Do your kids have tvs.....

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Wow...I think I win the most tv's/overindulged kids award!

We have 6 tv's, with each of the kids 15 and 8 having TV/DVD/VCR, AND Digital Cable in their rooms!

We have a HUGE tv in the movie room for them upstairs that has a DVR/Digital Cable, Playstation 1, 2, and 3, Game Cube, and X-Box hooked up to it!

We have Digital Cable on the Tv's in both the living room and our master bedroom, and just basic cable on the TV in our Master Bath...yes..our master bath!

Believe it or not the kids don't watch TV that often. DD prefers to read, and DS plays games.

I think the fact that it's readily available just makes it not that big a deal to them.

Oh good...there is someone else out there like us...I was beginning to feel like Quasimodo in the bell tower over here. We have a tv in our bathroom too...I will watch sometimes when I am soaking in the tub. Not used very often (like once a month at best), but nice to have.

I agree about the tv's not being a big deal when it is readily available. My kids have had theirs forever and they really don't use them much, but it is there for them just the same. They play golf and tennis and they could probably supply our local library with books...their love of reading does not suffer due to the tv or computer being available to them. Most every night we all sit at the kitchen table and play board games because we just enjoy doing things as a family-and the tv is not on for background noise. We don't watch AI or any of the other shows of the moment. My kids, when they do watch tv, like the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, History & Biography Channel and Disney. Maybe they are a bit freaky in that respect. I don't think there is a right or wrong rationale here, certainly its a personal decision for each household to make.

 

[solferino]

DD does, but she never uses it. It's not hooked up to the satellite so it's for watching DVD's only or playing her designers world game.

She gets only a half-hour of tv OR computer time on school days, and usually chooses the computer to play at webkinz.

 

[bellarella]

I'm going to be one of "those" parents

No TVs
No computers either

I'll never say never, but it's definitely not in the plans.

 

[U2_rocks!]

TVs are low on our priority list, so no.

We don't have any strong objections one way or the other - we just don't place enough importance on TV to spend the money putting them in each room. In fact, we just downgraded our cable options because it seemed like a waste of money for the number of channels we actually watched.

 

[csmommy]

No TV's in their bedrooms. As a matter of fact, they are not allowed to watch TV during the week when school is in session. At first they complained, but after a few days they didn't miss it at all.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

It's not that they charge per outlet, but we have Dish and you need a receiver box for each TV. You can get one receiver box for two TVs that are close to each other. Plus, there are no cable outlets in their rooms (built in 1946), so that would cost extra to install. Just not worth it to me.

Stacy

Gotcha! That makes sense to me! I didn't know that about the Dish. We thought about going that route but really didn't understand how it worked. Thanks for the info!

 

[lcrane]

My 2 kids DD15 DS13 do not have t.v. in there room they ask we said no, we also have the computer in the front room so that we can mointor them at first they did not like it at all, but now they don't care if they go in our room they have to keep the door open even if they are just watchin tv or playing the intendo.

Lisa

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

My 2 y.o. has a Buzz Lightyear tv in his room, hooked up to cable and a DVD player.

To each his own.

BTW- Comcast is moving to an all-digital signal nation-wide. That will mean every tv will need a box if you want to receive more than basic networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN, PBS) and public access. We're in the middle of the change-over fiasco now. I hate Comcast.

 

[jenrein]

I'm going to be one of "those" parents

No TVs
No computers either

I'll never say never, but it's definitely not in the plans.

I hope youre kidding....no computers? They will go nowhere! Computers are the technology of today- my 6 yr old emails and plays online! I could not imagine raising a kid in this time without a computer....

 

[KimD]

My kids do have tv's in their rooms DD9 & DS15 but since we have satellite (Directv) they don't have any reception so they are used for VHS or DVD's only. My DS has his PS2 hooked up to his and my daughter will play her princess games sometimes but they never ever just sit in there all day and watch tv (NO WAY JOSE!). 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). No computers in their rooms. We have several in our den (DH is a computer dude) and my and DH's laptop's that we can use wireless in the living room but neither of my kids will ever be allowed to have internet in their room (too much scary stuff to happen with that one). Also if I let DS15 have internet in his room we'd never see him!

I think it's really a decision to be made to fit your family dynamics and preferences.

 

[lg3]

Absolutely no tv's in kids bedrooms. I don't think there should be any in the adults either, frankly, but that's another topic.

 

[lulugirl]

Dd (7 1/2) has a television in her room. She's not a big TV watcher but she really does enjoy watching TV in bed weekend mornings when she's awake before the rest of the family.

 

[eliza61]

I hope youre kidding....no computers? They will go nowhere! Computers are the technology of today- my 6 yr old emails and plays online! I could not imagine raising a kid in this time without a computer....

Not no computer, just no computer in the bedroom. My kids have a bed in their bedroom. period

 

[2girlsmom]

Both my girls have tv in their rooms, my dd(@7) has extended cable, dvd & vcr. Older dd (9) has dvd and digital cable. Regarding watching shows that you don't want them to, the cable box has parental controls, when dd(9) is grounded from her tv we just lock out all channels. dd(@7)'s tv is the Disney Princess one, and it has V-Chip technology, so I can lock it too. We typically unlock only specific channels, primarily Disney and Nick, ABCFamily, and Boomerang (on the digital tier, this shows all the cartoons from my childhood, Yogi, smurfs, etc). Mine watch for 15-30 minutes in the morning, and then usually about an hour in the evening. They turn it off and listen to music to go to sleep.

 

[wilma-bride]

My teenage daughters have a TV, satellite and DVD player in their room. All 3 kids have a 'den' where they have a computer and TV/DVD player. I can honestly say that TV NEVER gets watched. DS (4) doesn't have anything other than his bed and his toy box in his room (and God forbid that the toy box should get touched once he goes to bed ). I figure he can have a TV in his room when I am happy he is mature enough to know what I would and wouldn't want him watching. At the moment, either myself, DH or one of the 2 girls is responsible for making sure he is not watching anything unsuitable.

 

[Disneyolic]

Interesting reading everyone's comments and glad this hasn't become a flame thread.

We broke down and bought a TV for our sons' room (2 share a room) after we had to move them in together getting ready for their sister to be born. My younger son was the absolutely worst kid to fall asleep since he was 3 hours old. I am not exaggerating. When we bought the TV with DVD player we always had the boys in their bedroom no later than 7:30 pm and chose a DVD to watch. We then turned the TV off at their bedtime (9 pm then) whether the movie was done or not. Almost all of the time the boys were already asleep. It really helped to settle them down. Now it is still a little ritual. They take turns choosing movies and they know that the TV goes off at 9:30 pm on school nights (10 pm vacation) no matter what!

We are happy with our decision and it works for us. Bedtime is the only time they are in there watching TV. Occasionally, they will play PlayStation in there but that is usually when they wake up in the morning.

 

[solgent]

We have 2 TVs in the house. One in the family room and a black and white TV, if you can believe that, that I bought in 1983 and that DH watches when he works out in the basement. He has a weight bench and free weights there. We don't have cable, only broadcast TV, so the kids do not watch any television. Just videos or DVDs. Recently they received portable DVD players from grandparents so if they do not want to watch the same thing, they can split up.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My kids don't have a tv in their rooms and won't be until they are 18 years old. Same with a computer.

 

[TSMRunnels]

Having a television in the bedroom contributes to bad sleep habits. It is best for children to learn to fall a sleep themselves and not rely on others things. Also, all research has shown that TV should not be watched at least two hours before bedtime as it usually contributes to excitability and makes it harder to calm down. It is also bad Fung Shui. Needless to say that my children don't have TV's in their room and I do have a strict limit on amount they get during the day. My daughter threw a drama fit as well about being the only one without a tv, she even said I was ruining her life. If that is as bad as she ever has it then hey she should count herself lucky.

 

[reginaastralis]

My daughter is only two, so luckily this isn't something I have had to deal with yet, but she won't be getting a tv in her room until she is atleast ten. This is a rule my parents had with me. I got this tiny, I believe 13" b/w tv the summer I turned ten.

However, they got really lax and bought my brother one a lot sooner, and my sister got a tv in her room when she was two. GASP!

I'm not that into tv, unless it's Grey's Anatomy, The Office, or Heroes, but I dvr those to watch after Juliette goes to bed.

I'd like to make her "earn" money to buy her own tv, though I'm not sure about the cable aspect at all yet. And, I won't let her have full access to a computer until she's A LOT older. I know how stupid I was with trying to meet boys on the computer. YES STUPID, as a teenager, and I don't need to have to beat her to teach her the lesson I learned.

To each their own. My sister is a well adjusted nine year old with amazing tests scores, who lives to read. She had a TV in her room as soon as she could say "Blues Clues" She couldn't reach the tv, but if my parents wanted some peace, they had it.