Does anyone let their kids watch as much TV as they want?

[Anonymous]

I have two kids - one would watch tv for hours in a catatonic trance if I let him. The other gets bored after about 20 minutes. I have to limit it - otherwise my first would never get off his duff. Two different kids - if they weren't in the same family, I would handle them differently. However, unless the weather is terrible, I limit it to one show/video per day(they must agree on something before I turn it on). However, as they get older, I am allowing longer movies with more involved plotlines to replace Elmo's World and Dora, etc.
If you aren't sure what to do, go with your gut, and make a change if you feel it has a negative impact, like several other posters have. Just be sure to evaluate your decision regularly to make sure you are still comfortable.

[Anonymous]

We let our 4yo watch AM cartoons on the weekends, and often a Diego video or a bit of sports on Sat/Sun afternoon, so that I can get dinner underway. We have the TV on a lot during weekday evenings, always the news (PBS or MSNBC). He's usually preoccupied with other things - toys, crayons, dinner and/or the backyard - but the reality is that he is way too informed about the minutia of the elections! I worry about this and feel guilty...

[Anonymous]

We are a completely no-TV family (all of us, DH and me included), except for the occasional special event, like a sports game or the news on a big day. We watch no regular programming at all and the TV has gone for 2 weeks without being turned on. (To the PPs who mention the need for background noise, I like that too, and keep a radio or CDs going.) We have two boys, 4.5 and 15 months. My kids have no idea who the wiggles, dora, etc. are and I'm thrilled about that, as I think it serves no good purpose and just leads to begging for more "junk from China," as we call it. My boys are unbelievably active, "read" like fiends and love to draw, etc. Overall, I just think this is a much healthier lifestyle as they learn to "do" rather than "be entertained."

BTW, I get the biggest complaints about this from their occasional nanny and babysitters! Yes, most people do use the TV as an easy out when it comes to kids.

[Anonymous]

HELL, NO! i would not let my child determine the amount of TV she wants to watch! Our daughter is 9 mo old, and we do not have the TV on if she is in the room. I plan on doing no TV as long as possible. I just don't see the value (educationally when they are under 3 or 5) and while I do understand that parking the kids in front of the TV gives the parent a break, I will try to avoid falling into that pattern! (my personal preference/bias, others can do whatever they want with their kids, but i don't think its beneficial to the kid).

[Anonymous]

I'm one of the people who wrote that it's background n oise and ya know what's funny with me is that CDs or radio distract me more than television when I'm home unless I'm doing certain things like cooking or cleaning. It distracts me more than television and I end up singing along in my own world. When I was growing up if the TV was on I would focus more on studying, but when the radio was on I was completely incapable of paying attention to what I was doing. I do not use the TV to distract my daughter because it doesn't work, which is probably just total luck for me.

Whatever, we all do what we do and we all seem like pretty informed Parents. I agree TV is not "beneficial" (or, most of it is not) but I think whether or not it's being "detrimental" depends on so many factors and that's why we all have such different families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I do not use the TV to distract my daughter because it doesn't work, which is probably just total luck for me.

I'm the PP and I didn't intend to imply that I have TRIED to use the TV to distract her, because I don't do that, but it totally came out that way. I should have written "I don't use the TV to distract my daughter. It wouldn't work even if I had wanted to because she is not interested." Okay. There

[Anonymous]

I am thinking of getting rid of our TV or maybe putting a very small one in the guest room and removing the main one from our living area. The older I get, the more I value the little time that I have and I don't want to waste it in front of TV. I enjoy TV, but I am getting to the point where I think I would enjoy other things more. It is so easy watch something and then two hours of the night is gone, it is time to go to bed and I feel like I wasted time. Without tv I think that there would be more time for unfinished projects, reading, just plain 'ole conversation, etc. Does anyone else every feel like this? We do have a rule that the TV never gets turned on during the day and we never have it on until after our 9 month old is in bed. He has never seen it on and we plan to keep that up until he is two.

[Anonymous]

The best advice I got regarding TV -- don't offer TV as an option to your child. Suggest drawing, playing a board game, reading, etc. first -- usu. the kid will opt for one of those. Then allow limited TV when the child asks for it (as opposed to the mom or dad saying "do you want to watch TV while I cook dinner). This works in my house as my DD asks infrequently, so I never say no, and it has not become a control thing. I just have to be careful about offering it b/c yes, sometimes I do have a tendency to want to use it to get dinner ready or whatever....instead, I am now more conscious of that and simply suggest alternate activities. I also am trying to teach by example. I do not come home and automatically turn on the TV. Instead I read a book or magazine. This helps a lot as DD wants to copy me.

[Anonymous]

To 10:44 -- here's how "no TV" my family is: When I mentioned to several girlfriends that "Sex in the City" looked like a cute movie that we should see on a girl's night out, they had to tell me that it was based on a TV show!

And to your point about wasting 2 hours front of the TV, I simply cannot imagine doing this. There is absolutely nothing on TV that I know of (probably because I never turn it on; you don't know what you're missing if you don't watch) that is worth that much of my time. And that's how DH and I want to raise our kids: to be DOERS, not constantly in search of contrived "entertainment."

[Anonymous]

We are almost a no TV house. It works out easily b/c my son has absolutly no interest in it, never has. Neither do I, so he probably just takes after me. If he did enjoy television, I still would not allow unbridled watching.

Honestly, we really don't have much time for TV. I work PT and when I'm home we are normally outside in the backyard, at a class, at a friend's houes, having a friend over, doing a craft/project, walking the dog, or at the playground, throw in naps and meals there just is not enough hours in the day for TV. Lately, I have been helping DS build and tend his "own" garden. Also our only TV is in the basement, but spend much of our time on the main level in the kitchen.

One time someone came over and was aghast that I did not have a TV in the family room. They were truly stunned and could not understand how I managed. They wondered what we could possibly be doing each day. I wonder how people even manage to fit so much TV time in, especially now that Spring is here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are a completely no-TV family (all of us, DH and me included), except for the occasional special event, like a sports game or the news on a big day. We watch no regular programming at all and the TV has gone for 2 weeks without being turned on. (To the PPs who mention the need for background noise, I like that too, and keep a radio or CDs going.) We have two boys, 4.5 and 15 months. My kids have no idea who the wiggles, dora, etc. are and I'm thrilled about that, as I think it serves no good purpose and just leads to begging for more "junk from China," as we call it. My boys are unbelievably active, "read" like fiends and love to draw, etc. Overall, I just think this is a much healthier lifestyle as they learn to "do" rather than "be entertained."

BTW, I get the biggest complaints about this from their occasional nanny and babysitters! Yes, most people do use the TV as an easy out when it comes to kids.

Just wait until your oldest is in school. He will then be bombarded with Dora, Diego crap that other kids have. The other day my 4.5 year old went nuts for something at Target because it had "High School Musical" on it, and another thing with Hanna Montana. She hasn't watch these. We are not a no TV family, but we watch things on Demand, on the weekend.

DH and I do watch TV, and while DH would watch it all day long, there are only a few shows I like, and I only waste a few hours a week. Usually though I am doing something else like knitting.

[Anonymous]

They did studies in Canada, and kids who watch less TV get better grades, and happier, and can focus and obey more. They just replicated the experiment in school in Alsace, France, and the kids themselves reported how much better they felt, and their grades improved tremendously. If that's the effect on 7-9 year olds, why would you want you to have a 4 year old watch tons of TV?

[Anonymous]

We don't watch any TV. Don't think I want to give up any more brain cells than necessary.