TV in a child's room

Cat - posted on 09/25/2010

I'm another NO tvs in bedrooms mom... I just dont see the need AT all, IMO all it does is isolate family members when they dont really need to be isolated at all... Besides which I still want to be able to send my kids for a time out in their rooms knowing they're actually thinking about what they did wrong, not flipping channels or popping in a movie... Our two TVs are in family room areas, b/c TV to me is always going to be family time... Its also why I restrict the time any of the kids or Dh spend on a video game that the whole family cannot participate in...

Kimberly - posted on 09/25/2010

I would never put a tv in my kids' rooms until they were much older and even then I don't know if I would. I know not all parents that allow tv's in the bedrooms let their kids constantly watch it but the parents I know do and it drives me crazy. A child should be able to fall asleep on their own without the tv. I only allow tv first thing in the morning and after nap so it really would be pointless to put one in the bedroom. I never watch shows when my kids are awake so I don't have the problem of wanting to watch different things.

Alahnna - posted on 09/25/2010

I do think 3 is too young for a tv in the room. The really don't know how to take care of electronics at that age and more than likely, you'll be replacing it very shortly after getting it because a button will be broken, toys will be shoved in the VCR part and get stuck or the screen will get broken. My daughter was 6 when she got a TV in her room and she had to prove to me she was going to take care of it by caring for the other things in her room. There were also rules enforced about the tv and absolutely NO tv at bedtime.

Jenny - posted on 09/25/2010

TV's are not a priority in my house and I will never allow one in their bedroom. If they are bored they can read or do something creative, not zone out on the TV. We currently only have 1 TV and I don't see us ever getting another one. I see very good results from this policy compared to other kids my daughter's age. For one, I don't get asked to buy the latest and greatest toys.

Amie - posted on 09/25/2010

Joy,



Our first video game system was an Atari! LOL!! I remember that from when I was just tiny. I think my parents still have it to be honest, they're such pack rats.



Just because my kids have these privileges too doesn't mean they haven't earned them. They have a good grasp of money as well because they have to earn it. As I type this they are doing a few things to earn some more money. Our oldest has roughly $80 saved right now. Our son has about $40 and I haven't been into our toddler's piggy bank to find out. She's the only one who has no real sense of money other than.. ooo I want that do I have enough? LOL



Just because children have extras, does not equate any parent to being the "cool" one. I've heard my kids talking with their friends. Even their friends find it unfair how many rules my children have. I am by far the most strict of anyone I know. I've had neighbors and friends raise their eyebrows at me for saying no to certain things. My children do get upset by it sometimes but they also try to appreciate and understand it . They know I do it because I love them. Something they'll understand even more when they are parents.

Rosie - posted on 09/25/2010

i have no problem with a tv in the childs room. i can still control what they watch and how much they watch just like if it was in the living room. it's all in how you handle it. :)

Sapphire - posted on 09/25/2010

Joy, my little sister was our remote! She was the youngest, therefore she was the one to go and change the channel! And, sad to say...my husband still owns his original Atari, and Atari 2600 and a few other game systems. They are stashed in the guest bedroom closet. He also has taken over half teh master BR closet cause he's a toy collector-and has worthy toys like the orginal Star Wars down to the trinkety Happy Meals toys from the early 80's. Hubby said he never got a TV in his room until 6th grade, so we are not in a rush to put a TV in a 5 year olds room.

Joy - posted on 09/25/2010

I wish I could be ok with it. I think that it would solve some of our problems we have going on with my hubby not being ok with the family bed anymore and our sex life, etc, yada yada yada. I think I'm just afraid that putting a tv in my son's room will somehow equate to him feeling entitled from an early age. I know what life is like with no tv in the house period. I remember what a big deal it was on Christmas Day circa 1977 when our family ( I was 6) got our first tv. I've confrmed this with my brother since my original post. I remember BEING the remote, much less having one that would take me anywhere I wanted to go lol! "Joy, go change it to channel 6" Up and accross the room I went! I know I'm older than most parents of almost 3 year olds. I know that most parents of kids my son's age grew up in a world where there has always been Nintendo and it's rare to meet someone who remembers owning an Atari. I know that a majority of my son's friends have parents who grew up in a different way than I did, and I don't want my kid to be the odd man out, but honestly, he already is. There will be many other things in his life to come (like the fact that he has to mow X amount of yards to earn enough money to buy his own damn tv) , where I won't be the "cool mom". I'm not worried about being the cool mom. I wanna be the mom that my kids remember as being THERE. Present. Accounted for. And if that means that I deny him a tv in his room until further notice then so be it. I can't say that it will never happen because my husband is SOOO on board with giving him one but still.....maybe I'm old fashioned too and think that maybe he should take a truck and roll it down the hall a million times and wear out my carpet before I say it's ok to have a tv in his room. And the funny thing is, I know a woman who runs a daycare in her home. She has allll kinds of child rearing degrees and is always sort of my "go to girl" for stuff like this. She has tv's in all of her kid's rooms. Go figure.

Joanna - posted on 09/24/2010

I'm not a fan of TVS in the bedroom. Of course we grew up that way, with only a TV in the living room, and a small on in the dining room (my parents loved the Today Show in the morning while reading the paper/eating breakfast). TV time was family time, we watched a couple choice shows together, or had movie nights. Our rooms were for playing or sleeping. And that's the way it is in my house now. We watch our shows/movies together, or Paige can watch one of her shows while I'm cooking/cleaning, but can keep an eye on her. We don't have a TV in our room, so she won't get one either, and it will stay that way.

Sapphire - posted on 09/24/2010

2 TVs in our home. 1 in our bedroom, 1 in the family room. He's 5 and has no need for a TV in his room. Hell, he still won't even sleep in his room throughout the night! Maybe when he is at least 12-13.
I got a TV in my room in 1983. I was 10. Wanna know how I remember that? The movie Poltergeist came out and we saw it. The girl got sucked into her TV, and there was a huge nasty closet scene. (Among the nasty meat scene, tree, and clown scene-and the whole movie!) My brand new TV was placed into the shelving in my closet! So.....I refused to sleep in my room and made my dad take out the TV!

Jocelyn - posted on 09/24/2010

I always said that my kids would NEVER have tv's in their room. Lately I have been contemplating the idea for my 3.5 yr old son. I wouldn't hook up cable, but a dvd player. My son has a bunch of issues (sensory, speech delays, among others) and sometimes he is just too much to handle. He never has quiet moments, he's always running around and I always feel bad when I put him in his room (so I can breath and relax [or finish the dishes] for 15 minutes). I think if he had something to watch, he wouldn't destroy his room while having a fit.

Amie - posted on 09/24/2010

All of our kids have or had a t.v. in their room. It's no big deal. They still don't focus solely on it. Maybe for the first few days it was so cool, they could watch their cartoons while laying in bed. After that it was just another piece of furniture to them. They still only watch shows we approve. Gotta love child locked t.v. Movies are even easier, since they only get what we give them.



Our oldest has traded hers out for her computer in her room. Again, no big deal. She has internet hook up but only is allowed on during the day. It's parental locked so even if she wanted to try and sneak some time at night, she can't.



When they are older we'll probably loosen up with some of the rules. They also know though that if they break the rules, they lose the privilege. It's really not as big a deal as a lot of parents seem to make it out to be. Well unless you know a lot of half assed parents who don't follow through with the rules. I dunno, no one I know has had any real issue with it. Our kids still spend the vast majority of their time outside, playing with friends, helping me cook/bake, doing crafts, etc.





Edit to add:



Mine do not turn it on at night when they should be sleeping. One of the rules. Even our toddler understands this. We're strict in all aspects of their rules and consequences though, so they know we won't be budged if they try something and it will be gone.

Becky - posted on 09/24/2010

Our kids won't have a TV, video game console, or computer in their room. It becomes too hard to limit what and when they watch as they get older, I think. Of course, we could limit it a bit by not connecting the cable, but it would be hard to prevent them turning it on and watching it when they should be sleeping. We have 3 TVs in our house (actually more, but only 3 hooked up), so there is no issue with us being able to watch different things if we want to. Being that the boys are so young now, they don't watch TV unless I'm watching it with them anyways.

Dana - posted on 09/24/2010

I won't be putting a TV in my son's room until he's much, much older. I saw a study once about the IQ of children who had a TV in their room, it wasn't good. Sorry, I'm too lazy to look it up right now...And no, I didn't have a TV in my room. ;)

I could see using it in the manner that Cassie is talking about but, that's about it.

Cassie - posted on 09/24/2010

Well... I guess I'll be the odd one out. ;P

Kiera has a tv in her bedroom. She's 23 months old. Her tv, however, is not hooked up to cable. It has a dvd player connected. We use her tv once a day, just before bed. It works for us and here is why:

My husband works 2nd shift so he doesn't get home until 11pm. This leaves me alone to do bedtime with my 2 year old and my 3 month old. At 7:30, we have bathtime for both girls then we head to Kiera's (my 2 year old) room. I get the girls dressed for bed, lie my Kiera in her bed and turn on the tv. I then nurse Emma while Kiera watches about 15 to 20 minutes of tv. Once Emma has finished nursing, we say our goodnights, read a book, and Kiera goes to sleep.

I think it works for us because there is no cable in her room and it is strictly used for a very short amount of time while I nurse her baby sister.

Teresa - posted on 09/24/2010

I'm not a fan of tv's in any bedroom and my kids won't until they are older and buy it themselves... by older I mean 18. ;) We are a one tv family w/ only videos and dvds to watch.

Caitlin - posted on 09/24/2010

We will have 1 TV in the house. WHen they are over 16, they can work and buy themselves one, that's fine, as long as it's them that pays. Same reason we will not have video game consoles in the house. DVDs are okay, I dont' mind people buying us DVDs for the kids but that's all. If someone wants to buy some other form of entertainment, I say "quiet toys or books.." call me old fashioned, but it worked fine for us when we were kids!

Jodi - posted on 09/24/2010

I'm not a fan of TVs in bedrooms. We finally gave in and allowed my step-daughter to have a small one when she was 15, more for selfish reasons than anything. Otherwise she used to sit up and not give hubby and I any space, so by giving her a small TV, it gave us this, LOL.

However, my 13 year old has no TV. We have 3 TVs in the house (one in each living area and one in the rumpus), so we send him to the rumpus room if there is something he wants to watch that we don't. I have no plans yet to allow him a TV in his room. I just don't see the need. He has also never asked, so it has never become an issue.

Jenni - posted on 09/24/2010

I was never keen on the idea of having a TV in my childrens' rooms. I never had a TV in my room growing up. Well actually my sister and I did when we were 12 and 9 years old but it was used as a stand for our aquarium. So anyways, my mom had a small tv she wanted to get rid of because they weren't using it and my husband said we'd take it. He wanted to put it in my SD's and Son's room. I told him I didn't like the idea but he convinced me we would only use it when SD was over and "once in awhile". He suggested they could use it for watching movies. Anyways, I caved in; I had just had my daughter and could use a little "break" from time to time.
BAD IDEA!! Found out quickly my son was far too young to have one in his room. For one thing he NEVER wanted to leave his room. When Dora would end he would have the biggest meltdown: "A Dora On! A Dora On!" When I wouldn't turn it on he would try to do it himself and wind up shoving the DVD into the machine so I would have to unscrew the whole bloody thing to get it out. And then the Horrors began, OH THE HORRORS... I'd turn it on when I was nursing my daughter and 5 days in a row he pooped his diaper and smeared it all over the tv as well as other places in his room! I have no idea why? But that was it! The TV has a new home, our room. And as soon as it was taken out he stopped his experimental paintings.
I knew I told my husband it was a bad idea for a reason.