Do your kids have tvs.....

[emh1129]

We don't allow TVs in their bedroom- that's something that DH and I both feel strongly about, so it's never going to happen.

 

[bentleygirl22]

Both my kids James 6 and Alexis 4 Have had tv's in their room since birth..
James has one of those Disney Mickey tv with matching dvd player he has basic cable and gamecube hook to it and my little girl Alexis has one of those pink Disney Princess tvs with matching dvd player w/ basic cable .

I don't mind at all if they are in their room watching the disney or nick channel on their tvs or a disney/nick dvd in their room..

But we are also really busy with sports also
James plays Football teeball/baseball & Soccer
&
Alexis Is in Cheerleading and plays teeball/baseball

So my kids are outside alot doing sports ... so if they want time in their room to rest and watch tv i'm ok with it ...
besides ... I had a tv w/ cable in my room growing up so i don't see the problem

All I can say is You are your childs mom Or Dad You know what is best for your own child ...

~Manders

 

[PaulaSue]

My girls do in thier room, shared.

 

[Tammysue5]

Our kids DS 16 and DD 8, DD5 have TVs in their rooms. (No computer as that is in a centralized location) We have never had any issues with the TVs in the rooms. The kids have school and then either dance or tumbling for the girls or Drums/tennis/youth group for the DS. If given the choice everyone of them will go outside vs. Watching tv. We do pretty much everything as a family... play basketball in the driveway, church activities, swim in the pool.
All our kids do very well in school and are big book readers. We still do a lot of family movies, but sometimes when we do settle down we want to watch different things. Everyone has their space. I think that it is important for each family to decide what it is that works for them. Parents need to look at their children and make the best choice for them. I appreciate reading all the different aspects. Thanks for sharing!

 

[cara loves the poly]

yup, both of my kids have tv's and dvd's. I did growing up too. It's a balance, and it's not o.k. for all kids! Just use your noggins parents! P.S. - Im a college graduate, stay at home mom with two healthy happy kids and a happy husband! T.V. didn't ruin me growing up and I'm sure it won't ruin my kids! LOL!

 

[F4disneyfan]

in their bedrooms?

After reading the bedtime thread, I wanted to ask this. I didn't want to hijack that thread, so I'm starting a new one.

I've noticed many of you have said that your kids are in bed by X:XX but they will watch tv and fall asleep around X:XX. My oldest (7) has been asking for a tv to be placed in her room for awhile. She tells me, with all the drama she can muster (and believe me, that's a lot), that she is the ONLY one in her class without her own tv. Truthfully, I tend to believe her. I know all of her friend's homes that I have been to the kids do have tvs in their rooms. My best friend has 4 tvs in her 1500 square foot, 3 bedroom house. Our house is over twice that size, and we have 3 -- family room, master bedroom, and guest room.

Please understand. I'm not flaming. While my friend has tvs in each bedroom and family room, her kids love playing outside and they really don't watch them that much. However, I struggle with my kids watching so much tv. My girls get hot very easily, and hate to play outside. Also, if I can't engage my girls, they will tend to sit in front of the tv or at the computer. Not always, but enough that I'm reluctant to add a tv to their room. And while, I'd love to sit and play with my girls, I just can't. Laundry needs to be done. Dishes, too, etc, etc.

So, all this just to ask if your kids have tvs in their rooms. Am I being unreasonable or mean because I won't do it?

Well our 1000 SQFT house has a 56"HD DLP tv in the living room a 27"HD LCD hanging on our bedroom wall a 27"HDtv in the kids play room and a 20"HD LCD in the girls room all our TV's are HD and all have HD sattelite recievers for them. The tv in the girls room is also the tv that goes in the trailer when they go camping along with the reciever and the extra dish on the tripod. The girls also have their laptop in their room with wireless connectivity to our router on the PC up front for internet access.

 

[graygables]

I grew up without TV, essentially. We lived on an Army base in Germany before the days of AFN, and no way my parents were letting us watch German TV!

I swore my kids would never have TVs in their rooms. Wellllll, 11 and 8yo each have a TV connected only to their DVD/VCR players. 11yo never watches hers, she always goes into 8yo's room for "movie parties". They have limited choices to start with and I'm OK with that. Last night, they had a Veggie Tales "marathon" and had a great time. We are not strict bedtime people as we home/unschool and my schedule is always wonky anyway, so that probably plays into it. They will NOT have satellite in their rooms, however, their TVs are only for video watching (and they are in the basement so no broadcast reception, either) Their computers are both upstairs in the main areas. Also, they only watch movies in the evening, after they've washed up for bed. 8yo cannot fall asleep without either a movie on or a body next to her, sometimes both, so we do what we have to do.

 

[DawnM]

We have 3 TVs hooked up to Directv....den, basement rec room and living room.

We have a 4th in the master but it isn't hooked up to Directv, it is mostly just used for watching videos.

I do not ever plan to put a TV in the boys' rooms.

Dawn

 

[DawnM]

I grew up without TV too. I grew up in an African country and our area didn't even get reception, but even in the capital, TV came one at 6pm and went until midnight. Then there was no broadcast.

I remember coming to visit the US and witnessing TV broadcasts ending at midnight here too.....is anyone old enough to remember that???? And there were THREE channels, total!

Wow, I am dating myself aren't I?

Dawn

I grew up without TV, essentially. We lived on an Army base in Germany before the days of AFN, and no way my parents were letting us watch German TV!

I swore my kids would never have TVs in their rooms. Wellllll, 11 and 8yo each have a TV connected only to their DVD/VCR players. 11yo never watches hers, she always goes into 8yo's room for "movie parties". They have limited choices to start with and I'm OK with that. Last night, they had a Veggie Tales "marathon" and had a great time. We are not strict bedtime people as we home/unschool and my schedule is always wonky anyway, so that probably plays into it. They will NOT have satellite in their rooms, however, their TVs are only for video watching (and they are in the basement so no broadcast reception, either) Their computers are both upstairs in the main areas. Also, they only watch movies in the evening, after they've washed up for bed. 8yo cannot fall asleep without either a movie on or a body next to her, sometimes both, so we do what we have to do.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I remember coming to visit the US and witnessing TV broadcasts ending at midnight here too.....is anyone old enough to remember that???? And there were THREE channels, total!

Wow, I am dating myself aren't I?

Dawn

I don't remember quite that far back, but up until I was almost graduating high school, there was only channels 2-13. Now I feel old too! LOL!

 

[NCTWINSMOM]

My girls have a tv, they are really good with it. We only allow it at certain times.

They are very active (love to go outside, soccer, etc).

 

[MissMichelle]

2 kids...11 and 7. They both have TV's in their rooms with Directv. The sets are locked from certain programming and they have time limits. Usually my youngest will watch tv early morning before I get up and 30-60 minutes in the evening. They are big on Animal Planet and the 11 year old will watch shows like Thats So Raven and High School Musical. If homework isn't done to my liking or the aren't doing chores they aren't allowed tv that day (or possibly that week). They know it is a privilege and they have had them taken out of their rooms before, they also know what is expected of them and they don't feel the need to sit in front of the tv all day. TV never has been a big deal in my house.
I also want to add my son is a HUGE reader. When you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up he replies "A TEACHER!". He loves to research and learn. I guess it would also depend on the child..If I noticed they felt the need to watch TV more then I would take them out to control that.

 

[sara74]

Replying without reading anything other than the original question...as I see a 7 page thread and think hmm..heated debate, maybe?

Anyway...nope, the kids don't have 'em, and I don't plan on them having them. I won't say never as every time I use that word it comes back to bite me, but I don't see a future with my kids having personal TVs.

 

[graygables]

I grew up without TV too. I grew up in an African country and our area didn't even get reception, but even in the capital, TV came one at 6pm and went until midnight. Then there was no broadcast.

I remember coming to visit the US and witnessing TV broadcasts ending at midnight here too.....is anyone old enough to remember that???? And there were THREE channels, total!

Wow, I am dating myself aren't I?

Dawn

"It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" AND...we had to turn a KNOB to change the channel!

 

[eh24fan]

My almost 7 year old ds has a TV in his room along with a DVD player and his Gamecube. We have one in our bedroom and then the big screen in the living room, where the DVR, digital cable and XBox360 are hooked up. My son has had his since he was 4 and to be honest, he doesn't watch it that often. He plays his games and this weekend he has used it the most for actually TV viewing than ever. LOL He watched a DVD last night and Daddy Daycare on tv Friday night. He's so busy with karate, baseball, football, swimming lessons (all dependant on the season of course, except for karate, that's year round) and school that he really doesn't have time to watch much TV or play video games except on the weekends. I readily admit that I HATE the gamecube sometimes, but when he gets up at 545am on a weekend day when the baby sleeps until 7 for me, I'll tell him to go ahead and play for a bit until Mom is fully awake. LOL

 

[eh24fan]

We have the satellite hooked up in the living room, our room & den and the xbox 360 stays in the living room with the ginormous HD tv my husband HAD to have (which I admit I love too, the tv mind you not necessarily the xbox but I guess that is pretty cool too with the new graphics they have). .

\



This is funny because that sounds JUST like our house. I had no interest in the giant TV or the X-Box. The big kid tried to say he wanted it b/c he and the little kid could play together.

 

[DawnM]

Yup! Fully aware of where they are.

We have moved downstairs for the summer! Our upstairs a/c died and we just don't want to pay the 6K to fix it right now. Gotta pay off our last debt (car) first and get the cash!

Yes, and do you remember black and white TV????

Dawn

"It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" AND...we had to turn a KNOB to change the channel!

 

[DawnM]

Yes, and can you imagine that you actually had to sit in front of it at the right time to watch a show? No Tivo and VCRs, when they did come out, were very difficult to figure out.

Dawn

I don't remember quite that far back, but up until I was almost graduating high school, there was only channels 2-13. Now I feel old too! LOL!

 

[tmbrea]

Ok, my kids (now 18 and 20) had tv's in their rooms from there tweens. Used for video games and vcr/dvd only. We have Directv in the living room and master bedroom only. We've never had to lock out station this way and I feel it encourages family interaction. But gives them the option to retire to their room if they fell a need. The most important thing is to stay active in their lives.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

Yup all my kids have a TV, VCR & DVD player. They almost never put them on though. They are not hooked up to the dish either. TV isn't a big deal for my kids. I know kids who space out when they watch TV and you can not get a response from them but mine couold really care less about watching TV. I think it has alot to do with the fact that we never restricted it so it isn't a treat.