TV in kids room?

[irishsharon]

My boys have been asking to have a TV in their room, they are 11 and almost 8. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on this. I did not have a TV in my bedroom until I was married.

 

[disney is my life]

I believe dd15 was around 11 when she got a TV in her room however she could only use it to watch DVD's or VHS's because it was not connected to our cable. (That was for no particular reason other than we never got around to running the cable up there). She now has TV as well in there but only got that about two months ago . In our family dd7 does not have one in her bedroom. I know my nephew is 9 and has a TV and x-box in his room. I personally don't see anything wrong with it but really it's up to you whether you're comfortable with them having it.

 

[foltzy]

We told our 2 (6 and 8 at the moment) not until they are 11 and then there will be strict rules and I will happily take it out if they break the rules.

 

[drcmk]

My boys have been asking to have a TV in their room, they are 11 and almost 8. Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on this. I did not have a TV in my bedroom until I was married.

What is your goal? I think bedroom TVs encourage kids to spend more time alone in their rooms, rather than together with family, make it harder to monitor what they watch, interfere with sleep and serve as a distraction to things that kids are supposed to be doing in the bedrooms--like getting ready for school or cleaning the room or maybe homework. Also it seems to me that kids watch more tv if the tv is in a bedroom--and what kid needs to watch more tv?

What benefits do people see to TVs in kids' rooms?

 

[Dsnyfireman]

We have used tv to help the kids relax before going to sleep for years. Ours are 3 and 6, we set the timer and they pick a DVD or a cartoon on tv. They fall asleep well, usually, and then the tv shuts off. Our pediatrician said he thought it was a good way to get them to sleep, if it works. We don't just turn it on and let them have at it, we keep it down to bedtime and that's about it. But what ever works best for you and yours, I think it matters more what they watch than how much they watch. Hope it helps.

 

[descovy]

We do not have tv in any of the kids' rooms (age 9, 11, 13). And my Dh and I do not have a TV in our bedroom either.

We have a TV in the living room and a TV upstairs in the game room. That is plenty. We watch a lot of TV as it is, I cannot imagine if it was in the bedrooms as well.

What's the point????

 

[MinnieForMe]

Our boys 12 and 15 have a tv without cable in their room. It has access to Netflex and DVD's. They seldom use it.

My daughter, 8, has a tv with a dvd player in her room. She normally likes noise when she falls asleep and then we promptly shut it off.

We have no problem with extra TV viewing as we don't allow homework to be completed anywhere but at the kitchen table or if studying is necessary in our home office. Not one of our kids likes to hang out in their bedroom. It's always the family room or music room.

 

[Southernmiss]

I will disagree with the majority so far. Dh is a sports fan. There is almost always a game on. It's his one bad habit/outlet. When we married his groom's cake was a couch potato. Very cute.

I have had a tv in the bedroom since 1992. If I didn't, I wouldn't see any tv. It works for us.

We have 3 other tvs. Two are in kids rooms. They have had them since abt age eight. Before that age we did limit their screen time. They are all at the top of their class and make straight A's. The boys are in high school and use their tv for Xbox. I would rather not have that noise in our living space and again they would compete with dh.

Our home doesn't have a basement or second family room. If it did that's where the gaming tv would be.

As long as the kids are doing well in school, doing their chores and overall good kids I see no problem with it.

 

[irishsharon]

I had a VERY strict upbringing, so I'm trying to find a good balance with my boys. Many of my friends and families kids are much younger than mine and many of my other friends don't have any children.Ds will be going into middle school and he tells me all the kids have xboxs and are allowed to play the games rated M. I want him to fit in but I hate all the violence, blood and gore and the bad language.It is so helpful to hear everyones different points of view. Thanks

 

[disykat]

We had a no electronics in bedrooms rule that held until they graduated from high school. We have two televisions in other areas of our home and an additional one in our storage room/work shop with the treadmill.

 

[Poohforyou]

My dd13 occasionally asks for a tv n her room but that isn't going to happen. There is always a tv for her to watch. She doesn't need to be in her room watching tv at all hours. She's a night owl and would stay up way past her bedtime.

Dh and I have a tv in our room but we're grownups. When dd is a grown-up or at least at college she can have a tv in her room as well.

 

[Southernmiss]

I had a VERY strict upbringing, so I'm trying to find a good balance with my boys. Many of my friends and families kids are much younger than mine and many of my other friends don't have any children.Ds will be going into middle school and he tells me all the kids have xboxs and are allowed to play the games rated M. I want him to fit in but I hate all the violence, blood and gore and the bad language.It is so helpful to hear everyones different points of view. Thanks

We have had our Xbox for about three years. So our kids were 16 13 12 and 8 when we got it. The boys mostly play call of duty a sniper kind of game with the shooting and blood. Not excited about it myself as we limited their toy guns to squirt guns. But the reality is that they could go to war at age 18 so I had to rethink if I was being too sheltering of them.

 

[luvmy3]

What is your goal? I think bedroom TVs encourage kids to spend more time alone in their rooms, rather than together with family, make it harder to monitor what they watch, interfere with sleep and serve as a distraction to things that kids are supposed to be doing in the bedrooms--like getting ready for school or cleaning the room or maybe homework. Also it seems to me that kids watch more tv if the tv is in a bedroom--and what kid needs to watch more tv?

What benefits do people see to TVs in kids' rooms?

My dd has a TV in her room and it benefits both of us. I don't have to watch or listen to her movies and she has a place she can go to get away from the family when she needs too. Her room is her place in our house, its not just a place for her to get ready, clean or do homework in. I'm a believer that kids need a place of their own to de-stress or whatever. Sometimes that means they have their own TV or computer or game system etc in there.
As far as encouraging kids to soend more time in there, I guess that depends on individual families. We spend plenty of time together, but we don't have to spend all our time together. I have no problem with my kids wanting to hang out in their room and do their own thing. Its not an all day everyday thing, I could see it being an issue if it was though.
My dses who share a room, do not have a TV in there. They were never interested in getting one. They don't watch alot of TV to them its for the Xbox or Wii, and those are in our family room.

 

[Priorityonecb]

I agree with Luvmy3. I see their bedrooms as their place to relax and enjoy the space. One of my dd's never asked for a TV, so she didn't have one. The other asked for one when she was 13 and she got one. She has her Xbox hooked up to it and enjoys doing the workout games on it. It's also fun for sleepovers. She doesn't like her room to be dark at night, so she turns on the "fireplace" setting. She interacts with the family plenty, is an A student, and is active in school activities. If she wants to relax in her room for a few hours by herself watching a movie or whatever, that is perfectly fine with us.

 

[smallblackstars]

My DD has had a TV in her bedroom since she was newborn. We played her lots of Baby Einstein DVDs and then started putting Disney Junior on when she was around 9 months old. Since then she has gathered a load of DVDs which she enjoys watching now and again in her room but I think because it has always been there it is not a novelty to her and she much prefers playing with her baby dolls and activity books when she is in her room. She will watch her favourite shows on Disney Junior but it's not a daily thing, more when she takes a notion for it, the same with her DVDs. DH and I watch very little TV and she very rarely asks to watch her TV, most of the time I ask her if she wants to watch something while I do housework and its only 50% of the time she will say yes, the rest of the time she wants to 'help' me. She prefers to spend her time with me rather than in her room or watching TV.

 

[ThisIsTheYear]

Both of my kids had TVs in their rooms since they were newborns. We already had one in DS's (1st born) room from when it was a guest room and we just left it in there. It helped me keep my sanity when I was up all night nursing him. Now, he never uses it. I turn it on when I'm putting away his laundry.
DH insisted on putting one in DD's room before she was born. I was against it (I can now play on my phone while I nurse). Lol But he won and I'm glad he did. I will put on the Baby Chanel and put her in her crib while I run DS outside to catch the bus in the rain/winter. I give her some toys too, but they only hold her attention for about a minute. Lol

 

[cobright]

What is your goal? I think bedroom TVs encourage kids to spend more time alone in their rooms, rather than together with family, make it harder to monitor what they watch, interfere with sleep and serve as a distraction to things that kids are supposed to be doing in the bedrooms--like getting ready for school or cleaning the room or maybe homework. Also it seems to me that kids watch more tv if the tv is in a bedroom--and what kid needs to watch more tv?

What benefits do people see to TVs in kids' rooms?

This is not usually the tone of my parenting but I can't fault the logic here.

I would ask my kiddo to justify the request. On the face of it I would accept reasoning along the lines of 'video games, nobody wants me playing those in the living-room' and ... dunno.

If you have radically different tastes than your kids it's not exacly fair to stick them with hours of hee-haw reruns (don't laugh ... story of my life).

Whatever the reasoning reinforce that it is a privileged and not a right and you will revoke it in a heartbeat. then use it as leverage for encouraging other positive behaviors. If they want a tv then they will do things to keep you from taking it away. No kid is as free to behave how he likes as one with nothing to be taken away.

 

[kajs22]

I also agree with luvmythree - I recently allowed my tweens to have tvs in their rooms. They do need some alone space and the ability to have some alone time. We also spend lots of time together and don't feel the need to be at arms length every waking moment. I feel this is an important part of their independence and maturing. Don't get me wrong - they do not have cable. DS has an xbox and a roku, DD just a roku. I screen what they watch and shut off the wireless at bedtime.

 

[brockash]

Both my kids (11 and 6) want one but I'm really trying to hold it off. I know when I got a tv in my room around 11...I basically only ever wanted to stay in my room and would watch tv after I was supposed to b in bed etc.

 

[angierae]

Dd18 has had a tv in her room since 2nd grade for DVDs and video games. Never cable, even now. (If she wanted it now it would be okay; she's in college) but she's happy with Netflix.

Even with it in her room we have controlled screen time as needed.