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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
Going TV Free - Have you done it with your kids?
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Anonymous
I agree. When YOU'RE sick, don't you just want to veg on the couch? Yes, you can read books and stuff, but sometimes they want to chill out and just feel better. I see nothing wrong with this... |
Anonymous
I absolutely agree with this poster. I imagine this thread is setting a lot of moms and dads up for for feeling guilty, and I think we can all use less of that. If you're using the television as a babysitter while you sit and read a magazine, surf the internet or do your nails, then yes, that might be a problem and you should re-think how you're using the TV with your child. But using a 1/2 hour here and there of age appropriate DVDs or shows so you can get something done, like starting dinner or an important phone call, then I don't see where there's a problem. Let's face it, some kids play independently a lot better than others, so maybe some moms don't see a need for television at all. Other kids, particularly if they're going through the separation anxiety phase, barely give their parents a minute to go to bathroom by themselves. Let's not get in a panic over a small amount of age-appropriate (and perhaps even educational) television. I'm willing to bet most of us on this board "survived" (quite successfully, too) countless hours of Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kagaroo, etc... Let's ease up a bit and not take everything to the extreme. |
Anonymous
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I completely admire anyone who has been able to keep their kids away from tv but I have to agree with all of the PPs who say that some TV won't hurt. As a mom to a three-year old who is almost totally incapable of playing by herself, TV is the only way I can cook/read the mail/go to the bathroom.
My experience has been that everyone I know who says their kids don't watch a lot of tv are not being totally honest with themselves. One friend of mine claims her kids don't watch much but every time I am at her house the TV is on and she has it on in the car too, all the time! I've seen similar things with other moms as well. |
Anonymous
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The PP said: "Let's face it, some kids play independently a lot better than others, so maybe some moms don't see a need for television at all."
I do agree, and I think the fact that my kids play well on their own makes avoiding tv easier. But I am also strongly of the opinion that avoiding tv makes kids better at playing independently. |
Anonymous
| There are some practical reasons to try to go TV-free too, though. By not introducing it at all for a few years, you might be less likely to end up with a child who is constantly begging for TV at, say, age 7. So it can be a choice to suffer a little pain early on to avoid big annoying battles down the road. It all depends on the personality of the kid, the personalities of the parents, and the needs of everybody in the family. For me, I don't love the role of setting limits, so if keeping a no-TV house right now when DS doesn't no the diff will mean I don't have to feel like a meanie down the road when we introduce some TV in moderation (because, crossing fingers, DS will have gotten used to finding other ways to entertain himself), then yay. It's not because I think 30 minutes a day as a toddler is going to strip his SATs of a hundred points or anything, it's just a choice to promote more harmony later. |
Anonymous
| Eeek, "know" not "no." Really, I wish there were edit buttons here... |
Anonymous
now if you'd watched less TV... Just joking! |
Anonymous
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My husband grew up in a house where the tv was on 24/7 whereas in mine it was severely rationed (30 minutes a day on weekend days only). Now, my husbadn can easily do without TV (although will get drawn into a football game or the news) whereas I love TV and happily would watch it all day long except I know it's not good to do so.
So, keep in mind total deprivation of TV can make it seem like a very desirable object. For our DC, we would turn the TV on occasionally when he was around to watch news (occasionally). He just (15 months) started getting interested in what is on the TV so we've started to let him watch some cartoons in the morning on the weekends (I'm a WM). I am also considering buying a TV for our bedroom to let him watch while we are getting ready for work in the weekday mornings. Since he gets kind of bored. Both my husband and I get ready at the same time - we tried to each take turns but that took us too long and we tried showering at night, but that didn't speed things up too much since I still need to wash my face, put on makeup and my husband needs to shave). It takes us about 30 minutes in the mornings and DC is in daycare during the day and no TV there. But, I am still thinking about it...not sure it's really a good idea. Either way, I don't think a little TV is bad. For OP - I think it depends on what you want to do. If you really want to go TV free - try it. it's not a decision you can't change. |
Anonymous
| PS (I've the PP) - the only kid that I knew growing up who had NO TV at home became a video game graphic designer and now looks at videos all day long as her job.... just thought that was interesting and to the point that total elimination of anything can lead to unexpected results. |
Anonymous
| Good point regarding video games. I'm way more concerned about my children becoming addicted to video games and the computer as opposed to tv. |
Anonymous
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My sister and husband do not allow TV for their two kids. They are vigilant in their effort to keep TV out of their lives. When they visit us it is very stressful as we have a TV in almost every room as well as a home theater! My husband loves this stuff - not me. Our two kids, perhaps because it is always available, are not "addicted" to TV - they enjoy all the popular DVD's (Cars, Lion King, etc) and I do let them watch cartoons. My sisters kids go nuts when they see a TV - they scream and cry if it gets turned off and turn into zombies when it is on....."everything in moderation" is a good motto. The fact is, TV's are part of the real world - what will you do when they are older and going to other peoples houses on their own, etc?
I have a friend who grew up with a mother who did not allow ANY sweets, dessert, etc. in the house - she became bulimic.....another friend - always had those things available and seemed to always have a healthy relationship with food. Just thought that was interesting...... |
Anonymous
| What's wrong with No TV when the little ones are truly little, like pre-verbal, and then introducing it in moderation when they are starting to become capable of being discerning viewers? A parent can watch along with them at first and then gradually permit more discretion. Seems like a good plan to me, anyone else? |
Anonymous
We don't watch TV in our household -- any of us, including the adults -- because we prefer to read. We don't have cable. We do watch a video occasionally. Certainly TVs are "part of the real world," but so are a lot of other things that we don't do in our home. However, I don't forbid TV and won't forbid it when my child goes to a friend's house. In the same vein, we're vegetarian but we won't forbid our child to eat meat. We eat sweets in moderation, but we don't eat junk. Of course my child will eat some junk occasionally. But in my view, it's much more fun to eat some really fabulous chocolate or another great dessert. Why eat junk full of high-fructose corn syrup when you can have a yummy creme brulee?  I hope my child will be able to make good choices. I don't think we have to "watch TV in moderation" to ensure that.
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Anonymous
Here's another point for you: I think the fact that people get on here and say "you shouldn't let your kids watch TV" or "Here's how we eat...it's way better than how you feed your children" (not real quotes of course) or any of these judgements are unnecessary. I'm sure as parents we all fail in some respect. Maybe you're good at educating and engaging your child, but you aren't good at making healthy meals. Maybe you feed your child perfectly but you have a crappy marriage. Whatever. Live and let live. NONE of us are perfect. Example: Dr. Spock's grandson Peter committed suicide. Do the best you can with what you got. Good luck to all (we ALL need it! 
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Anonymous
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14:50 said: "My sisters kids go nuts when they see a TV - they scream and cry if it gets turned off and turn into zombies when it is on....."everything in moderation" is a good motto. The fact is, TV's are part of the real world - what will you do when they are older and going to other peoples houses on their own, etc? "
My experience is the opposite. I took my 3-year-old to playgroup, and the tv was on. As the kids entered, most of them flocked to the tv and stared until an adult finally turned it off 10-20 minutes later. My non-tv-watcher took one look at the tv and walked away, heading for the cool toys! To extend the creme brulee analogy of 15:02, in my opinion, basically no kids' tv is creme brulee quality, it's mostly high-fructose corn syrup. My kids will no doubt watch movies and tv in their lives, but I don't want to contribute to them developing a taste for corn syrup right now... |