A child is encouraged not to sit close to the screen of television receiver. A base unit on the television receiver has a proximity detector that senses whether the child is within a preset range forward of the television receiver. In response to a range violation, the base unit transmits a triggering signal on an RF carrier to a slave unit. In response to the triggering signal, the slave unit transmits an OFF command on an infrared carrier to a standard infrared sensor built into the television receiver. The command is identical to the OFF command transmitted by a remote control associated with the television receiver. Since the base and slave units communicate via an omnidirectional RF carrier, the slave unit can be freely positioned to ensure adequate line of sight transmission communication with the television receiver via the infrared carrier.