Families who allow more TV for older kids

[kijip]

What would you let an 8 year old watch? The 8 year old we are caring for has complained that we only let them see baby stuff. We, for the first time ever, have a TV with cable now because my dad lives with us and for all the free childcare and help he provides, I wanted to make sure he had his sports and PBS news stuff that he loves so much.

T is fine with pretty much only science shows, the random baseball games etc and has literally no interest in other stuff. He watches TV or movies less than 2 hours per week at this point, if even that. B has watched in the past and would like to watch shows and movies that I consider to have content inappropriate below teenage years. But he is really bored with the science shows that T tends to select. So what sitcoms and shows do you watch or let your 8 year old boys watch? He has asked about movies on Netflix via the Wii that I just don't know about, are there good sites for reviews without watching it myself? We are considering being more open to B watching TV provided he gets his reading and schoolwork done. What is a good daily limit at that age for a child who if left to his own devices would veer towards many hours per day (not happening)?

[crl]

I have a 7 year old. I think of us as tv moderates. Ds is allowed 1/2 hour on weekdays and 2 hours on weekends. He ends up getting some extra because his dad watches sports, but that is mostly on weekends.

DS actually likes baby tv so we may not be the best to go by. The more age appropriate stuff he watches is probably Phineas and Ferb and Scooby Doo. He likes Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Catherine

[MelissaTC]

Well, M is 8 and is into the science shows as well. He is also a big fan of the Boomerang channel and will watch the old cartoons like Tom & Jerry and Scooby Doo. He also loves Phineas and Ferb and the other cartoons on Disney XD.

[MichelleRC]

My guys watch Fetch with Ruff Ruffman on PBS, lots of Food Network, Penguins of Madagascar, Disney (Phineas & Ferb, Wizards of Waverly Place), they also love Wipeout on ABC, the Amazing Race, and some other competition-type shows. A friend of ours loves Dirty Jobs (not sure what cable channel that is on though). Discovery Kids also has some good stuff on.
We do watch alot of TV in our house, LOL!
HTH!

[Laurel]

Like others have said, Scooby Doo and some of the live action shows on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney. Nature shows, etc., too. I do not let my kids watch primetime sitcoms or dramas. Those are really not appropriate for elementary age kids to watch, though I will admit that mine may catch a few minutes here and there if DH and I are watching something :bag

ETA: between 30 minutes and two hours a day seems to be the norm among DC's friends.

[SnuggleBuggles]

He is into Nick- Penguins of Madagascar and TUFF Puppy. Loves Cyberchase on PBS! Not really into much more. Mostly he watches movies lately (Harry Potter).

Beth

[Green_Tea]

My DD will be 8 in January. She likes Wizards of Waverly Place, Phinneas and Ferb, Fetch, some stuff on Discovery and SpongeBob. She also watches some Hannah Montana and iCarly, but that's much more limited (maybe 2-3 episodes a week depending on the week.) She also likes Little House on the Prairie reruns and the Brady Bunch.

One thing that's really helped me was actually sitting down and watching with them. Some (like Wizards of Waverly) have fun, clever messages, while others (the Suite Life on Deck) are just plain horrible and not at all appropriate IMO.

[fauve01]

I can't speak to what might be good for B, as my 7yo dd doesn't watch much as is happy with phineas and ferb, but i find this web site to be helpful:

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/

there are parent reviews and also a listing of what may be objectionable. i check it when we are thinking of renting a dvd or going to the theater. it looks like you can check video games and tv shows too.
HTH,
Anne

[daisymommy]

We're TV moderates here too. I allow 30-60 minutes a day, so 1-2 shows.

I like Boomerang, as it has the older cartoons I used to watch as a kid, and DS loves them. Scooby Doo, Wacky Racers, Speed Buggy, Jabar Jaw, etc.

Ruff Ruffman can be very educational and fun, I actually like the show myself :)

Penguins of Madagascar is fun too. Pokemon is decent (and most every little boy likes that!)

*Sometimes* Batman is okay (although it can be a bit dark at times), Ben-10 Alien Force.

We do NOT allow Sponge Bob here.

[Roni]

I'm comfortable with Disney Channel. Phineas & Ferb is a big favorite.

[JBaxter]

We watch a lot of TV ... Or I should say ours is on a lot. Nathan watches TV but is also doing legos, playing cars etc its not uncommon for him to turn on a show and in 5 minutes he is off doing something else.

Disney is on most often
but
Pink Panther
Scooby Do
Pokamon
Star Wars ( animated)
reruns of Cake Boss ( ok hes a little odd oh his viewing habits)
Transformers ( animated and movie)

[AnnieW625]

I am sure that at 8 yrs. old DD1's cartoon viewing habits will almost the same as they are now, except I am sure hoping she finally gets that Special Agent Oso is really stupid, and for babies (that, and Wonder Pets are the only two I can't stand!). DH and I are big cartoon lovers so we usually watch most of her cartoons from Boomerang with her. At 15 yrs. old I loved Anamaniacs, which I believe was on long enough for my sister to watch at 8 yrs. old (I am 10 yrs. older). I would look for some classic cartoons on Netflix.

[Uno-Mom]

What about renting series on DVD instead of watching TV?

I ask b/cs that's the only option in our house, for kids and adults! We didn't "go digital."

The thing that offends me the most about tv for older kids is the commercials.

Right now we have a zero screen time policy, since Sprog is tiny. But someday we'll enjoy DVDs as a family - that was a favorite relaxing activity for DH and me before Sprog came along to keep us so busy!

[jenmcadams]

We like Phineas & Ferb, iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place, Scooby Doo, etc. My kids also like science shows and like Mystery Hunters on Discovery Kids too...

We also watch movies from Netflix on Wii (I get to check them first)...mostly G, but the occasional PG.

[Tondi G]

iCarly, Sweet life on Deck, Penguins of Madagascar, Phineas and Ferb, Johnny Test are all shows my 9 year old will watch. The boys also like watching The Simpson's on fox.

He also likes watching shows on the History Channel ... Pawn stars. On the Travel Channel Man vs Food etc. oh and Cake Boss too.

Both of my kids like watching Wipe Out too!

[JElaineB]

DS is 8, he doesn't watch that much TV, he prefers to play Wii or on the computer for screen time these days. But we let him watch most stuff on Nick, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang (he isn't interested in all the shows, though). Right now he mostly likes Pokemon, sometimes Spongebob. We do have Netflix through the Wii, but I'm not sure if that has parental controls, it is pretty easy to access random movies on that, though DS doesn't do that on his own. We do let him watch pretty much any G or PG movie, and some PG-13 movies (such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies). There are a lot of Scooby Doo movies on Netflix and he likes those lately.

[Momof3Labs]

Boomerang is very popular with DS1 here (Scooby Doo, Jetsons and Flintstones). Phineas and Ferb. America's Funniest Home Videos, Wipeout. Movie-wise, he loves Harry Potter, Star Wars, Percy Jackson, Hotel for Dogs, How to Train a Dragon.

Yes, and all the science shows - How It's Made, Storm Chasers, and anything else he can find in his limited viewing time.

[Tracey]

I agree with pp with the 1-2 30 min shows a day. DD likes Phineas and Ferb, Wizard's of Waverly Place, Pet Star on Animal Planet, America's Funniest Home Vidoes, and some of the shows on the Food Network like Chopped.

Avoid like the plague IMO: iCarly, Suite Life on Deck, Hannah Montanna, Sonny with a Chance, Flapjack, Spongebob, Chowder. These either have horrible messages or just plain get on my nerves.

Personally, I would be comfortable with 1 movie a week that was G or PG off of Netflix.

[egoldber]

My DD9 really has no time for TV during the week. By the time she gets home from after care, does homework, and practices piano or viola, she really does not get a chance to watch TV. She has about 30-45 minutes that she generally chooses some other activity. It isn't like we restrict it, there really just isn't any time.

She does watch TV on weekends. Her favs right now are Scooby Doo and Ace of Cakes. In the past she liked Pokemon a lot, but she's kind of over that. Other boys her age still like Pokemon and also Bakugan. She doesn't really like the Disney Channel shows, but they are popular with kids her age. Her fav movies are Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, High School Musical (shoot me, but they're pretty innocuous) and American Girl movies.

ETA: We also get a lot of movies from Netflix. Older DD would prefer that to watching TV shows.

[american_mama]

My neighbor's sons really liked Merlin when they were aged 6 and 11, and she liked it too, said the whole family could watch it. I just googled it and I hope I got the show right; I'll double-check. My kids would watch The Simpsons (known as "the people with the yellow skin" before they knew the name of the show) and "Family Guy" if we let them; I mind less and less if my 8 year old watches them, but I haven't really advertised that.

They also like "America;s Funniest Home Videos," "Wipeout" and some Dinosaur King, a Saturday morning cartoon. Of all of those, I can best tolerate "Wipeout" because, unlike American's Funniest Home Videos, the contestants are clearly having fun and wearing safety gear. AFV makes me cringe with all the real-life hurts and injuries.

[Fairy]

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman
Electric Company
Penguins of Madagascar
Phineas & Ferb
Upside Down Show is totally hysterical at any age AFAIC, including mine!
Schoolhouse Rock (rent it; it's not current)
Alot of stuff on Discovery Kids looks really good. We love Bindi, but YMMV on her.

[JBaxter]

I will say I do NOT allow sponge bob or the simpsons for my almost 7yr old

[Fairy]

I will say I do NOT allow sponge bob or the simpsons for my almost 7yr old

Neither do we. Animated does not mean appropriate for kids. Same goes for Family Guy. Seems like a no-brainer, right? I'm still bewildered at why someone I knows doesn't bat an eye at this for their 6yo. SIX.

[MelissaTC]

M loves the Muppet movies too. He also likes to watch Fraggle Rock on Netflix. He is also a big fan of "Man vs Food" on the Travel Channel.

[Green_Tea]

I will say I do NOT allow sponge bob or the simpsons for my almost 7yr old


Neither do we. Animated does not mean appropriate for kids. Same goes for Family Guy. Seems like a no-brainer, right? I'm still bewildered at why someone I knows doesn't bat an eye at this for their 6yo. SIX.

Family Guy and the Simpsons are clearly not for children. I don't think SpongeBob falls into the same category, though (I know he's not for everyone.)

[american_mama]

Some other ideas that are weekly cable TV shows and might appeal to an 8 year old boy:

My kids also like "Bizarre Foods" (man travels world learning about culture by eating whatever they eat... spiders, testicles, blood. It's a bit of travel show, bit of a deliberate gross-out and very entertaining. ) They also like "Man v. Food" (man travels the US gorging on every "eat as much of X in Y minutes" contests as he can find. It's nauseating and repetitive, but the host is very charming.)

Lastly, they like "Man Vs. Wild with Bear Gryllys" which is an expert survival guy dropped into the most challenging environments around the planet, and finding ways to eat, build shelter, make fire, etc.