How Much TV do your Kids Watch?

[newtowdw1]

I hate the TV. It annoys me. I am the Mother. I am Queen. Hear me roar!

Sorry! Anyway. We were away over a month this summer, and we turned in our cable box before we left. I couldn't see paying a bill when no one was home. No one went through withdrawal either!

Now, we get 4 local channels with our antenna. We have one TV in the house. The kids can watch PBS if the show isn't screechy or ugly.

When we came home my kids would watch TV in the morning, and then be cranky for the rest of the day. I forbid them to watch (they get up at dark-thirty, before DH and I do) when they got up. The first day they were playing in their playroom, DD had read DS 4 books, and they were NOT CRANKY all day! This trend has continued for the past week or so.

We do have a game cube and Playstation. DD and DS (and I ) are addicted to Harvest Moon, a great farming role-play game. The kids like to watch DH play his role-playing game. Plus, they're both helping me plan our trips to Williamsburg and Myrtle Beach next year. So, I don't think we miss cable.
Vhoffman, buy your DH a playstation and some video games. You'll save money in the long-run, will have a new family activity, and he'll get to unwind that way. Plus, you'll have a Christmas present for him!

 

[tmarquez]

We let DD (4) watch TV anytime she wants, she even has a TV in her room. On weekdays, she watches TV for about 10 minutes in the mornings as she wakes up and dresses for school. Then on most nights, she watches one show a night (usually either Blue's Clues, Dora or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) that we have TIVO'd after dinner. On the weekends she will usually watch a DVD movie at some point.

She spends more time reading her books than watching TV and that's by her own choice. If her habits change and it gets excessive I would limit it.

Now...keeping her off of the computer is a whole different story...we have had to set limits for that.

 

[MissyPrissy]

If you can do Tivo or a DVR from your cable company (which is much less than Tivo) then you can program the DVR to record shows and then show them when they have been EARNED. I do NOT allow my step daughter to watch that's so Raven or Cheetah girls. She is 7 and those girls are too old for her and she had one instance of repeating a smart mouthed thing she heard and found herself in time out and grounded from tv the next day. We haven't had a problem since. It sounds like you need to just cut them off completely at first so that you can re-establish what the rules are. You are the parent in charge and no amount of eye rolling or smart mouthing is going to change that. Put that foot down mommy! Good luck!