There's not too much on TV that's wholesome enough for the entire family to enjoy.

I can't begin to imagine the awkwardness that comes when a parent has to explain even 1 percent of the sex and violence aired daily.

It just makes me grateful to only have computer-cord chomping, pink-eye getting puppies, because at least I don't have to get into conversations about adultery, breast enlargement and torture.

Tonight, the "Family Television Awards" (8 p.m., CW) celebrate the shows that aren't going to induce cringing in a household with kids younger than 18.

Phil Keoghan of "The Amazing Race" hosts the ninth annual ceremony that honors family-friendly programming.

Programs saluted include "Heroes," "Pushing Daisies," "Ugly Betty," "High School Musical 2," "Kyle XY," "Planet Earth" and "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?"

A very short list and a very short ceremony - the way all awards shows should be.

The "Brain Fitness Program" (7 p.m., KNME-Channel 5) wants to whip our noggins into better shape.

The two-hour show presents the latest in cutting-edge brain research. It's focused on neuroplasticity and the ability of the brain to change and even rewire itself.

I would like to have mi cabeza rewired to not enjoy fatty foods and those countdowns on VH1.

That could be a part of the computer-based stimulus sets scientists are developing to drive beneficial chemical, physical and functional changes in the brain.

Michael Merzenich of the University of California, San Francisco, and his medical colleagues have been leading this effort to make our brains stronger.

This is all helpful, because apparently if you live into your mid-80s, there's a more than even probability that your brain will decline in function before you die.

By 85, there's almost an even-money chance you'll be identified as senile.

Once you get past that oh-so-cheerful thought, there is hope, according to these folks.

Just like physical exercise is necessary to maintain physical strength, the brain can be exercised in order to retain mental acuity.

Use it or lose it, people.