Will/does your DC have a TV in their bedroom?

[punkrockmama]

What's your reason? I grew up with a TV in my bedroom. My kids will not. Only because I think you really DO sleep better when your bedroom's just for sleeping. I have *always* have a hard time falling asleep. And even now I have to have the light from the tube to feel comfy. I'll mute it because the noise bugs me, but I can't sleep in the dark.


That McD's article had a blurb that said more than half of the kids had televisions in their bedrooms. That's what made me think of this. I'm hoping that my children will grow up w/o a TV in their bedroom and never put one in when they're adults. I also hope they never have my issues with sleep.

[JBaxter]

I wont even allow my 15yr old to have one.

[KBecks]

No no no no no no no.

And we watch a fair amount of TV. I think it's inappropriate to have a TV in the bedroom. They can read in there.

I am debating on computers and cell phones but I don't think they will get those either.

[boolady]

No. My sisters and I never had them in our rooms and the policy was always that you could watch TV in the family room, but in your room, read or do something quiet and non-TV related. Never bothered me a bit...

[hardysmom]

No way. I also grew up with a TV in my bedroom, but those were the days before 24 hour kids programming so unless I wanted to watch the Statler Brothers, Match Game, and Hee-Haw, it wasn't always on.

And, like you, I have a TV in our bedroom which is on way too much. Half the time, I'm not even watching, it is just a bad habit.

Beyond the inability to monitor what they are watching, I think it is just very, very isolating to have TVs in kids rooms. I don't think any of DCs friends have TVs, but I do run into a lot of kids who do.

I worked in a Sleep Lab years ago and you are correct, TVs in bedrooms are not recommended. Our sleep specialist would say the bedroom should be reserved for sleep and sex.

stephanie

[Jenn98]

No TV, no computer. Each of the girls has a radio to play lullabys and I think when they are teens I will allow a phone but nothing else. I have seen/heard way too much about the bad things that come from unsupervised computer time and tv time - no thank you!!

[katydid1971]

Ditto PPs. I don't think ds needs a tv in his room ever, I didn't have one and I grew up just fine. I am also not wanting a computer in ds's room because I fear the internet. (I know that might change as he gets older but its a real fear to me now.)
Sarah

[tarahsolazy]

My DH and I both grew up in households with one small televison, and no cable.

We have cable, and a 27in TV, but that's as far as we're going. One TV in the house, in the family room. period.

No computers in bedrooms, either, I don't think. But we'll see as the time comes.

[Corie]

I won't have a TV or computer or phone in my kids bedrooms.

I wasn't allowed to have these items in my bedroom. I agree with another
poster who said it isolates your kids.

I don't want my kids sitting in their bedrooms watching TV all night, talking
on the phone, or hanging out on the computer in scary chatrooms.

[linsei]

No way. I'm a control freak and I need to know what my kiddo is viewing. My 6 year old niece has one in her room and she has to watch a movie *every* night to put her to sleep. Uh, duh sil... tv is stimulating. Ever think of books instead?!? (sorry I didn't mean to rant)

I did not get a tv in my room until I was in college, when I bought one. Dh had one since childhood, but oddly he is even more opposed to ds ever having one in his room. I had to beg to get one in our bedroom, finally got one, and I think it has been on less than 10 times in 3 years.

Linda

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[bunnisa]

We won't even allow one in the house, so no.

...blessed wife and mama to two & one due this summer!

"We must remember that life begins at home and we must also remember that the future of humanity passes through the family"
-Mother Teresa

[gatorsmom]

No TV in their rooms. And if I had my way, DH and I wouldn't have one in our room either.

Growing up, my mom asked me and my brother if we wanted one in our rooms. I said no, my brother said yes. I never missed it.

Lisa
Mom to Gator July 2003
And Cha-Cha July 2005
and surprise! twins due 11/07!

[aa2mama]

Nope. We have one TV in the house, and we like it that way.

[Emmas Mom]

I'm the yes. My oldest DD has one in her room now so she can watch her DVD's under mine & DH's supervision. Since I work at home now & we have a smallish place my "office" is in the living room/dining room. If I need a few minutes to make some calls I will put one of her DVD's or Noggin or Nick Jr or Disney on (depending what's on TV at the time). It's not an issue when it's bedtime, she's never even asked to have it on. If she does, the answer will be no. She doesn't need it to fall asleep. I see no problems with it for us.

[almostamom]

I'll join you in the yes department. DS doesn't have one in his bedroom now and I don't plan on putting one there any time soon, however, I don't have a problem with it when he's older. Right now he mainly watches tv when we're in the car (he has 2 weekly appts that are about 45 minutes away - and that's if there is no traffic). I tend to be in the "everything in moderation camp," I suppose. Linda mentioned tv as stimulating and yet for me it's just the opposite. It helps me relax and fall asleep. I don't drink alcohol, so maybe it's just my glass of wine! :)

The other Linda

[Tracey]

No, there will not be a TV in her room. I think having TV in bedrooms isolates children too much. I also want to monitor what is being watched. I'm hoping she won't be that into TV, but who knows. She has been watching a fair amount of videos this summer because it is so hot. We are building a house and I'm debating about putting one in the playroom. I'm leaning towards no. If I do, I will have TV allowance put on it--- www.tvallowance.com.

[Emmas Mom]

Oh yay....I was beginning to think I was the only one. lol I feel pretty much the same way you do. And with parental controls & her having her own "kid friendly" movies (DVD's) I'm ok with it, under my supervision...as I said before.

[DrSally]

No, no tv for any bedrooms (even ours). It disrupts sleep and causes too much tv watching. I like to be able to monitor what's watched and how much. I may reconsider with teens, but we'll see.

[daisymommy]

I didn't have a TV in my room until I was in my college dorm room :) So no way are my kiddos going to have one and be isolated from the family, watching who-knows-what behind closed doors! Stepping down off soap box now.... :)

The funny thing is, Joshua had a 3 year old friend over to play the other day, and they went into Joshua's room. The friend said, "Hey Josh, where's your TV?" Joshua said "I don't have one." Friend said, "Well, where's your X-Box then?" About this time I was cringing. This little boy was only THREE!

[dr mom]

No no and no. We have one TV and no cable. DS occasionally watches (pre-screened) children's videos, but his attention span runs out after 15 minutes. There is so much commercialism in kid's programming these days, and terrible role models in children's shows - not the values we're trying to raise him with.

I worry that excess unsupervised media time is exposing children to negative messages, fueling the obesity epidemic, and taking time away from other childhood activities.

[maestramommy]

nope. we'll have one tv, in the family room. they won't have internet access in their bedrooms either.

[randomkid]

No TV in the bedrooms, even though I had one in my room once I was over 12. I decided against it because it keeps the kids from being part of the family. When I was a teen, I was ALWAYS in my room. I'd come out to get my dinner, then take it to my room and sit on the bed watching TV while I ate. Looking back, I'm so surprised my parents allowed this since we were one of those families that always sat down and had dinner together when we were younger.

We do have a TV in our bedroom, but rarely use it. I'll watch news when getting ready for work and sometimes, we will let DD watch a video in there in the evening. Otherwise, it's just not on.

I know my 14yo stepdaughter hates not having a TV in their room, but too bad. My 16yo SD told me that the 14yo is always in her room at their Mom's house and rarely comes out. She has a TV, Xbox, iPod, etc. in her room. Plus, she has a cell phone. Why should she ever come out? If she goes to her room here, she is usually reading. If they want to watch TV, they have to be out in the family room with us. "Nuff said!

[suz]

No, they don't. I also don't have one in my room. I prefer that my kids not watch too much TV and if they do watch it, I would like to know what they are watching.

[MelissaTC]

I grew up with one in mine (more middle school/high school). My sister was given one at a younger age and she was a real couch potato. I don't see any reason why M would need a tv in his bedroom. As it is, I have to "unplug" him from the tv, Leapster and computer (Webkinz) now. I have started using a kitchen timer so he knows that once the bell rings, his time is up. I can't imagine what he would do if he was unsupervised.

[punkrockmama]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I bet there are more yeps out there though, ;). Haha, don't be shy. Or maybe not, but that I think might be because it's that kind of place around here. We're that kind of group. :)

Yeah, I'm talkin' tween and up. They're never gonna have one. I don't think it's evil, there are plenty of shows I enjoy. BUT, I remember being a kid and checking out good 'ol Skinamax (cinamax late at night). LOl, my kid's are gonna be on lock down.


I watched one of my ILs kids once and she HATED me. She's 11 and wanted to be on the computer. I said sure, she could be online for as long as she wanted, but that time had to be matched outside first. She had to do something out in the fresh air for an hour to get an hour on the computer. Yeah, I think she broke something rolling her eyes at me so hard.

[moncheechee]

Kids should not have TVs, phones or Cpus in their rooms. There is too much stuff going on in the world to expect your kids to filter it themselves. My kids will not have any of this stuff in their rooms, it is too tempting. How are you going to know what they are watching, saying or doing if you can't see them. These can get kids into a lot of trouble in today's world. I don't care how old the kid is.

While we are on the subject, kids watch way to much TV as it is. If they can't watch TV with the family then they don't watch it. Parents should be more involved with what shows they choose for their kids to watch.

[Lovingliv]

My mom was known to pick up TV and drop them, when we didn't get our chores done and were caught watching tv. After that, there was one tv in my parent's room. When my older siblings started to work, it was the first thing they would buy.
we will not have tvs in the bedrooms...bad habits. Books are great...and to date Liv only watches signing times a few times per week.

[Fairy]

S! Love seeing you post these days :-) Haven't read thru the other posts, but for us, DS will not have a TV in his room. I did not have one in my room, despite begging litterally thru college. When i ws 20, my parents bought me one for my b-day, so I did eventually get one in my room -- my dorm room. This was before everyone had a computer, when people took notes the old fashion way, with pens. So, I had no multimedia of any kind growing up.

I was, however, a huge TV addict -- still am. I remember the frist TV shows I ever loved as a very small child -- 5 years old, not including kids shows -- Emergency, All in the Family, Donny & Marie, Star Trek. I wanted to watch these shows all the time. When I was a little older, I wanted Soap, but it waas on too late. Then Days of our Lives. And it's been a big ol' addiction ever since. So, thank GOD, I didn't have a TV in my room or I probably wouldn't have ever left the house. Ever.

[Bethann31]

I have found that every time I say "never" it has come back to bite me in the back side.

All of my children have tvs in their bedrooms. Katherine's is a pretty princess one that only plays her dvds. Josh, Mollie and Jeffrey's all have satellite. I don't have "premium" channels on our satellite, so it isn't coming into the house at all. Josh, who is 17 and a senior in high school, also has a computer in his room. Mollie, who is 15 and Jeffrey, who is 12.5, have had computers in their rooms, but don't right now. Mollie became addicted to WoW, so hers was taken out. Oh, and not addicted at MY house, addicted at her dad's house and her friend's houses. I put the computer back into her room, but removed the internet. Now that school is back though, I'll turn it back on. I sit in front of the computer WAY too much, I think it's kind of hypocritical to say my children can't have one (I don't want to share mine.....)

The one place I WON'T have a tv is in the car. That is crazy to me, but to each his own.

The point of this is... Just wait. Quite frankly I like having the kids have things to do in their rooms. I remember being a teen and I have several teens, so I sometimes WANT them somewhere else. I don't WANT to share my tv with them, or my computer or my other stuff. But, maybe that's just me.

Beth
mom to a bunch of teens and Princess Katherine

[hez]

When we moved to this house (pre-DS), we decided together that bedrooms weren't for TV, and so far we've stuck to the decision.

[Nooknookmom]

I had one, DH had one, DD 1 has one (she's 12 & sleeps like a rock & does very well in school) & DD 2 can have one too.

For our family TV is no biggie.

I have always monitored what DD1 watches & she still comes & asks me if certain shows that come on are "appropriate" for her to see.

Computer w/ internet is OUT of the question!!! No way, no how, DD needent even ask, lol!

[Ceepa]

I just don't see the point in having one in their rooms. We;ll revisit the issue when DC are much much older.

-Ceepa

[SnuggleBuggles]

When ds is a teenager I may reconsider. I had one when I was 12-13 and didn't really get hooked on it. It was just nice to have if people were hogging the TV. :)

For a kid, no. I want him to be with us not alone in his room watching TV.


Beth

[lizajane]

absolutely not. no offense to those who do!! really!! it would be SO easy to let them watch a movie to fall asleep (mine need LOTS of help going to sleep, long story) which is what we did at the beach this week. and it isn't about how much they watch. it is about WHAT they watch and what they could find by flipping channels when i don't even know they are awake.