TV in kid's bedroom? Yes/No? Limitations?

[erincon23]

No. DS 17 wouldn't want one in his room -- he's too social -- and he has a "studio" set up in the basement (not his bedroom) -- he also has a laptop computer, so that goes up and down from the basement to the family room, but he never takes that to his bedroom (he could, we have wireless). DS14 would like a TV in his room, but I know we'd find him watching it at 3 am, or else we'd never see him -- he'd have his video games in his room.

Erin

 

[mrsbert]

My boys now both have tv's in their room. I have the parental locks set up so they can watch about 1 hour a day and only certain stations. On the weekends they can watch more tv, but again, only certain stations. It gives me time to watch my favorite program that I've DVR'd at the same time they are watching theirs. Really, after playing outside, doing homework, eating dinner, taking a bath, and reading, they don't have much time to watch anything especially since their bedtime is 9:00pm.

I think it's okay with monitoring and moderation.

 

[mjkacmom]

We made the mistake of giving dd13 a TV when she was 7. We converted the attic to a bedroom, with a sitting room at the top of the stairs, which was supposed to be for everyone. Well, she somehow managed to claim the space, which I don't have a problem with, but now that she's a teen, and has a TV, we never see her anymore. So no, the others will not be getting a TV.

 

[kinntj]

No

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

not for us.

I prefer no TV in DD's bedroom. There are only three of us and there are three TVs throughout the house, so it really isn't even necessary. We rarely split up to watch two of them at once - usually only for DH to watch "24" or football!

limits: she is usually limited by school work and activities through the weel to begin with - weekends, we play it as it goes depending on what she has to do and what is going on.... no set rules, but if she is doing nothing more than zoning in front of the TV, we tell her it time to find something else.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

No, my kids do not have tv's in their rooms and I don't plan on that changing. We have three tv's in our house, one in the living room, one in the master bedroom, and then one in an upstairs loft area that I call the kids living room. I guess it is my kids' ages, but they rarely watch the upstairs tv and always want to be downstairs together and near dh and I. I know that will probably change when they become teenagers though.

I didn't have a tv in my room as a kid, but I do remember shutting myself up in my room every day to read books as a way of escaping my parents.

 

[Katy Belle]

My kids are 15,12, 10. No tvs. We have 2 tvs in the whole house. A big screen in the downstairs livingroom and one upstairs in the game room, hooked to wii and xbox. Both have DVD players.

 

[nmmom95]

My kids have tv's in their rooms. I don't have a problem with it.

 

[pigletgirl]

Nope.

 

[Pigeon]

Nope, no TVs in any bedrooms (including ours) in my house.

 

[staley7580]

Nope. My kids are still small, my oldest is 8... I would rather them be playing, or reading.. or outside if the weather is nice. I have some friends that have had a tv in their kids room since he was tiny.. Now, the kid is never outside, always playing video games, watching TV... and eating while he does it. He is extremely overweight. So for us, it is example #1 why we wont let out kids have TVs. Not that I think that happens in other cases.. It is worst case scenario.

 

[NHdisneylover]

No.

I am not big on TVs to begin with. We had no incoming signal for several years and have one now because it is included with our apartment and IS good for us to practice our German. We watch a DVD or two every week and use it for the Wii every day but rarely have the live signal on except on the weekends. Even then it is rare that it is on other than late night when DH will flip through a few channels. The kids and I tend to forget we can just watch it

I agree with Firedancer that TVs and bedrooms are not a good combination. We do not have one in our bedroom either.

 

[krcit]

Nope, no TVs in any bedrooms (including ours) in my house.

Same here. I used to have one in my bedroom but got rid of it. My kids won't have computers in their rooms either.

 

[MiniGirl]

My kids (10 and 8) do not have tvs in their bedrooms, and I actually do believe them when they tell me they are the only kids around here without one. LOL!! We are the only family that we know without tvs in almost every room of the house. Many even have them on the back patio overlooking the pool and/or grill.

I do worry about putting one in there. My girls love to watch it. If I didn't limit their time, there is no telling how long they'd sit in front of it. Since they often wake up in the middle of the night, I just know they'd get up and turn the thing on.

Like I said, every other kid we know has them. Some rarely turn them on and others spend too much time in front of it, so I don't think there is a clear cut right or wrong answer when it comes to tvs in rooms. I should also add that I know for whom it was not a problem years ago when they got it, but it is now as the girls are no longer wanting to play outside or even have friends over any more. They'd rather watch tv.

 

[Sparx]

I don't think there should be a TV in any bedroom, adults or children. I have read many an article that making the room into anything other than a room to sleep (for adults a room for something else too of course) is detrimental to many people's quality of sleep.

I agree with this. A television being turned on during sleep prevents people from getting into the 3rd and 4th stage of sleep, and staying there.

Also, if someone already has sleeping issues, associating the bed with anything other than sleeping is not a good idea. Don't read on the bed, don't hang out on the bed, don't do homework on the bed. When you lay down, you start to think about those other things like your homework or anything else that is stressful to you, preventing sleep.

I wrote an essay about this once, haha.

 

[tiggger1]

I guess I am going to be the unpopular one here. I am another one that doesnt have a problem with it. Both of my kids have them. In DS3 rooms its just a small older tv with a dvd player. He uses it during the day if he need some "chill time" or when he wakes up early in the morning...he will get the Emma's tv when we finish his room and emma gets her new flatscreen.

DD6 has a bigger tv and will be getting the flat screen,dvd combo soon because we need her computer desk back for her computer (and yes she will will have her own computer with internet, daddy is an IT guy/internet guy and doesnt like ANYONE on his workspace so we all have our own computers... She will use hers for schoolwork plus her games/online games...but we have special parental controls/filters)

she also has satellite in her room but its connected to a switch box so the the receiver is in our room so we know what she is watching because it has to be on the tv in here.

 

[Minnesota!]

Yep, my kids do. It's an old 13 inch that doesn't have a converter box, so the only way it works is hooked up to the VHS/DVD player. So at night they crawl into bed, and I turn on a short movie - Baby Einstein or Brainy Baby stuff, and they fall asleep to it. They are asleep before it's over (and before I go to bed). So then I turn the movie off and just leave the blue screen of the TV on as a nightlight for them.

I have and will always have a TV in my room. I need the noise. I sleep just fine!

 

[bigbabyblues]

No tv in either of my boys' rooms, and there won't be until they buy it themselves.

DH & I have one in our room. We never used it, until DH starting working midnight shift a few years ago and I turned it on for a little bit of noise. When he's home, we don't turn it on. I sometimes turn it on with the timer if he's gone.

 

[hippiemama76]

Not for our family. We have a TV in the living room, and right now the girls have very limited access to it. HippieBabe, none. HippieGirl can watch a few programs on PBS, or special DVDs like Planet Earth. She doesn't watch anything commercials.

I can't imagine them ever having a electronics in their bedroom. I won't say never, because something may happen to change things, but with our lifestyle it's very improbable.

 

[MrsPete]

A few of his friends do have them in their rooms along with game systems, etc., but the parents have done that so they can always watch they want to watch and so they don't have to deal with the kids all the time... their words, not mine.

Parental convenience shouldn't be a consideration in this decision.