If you do/did no tv - Page 2

[emilysmama]

Originally Posted by omelette

Are you very strict on your no tv rule? Only at home or when they are visiting family and friends too?
Do you think it will change as your child gets older? If you have now allowed tv watching have you noticed any changes in your child behaviour wise or other?
I'm curious what others are doing. We were very certain about no tv at home but I'm starting to maybe rethink it all.

Ds is coming up to 4.5yrs and does not watch tv at home. He watches movies at his cousin's house but when his cousin comes to our house we don't watch anything (even though she asks). DH also watches a youtube video every once in a blue moon if ds asks about something. They are always animal related. That's about all the screen time he gets.
We now have a little one at home and I'm finding the days very challenging and it's almost impossible to get dinner made, laundry folded etc. Everybody keeps telling me to let him watch tv. I keep standing my ground and saying no, he doesn't need it. Lately though, I'm starting to wonder if it would be terrible. DH is not on board but I was thinking maybe if we did non-fiction only and not daily, 20 minutes/watching session. DH and I need to decide if we'll go for it or not.
So in the mean time please share your experience regarding tv with your kids.

My dd is 6.5 years old. We do not do TV. For the first four years of dd's life, the only TV we had was 5 minutes a day of the Weather Channel to find out the day's weather forecast. A couple years ago, we went completely cold turkey. We canceled the cable and never bothered to buy a TV antenna. Our TV now shows only snow. We are really strict about TV and other media. We don't do DVDs, Computer games, movies, not even educational stuff. I don't even allow starfall at home, even though my dd used starfall at school because it was part of the teacher's curriculum.

On the other hand, I only have the one child. I don't know how I would be able to cope if I had more than one child.

I do know that our dd has a lot more open ended toys, books, and board games from garage sales and goodwill, than most stores. This is specifically so that she can entertain herself. She never has an excuse to be bored, and there is always something interesting to do. Ever since my dd learned to read, it has been even easier to keep my dd entertained because I just hand her a stack of library books.

I find that standing my ground takes a little advanced planning because I have to carry around things to keep my dd entertained, but is well worth not going down the slippery slope.

I also think that being strict about no TV doesn't mean that I can't do it without being rude about it. Most parents don't even know that we don't do TV because I never mention it. If my dd is at another person's house for a playdate, and the TV is on a cartoon, I just ask the other parent if it would be all right to shut the TV. The other parent is actually appreciative about it because the whole point is for the children to play together, not to zone out in front of the tube.

[SilverFish]

i think it can go both ways with tv... i grew up without any tv at all. we saw a couple videos at friends houses and watched tv while visiting grandparents in the summertime. unfortunately, i have a kind of addictive personality and get really really caught up in tv if i have it around. i don't own a tv now, but when i lived with roommates in the past i have, and i always seem to get sucked in.

now my major vice is the internet. my dh downloads our favourite tv shows and movies, and i really have to work on my willpower not to waste all day watching stuff. we will never own a regular tv, but my 6 month old does occasionally watch stuff with me (incidentally, like while she's nursing or something). i don't intend on introducing her to specifically child-marketed shows, but we may start watching things together as she gets older and asks for them. using the internet only is self-limiting... you have to plan in advance what you want to watch, and once the show is over, you have to choose to download something else... no advertising, no just sitting infront of the screen and clicking the remote. but i do think we will have to make a decision about screen time as she gets older and more aware... like in the next few months. momma's going to have to trim down her shows a bit, i think!

anyway, personality will determine addiction to tv as your child grows up. my husband was allowed to watch tv whenever he wanted and couldn't care less about watching about 95% of the stuff out there, and has no problem turning the screen off and walking away. i grew up with no tv at all, and have a really hard time limiting myself.

[leigh09]

i let my kids watch tv, but we have firm and consistent guidelines around it. my 3 & 4 yo are allowed to watch "barney" (annoying, but loved) at snacktime in the morning. this works well for me because this is the same time my 1 yo like to be rocked to sleep for his morning nap.

the other tv allowed in our house is they love dora, and watch her the twice a week that she is on here.

my kids really don't use the computer at all. i have virtually no clue about child friendly games, sites, etc and am stalling as long as possible into finding out because getting my kids hooked on the internet for some reason scares me more than letting them watch tv

[karanyavel]

Not sure if I count or not, but...

We do not own a TV. We got one as a gift before DD was born but it sat and got dusty and hadn't been turned on for years, so we gave it away. We also don't own or rent any DVDs.

HOWEVER...

We do not restrict screen time at all except during school hours (we homeschool). DD may watch videos on Youtube, Hulu, Netflix-on-Demand. She is six and lately she does watch quite a few Youtube videos related to her personal interests. She has had her own computer since her third birthday and spends quite a bit of time using it. Mostly video games, some educational stuff, some Google searches for topics of interest to her, and a few videos. Lately she has been watching Sonic-X on Hulu but she seems to be getting bored with that (or ran out of new episodes).

Back to the original question: She can watch TV at relatives' houses, hotels, etc. We don't really have an objection to TV but none of us have much interest in it. DD doesn't care a lot for actual TV anyway, because you have to sit through commercials and you can't just pause it to come back later when you want to watch the rest.

I am much happier with DD using the Internet ad lib than I would be with TV watching. She zones out with videos and is engaged and always learning when she's using the computer.

[loraxc]

DD was TV-free for the vast majority of her time until about age 5. Now she very occasionally watches a movie. If we do this, it's a big treat and I make popcorn. Or it's because she is quite sick or I have some kind of major emergency with work, my own illness or my other child.

I felt that at a certain point it seemed reasonable to introduce very occasional screen time--I didn't have the intention of forbidding it forever in all cases, but I definitely didn't want it to be a default or daily activity or one I got asked for a lot. I'm very happy with how this has turned out for us. TV and movies are not at all a major part of our life, but I don't think she views them as forbidden fruit, either.

She would never want to watch something like Star Wars because the violence would be distressing to her, and we have to be careful about anything scary. Frankly, I think she has retained a lovely innocence and is sensitive in ways that feel age-appropriate to me.

We do allow educational games on the computer. She has gone in and out of interest on these. I limit her to a half an hour a day, hour max, but it's rare that she would even use it two days in a row and she often goes a week or more without using it. I tend to suggest it only when the weather is really bad or I need her to be occupied for a while and she's resisting other activities. She is generally really, really good at entertaining herself and I do believe it's partly because she has not had much screen time.