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Spin the the TV in the bedroom---what do you think of TVs in kids'' bedrooms?

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eks6426

eks6426

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 19, 2004
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I grew up in an anti-TV household. We had 1 TV and my dad controlled it. I was never allowed to just flip on the TV and randomly look for something to watch. I had to go through the weekly TV guide that came with the newspaper and circle the things I wanted to watch then negotiate with my dad. Needless to say, that pretty much meant no TV for me. In high school I definitely felt out of it because I never saw the popular shows and couldn''t contribute to conversations about them. But as an adult, I''m really grateful that my parents gave me the gift of learning to entertain myself without TV. (Not to say that I don''t watch some now--but very limited).

Fast forward...I got married in 2005 to a guy who came from a household with TVs everywhere. His son grew up with a TV in nearly everyroom. My stance has been NO TV in ANY bedroom. My step-son is now 18...doesn''t love it but tolerates this rule. My 10 year old knows that a TV in his room is NEVER going to happen so he doesn''t bother to ask.

But I have a feeling that I''m pretty weird on this. So, those of you with kids, do you allow your children to have a TV in their bedroom? If yes, at what age is it ok?
 
No kids yet for me, but growing up, we weren''t allowed to have a tv or phone in our room (pre-cordless phones), and it really never occurred to me that I even could have a tv in there (though I wanted the phone). I don''t have a tv in my room now (and I''m quite grown and living on my own).

When I have kids, I don''t plan to allow them to have a tv or computer in their room. There is no need for kids to spend so much time watching tv, and tv and computer use should be supervised. So yeah IslandDreams, I''m with you on this!
 
Nixed that, too.

I completely agree with you, IslandDreams.
 
We grew up in a house with no tvs in the bedroom except for one summer when my bro had to sleep in the tv room because his room was being worked on. He stayed up later and got less done and watched things he probably shouldn''t have which is why my parents wouldn''t let us and I always agreed with them, so much so that the same rule will apply when I have children. I could take my laptop into the room in high school, but I didn''t have internet in there so it was a non issue.
 
TV in the kids' bedroom today is certainly an issue. It is nothing like it was when I was growing up in the '60's when things were rather mild [Three Stooges for breakfast, Flintstones for dinner, Saturday morning cartoons, Mickey Mouse Club, American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan and Lack LaLanne when you were home sick!]. Both TV and computer usage is an issue now. Unfortunately, you need to monitor both closely. So, my vote is no - on both TV and computer in the room.

DB

ETA - In spite of our excessive TV watching in our youth, my siblings and I watch very little TV now. In fact, I'm not sure I have ever seen one of the evening network sitcoms or dramas.
 
We grew up with no TV at my father's house, and a carefully controlled TV at my mother's house. We were allowed to watch a certain number of hours per week at mom's which we planned out in advance.

Am I glad we did it that way? HELL YAH!

First of all, like Island, I learned how to entertain myself and I learned lots of skills and hobbies many of which I still enjoy: playing music and singing, readingandreadingandreadingandreading, drawing, knitting, baking, I sewed clothes for my teddy bears, my mom and I made paper-dolls together and designed clothes for them, my brother and I played endless hours with lego, imagining and building, taking things apart and putting them back together again.

Second of all, I spent WAY more time playing outside, running around, riding my bike, climbing trees (yay!), playing imagination games with the other kids on the block, swimming, and doing other outdoor activities that have made me into someone who still loves to be outside and active and hence healthier!

Then when I was a teen, I still did a lot of those things, but also spent my time in museums, at cafes talking, reading, and playing chess with my friends, etc. I am convinced that my life now is way, way richer than it would have been because limited TV forced me to engage more of life.

There is absolutely NO WAY our future kids will have a tv in their room, if we have a tv in the house at all. And if we do, we'll do it the way my mom did, restricting hours per week (except for special occasions!).
 
None of my three children will ever have a TV in their rooms. They do have a playroom with a TV, but, not in the bedrooms. There are too many other things for them to do.
 
We weren''t allowed TV''s in our rooms either.. It made us hang out more and all be social instead of locking ourselves into our rooms for hours on end.
 
Growing up, our TV watching was limited.... mostly just family-friendly shows every once in a while. I never saw any of the movies or TV shows that all my friends watched, and even today, it's mildly annoying to have no idea what they're talking about when somebody references "Growing Pains" or "The Goonies" or something.
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As I got older (high school), I watched more, but still wasn't allowed to have a TV in my room. I spent a lot of time writing, so I had a computer... but just Microsoft Word, no internet access. I also read a book a day and scored perfectly on my verbal SATs... but I attribute that more to personality than lack of TV watching.

Incidentally, I had a friend whose family only allowed 1 hour of TV per week. He filled his non-TV time by becoming an amazing athlete, creative artist, Eagle Scout, National Honor Society, etc. His brother (2 years younger) filled his time by doing lots of drugs. So maybe there isn't a set formula.... either way, our kids probably won't have TVs or internet access in their rooms, unless they have some very compelling reason.
 
Oh hell no.

My cousin was one of the rare kids who got a TV in her room when we were kids. It was always on. You should see her TV habits now...it''s STILL always on even if she is not watching it. She can be an absolute TV zombie. Coupled with the fact that socially she is an enigma (she hangs out with all our friends but rarely can hold a conversation...even one on one with me is hard) and isn''t all that savvy with world events and just general knowledge that isn''t pop culture, I just think the whole OD on TV thing for kids is not healthy.
 
I had a TV in my bedroom growing up, and I think I turned out just fine.
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Granted, it wasn't cable television, so I was protected from most inappropriate things on TV. I think I had like three channels.

My favorite TV show was the cosby show, and RIGHT AFTER Unsolved Mysteries would come on. That theme song.....that DARN THEME SONG!!! I still remember coiling under the covers. My poor mom would have to run in and change the channel. Every once in a while I would get up the courage and try to watch an episode (I'm like seven at the time, btw) and of course it was always the episode with UFOs or a ghost on it or something. lol.
 
Absolutely no TV in any bedroom (and no internet as well). Island, my upbringing sounds very much like yours with regards to TV watching and I am appreciative of it now.
 
Date: 11/29/2007 3:24:01 PM
Author: luckystar112
I had a TV in my bedroom growing up, and I think I turned out just fine.
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Granted, it wasn''t cable television, so I was protected from most inappropriate things on TV. I think I had like three channels.

My favorite TV show was the cosby show, and RIGHT AFTER Unsolved Mysteries would come on. That theme song.....that DARN THEME SONG!!! I still remember coiling under the covers. My poor mom would have to run in and change the channel. Every once in a while I would get up the courage and try to watch an episode (I''m like seven at the time, btw) and of course it was always the episode with UFOs or a ghost on it or something. lol.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you seem OK.
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I just want to clarify after reading my post that it''s not that I think ALL people who grew up with TV''s turn out like zombies. It''s just I see things in my cousin that makes me think it''s TV influenced, and this ONE experience is enough to turn me off the idea.
 
I purchased my 16 yr old daughter a tv for her room for christmas last year. She DOES NOT have access to cable for TV watching though. She has a ton of movies and she watches movies in her room on it. That is all she can do.

my middle child has a small portable DVD player to watch movies on as well in her room. She loves movies too.

Our youngest together who will be 5 the end of this month does not have anything but old fashion toys in her room.

None of my girls will ever have cable TV in their rooms. I feel if I got them all cable for their rooms I would never see them. It also sounds like too much work to monitor their TV watching if it were in their rooms. I think it''s good for them to have to work out who wants to watch what and when...

My oldest sometimes has to spend a lot of time in bed in her room due to a chronic painful illness and her movies are what helps her pass the time some days.

So I guess the short answer is no...we don''t allow TV watching in their rooms...but I am way to windy for just a short answer..LOL
 
Growing up, it was a not TV in the bedroom household. We had an upstairs and and a downstairs TV, so that eliminated most arguments over what to watch. I was allowed to have a phone in my room as a teen though. I''ll likely institute the same rules for my future family.

As an adult, I still have no TV in my bedroom. I''m the only entertainment in there.
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My daughter is not even 2 yet but I decided she wont have a t.v. in her bedroom. I guess I just rather her read, play outside, something besides watching t.v. just because it is there. I told my husband I want the t.v. out of our bedroom as well. I never, ever watched as much t.v. as I do now since I stopped working.
 
No kids yet, but if/when I have them, there will be NO TV in their bedroom. I think that's insane (and this is coming from a kid that had a tv in her bedroom but I was a dork, I watched Bob Ross, cooking shows, and pretty much anything on PBS). Besides, our kid should be too busy reading or playing an instrument/painting pictures since dad is an amazing musician/songwriter and mommy is a so so musician/decent songwriter and an amateur painter.
 
No kids but there is no way I''d ever allow my child to have a TV in his/her room, OR have a computer in his/her room. There is way too much crap on TV that I dont think kids need to be looking at. For example, do they really need to watch crap like My Sweet 16 or Jackass? I think not. And I also wouldn''t allow a child to have a computer in their room either. Well, at least not with internet connection. WAY too much trouble potential there. I have no problem with two TVs, one in living room, one elsewhere (so long as it''s easy to see what''s on said TV), but I''d want my kid''s internet use in full view so there was no getting onto sites that are inappropriate. I dont think you''re out of line at all. I think what you''re doing is called "responsible parenting". And kudos to you for doing it!
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Our kids don''t have a TV or computer in their room. If they want to watch TV, they have to watch in the family so I can monitor what they are watching. If they want to use the computer, they have to use the laptop in the kitchen unless they want to print something out.

There is a TV in the playroom, but it is only hooked up for my daughter''s video game station thingy. Otherwise, you can''t watch any programs.

There are no telephones in their rooms either, but that may change when my daughters become teenagers.
 
My parents had a small TV in their bedroom but my sister and I weren''t allowed to have one. We read, played with friends, climbed trees, rode our bikes, and did all the regular things kids did. My parents weren''t super-strict when it came to watching TV but they did put limits on it when needed.I think my parents finally relented when I was in high school, but I''m not sure we had cable at that point. If my FI and I have kids someday, we won''t put a TV in their room(s) either. I''m appalled at how much TV and/or video games are watched/played these days.
 
If my DH and I have kids we''ll have some issues in this regard. My husband always had a TV in his bedroom, my sister and I did at some point, can''t remember what age, and I don''t think it''s something I would want for my own kid/s.
 
We don''t plan to have TVs in the kids'' bedroom (and if someone wants to come pick up the one in our bedroom, it''s free for the taking!!). To me, kids already spend so much time watching TV, why make it even more accessible?
 
I''m definitely the anomoly here. I grew up with NO tv restrictions. In fact, family time was often spent watching shows like "Married with Children" and "The Simpsons." I also watched R rated movies from the time I was about 10. And I think it was around the same time that I got a tv in my bedroom that had cable. Now, I definitely don''t think I will be so lax with my kids, but I can honestly say that having so much freedom when I was young helped me mature a lot earlier and learn how to make good decision on how to budget my time. I was always a straight A student, I read entire sections of the library, and I stayed active throughout my entire childhood. I also grew up to continue to do these things, along with being addicted to tv. I''m one of those people whose tv is always on, even if I''m not watching it. FI is the same way, and we''re at the point now where we can''t fall asleep without the tv being on. Do I want my kids to grow up addicted to tv, probably not, will they, probably.

Bottom line...I think you need to know your kids. If they show they can handle the tv, then I will probably allow my kids to have one.
 
I think it can be appropriate for older teen kids, provided they have shown that they won''t abuse the privilege. (ie they get their homeork done, etc.) My 17 never watches the tv in her room, but it''s there so she can watch dvd''s. Otherwise, she''s just too busy already. My 20 year seldom watches hers either, she''s also very busy.
 
I grew up only being alllowed to watch 1 hr a day of TV and I think it was good for me. Like Indygal and a few others said, it made me learn to entertain myself with hobbies, reading, etc. As a teen I watched a little more but still not a lot. I didn''t have a TV all throughout college and didn''t really miss it. Now we have one and really only watch the occasional HGTV show, reruns of sitcoms I liked when I was younger (friends, seinfeld, frasier etc) or a movie. Oh and I somehow watched all the SATC episodes. Anyway, if/when we have kids I am pretty sure I would want to limit their TV and supervise it too. I think there is a lot more racy/violent stuff on now than when I was a kid!
 
IslandDreams, when I read your post I felt like you were describing my upbringing regarding television! Exactly the same, excepting circling what we wanted to watch in the t.v. guide (not the real TV Guide, the local paper''s version of the t.v. guide, lol). We didn''t even have cable, or satellite, we had maybe 10 channels of which maybe 5 were clear enough for a satisfying viewing experience. Come to think of it, I think my parents still only have one television.

We don''t have children yet, so I can''t really say whether I would allow t.v. in kids'' bedrooms or not. I think if there weren''t some type of playroom or rec room in our house someday where there was a central "kid" t.v. then maybe I would consider putting a t.v. in a child''s room, but I think I would limit the time they could spend watching it or playing video games.

The first year I was in college I lived in a dorm room with a roommate who brought her t.v....between that and all the other distractions my grades were average at first and then fell to below average. I took a 3 semester break, went back to school and lived in an apt. by myself, with NO television. I made the Dean''s list the rest of my college career. I read the newspaper or listened to the radio or went to the computer lab to stay in touch with the rest of the t.v.-viewing world.
 
Well, I don''t think it''s that big of a deal. I grew up with a TV, but I can''t recall ever watching it. I''ve always preferred reading. And in high school, I had such a huge course load and so many extracurricular responsibilities that I barely had time to eat, so watching TV was the furthest thing in my mind.

Most of my family is really religious (hardcore southern baptists) and they don''t let their kids do anything and sadly, they''re like little robots. Some of my little cousins couldn''t even tell you who SpongeBob is.

Now, I think I would block some things, such as the trashy talk/court shows and 95% of MTV.
 
We have so many tvs. There is one in almost every room of our home except the living room, dining room and bathrooms. I grew up with television in my room and I am a tv addict. I leave it on instead of the radio. My kids love to watch, and I try to control the content, which is why a tv in their rooms is not likely. I think they would abuse it, I really do, since I did that when I was young. As it is we have had to take Ipod videos out of their hands late at night and parental control their computers since they use them like televisions and download tons of stuff and watch dvd''s on them. I do not agree with completely withholding tv, but in the rooms might be too much access. My older two are pretty busy with sports and music lessons, and we have limited tv to pretty much none on school nights unless we watch something together or it is a special thing. Otherwise, I tivo it, and allow them unlimited tv on weekends. However, they tend to be busy with friends and activities, so they end up not watching much anyway.
 
I don''t have any kids yet but when I do I won''t allow a TV to be in their bedroom. I grew up with a TV in the family room and my parent’s bedroom. The amount of TV I watched was very limited. I was never into watching Saturday morning cartoons. I did get a TV in my own room when I was a teenager (maybe 16 or 17?). I remember staying up late watching TV with the volume low so my parents wouldn''t hear. Bad! I should have been getting a good nights sleep especially since I always had a hard time waking up in the morning. I think a TV in your child or teenager’s room is bad.
 
No way. Not in my house. One TV in the living room. Period.
 
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