prepared to remember the more than 3,000 people killed when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Somerset, Pa.

Parents who decide to allow their older children to watch television on the anniversary should limit the time they spend in front of the set, Mrs. Bush said.

Children need assurance they are safe, and it’s important to remember and mourn those who died and support victims’ families, she said.

She encouraged parents to read and spend time with their children to comfort them.

“I also think it’s a time if parents want to do this, especially if your children are a little older, to have a little, you know, memorial service of your own. Maybe light a candle,” Mrs. Bush told Telemundo in an interview broadcast Friday.

The first lady recalled how insecure she and other Americans felt after learning of the attacks but said she believed this was now a safer nation.