Homeschooling and TV - Page 2

[kira]

we don't have a TV.

[PancakeGoddess]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

In our family we treat TV viewing habits (and the general issue of screen time) as "mental hygeine" issues, to be discussed and trouble-shot regularly at family meetings. At our weekly family meetings we discuss anything that's come up in the course of the week, but we also have a 'standing agenda' of things we touch on every week: sleep, nutrition, exercise, housework and screen time. They're all aspects of physical, intellectual and emotional health that we keep tabs on. We talk about how things are balancing out and, if we agree the balance is not quite right, we discuss little adjustments that might help.

miranda - this is what we try to do, and it doesn't work. : We go long periods of time allowing unlimited screen time (assuming a few jobs get done) and it just goes on for hours. DS could sit on Neopets all day long. They'd both stay indoors all summer I don't know what this is about but it's an ongoing source of worry for me.

[Queen Gwen]

Originally Posted by benjalo

miranda - this is what we try to do, and it doesn't work. : We go long periods of time allowing unlimited screen time (assuming a few jobs get done) and it just goes on for hours. DS could sit on Neopets all day long. They'd both stay indoors all summer I don't know what this is about but it's an ongoing source of worry for me.

My theory, which has no basis in anything approaching scientific:

We each have varied tolerances for things, and varied ability to control our "balance". Some of us have problems with certain foods (like maybe wanting to binge on chocolate and be totally out of balance there). Others have problems balancing other things, like constantly working, talking, etc. Some people have no problem turning off the tv (or eating only one bite of chocolate, or only playing the lottery once in a while), while others have more difficulty finding balance.

[UUMom]

I'm a person who sees little value in endless TV watching for children (or anyone). My dh is the same. His family didn't have a TV until he was about 7, so he had all those TV- free years. To this day, he's not a TV watcher. It was an authentic decision we made. We are who we are, and we don't think TV is all that. That may be a negative thing for our kids, but at least they know we're honest with them.

What I have noticed is that the less kids and adults watch, the less they want to watch. My kids know they can turn on the TV all weekend if they like, but they don't. We agreed long ago to not watch any TV M-F. (Well, no, for about a yr, my 16 yr old has been watching That 70's Show at 5).

Now it's Saturday morning and my oldest ds is reading a book, the youngest three are running around like crazy kicking a beach ball all over the freaking house, dogs barking after them. Of course, i am tempted to shut them up by telling them to go watch a movie or something, but i won't.

I do see a lot of merit in Jane Healy's work on brain development. As it is, they don't choose it even when they can. So I dunno.

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by benjalo

miranda - this is what we try to do, and it doesn't work. : We go long periods of time allowing unlimited screen time (assuming a few jobs get done) and it just goes on for hours. DS could sit on Neopets all day long. They'd both stay indoors all summer I don't know what this is about but it's an ongoing source of worry for me.

Here's the confession: while it works for us for TV, and it works for most of us for computer, it doesn't work for my ds (8) for the computer, and it never has. He has the best resolutions and ambitions of the bunch of us but he is incapable of following through (he's the kid who proposed at a family meeting that we all have a screen-free summer -- alas this was shot down by others). He will often spend all day on the computer, forgoing meals and sleep to play a few more games. He is a computer addict.

The kids' computer succumbed to a virus almost 3 weeks ago and he is the only kid who has not wondered aloud "when will we get around to fixing the computer?" He is happy having it totally out of his life and he is so much more interested in other things like reading, soccer, woodworking, cooking, crafts and artwork. He's happy and productive and likes things the way they are. Still, some day I'm sure it will return because his sisters want access to it.

So the bottom line is ... it works for us for TV, but I'm not sure why.

Miranda

[LeftField]

UUMom,

I don't see the value in limitless screen time either and have also noticed that it seems to have an addictive effect on many people. The more TV my kids watch, the more they want to watch. When it's turned off, they could go forever without it. A month ago, I went on a no-TV campaign. At this point, it might get turned on once a day for abut 20 minutes. After a week of withdrawal, the difference in my kids was truly amazing. They get along better, amuse themselves for much longer periods of time, are more pleasant to be around and play much more creatively. My oldest is highly creative, but the no TV made him even much more so. He draws and creates things all the time. My little one has gone back to reading books all day like he used to, whereas in the past, he just wanted to watch TV. In my personal opinion, watching loads of TV just seems like a dull existence. I can't relate well in TV heavy conversations; it just seems kind of boring to me, almost anti-intellectual.

For us, I can't really see much of a TV tie-in for our future homeschooling. I'm sure there will be some watching. My oldest loves Monster Garage. My dh loves Mythbusters and things like that. Actually, I taped a Discovery show on planets the other day for ds1. I can see some value in certain shows. But I don't want it to become a weak substitute for real life. A few months back, we saw a great Reading Rainbow episode on bee-keeping. It was pretty cool, but we could have just visited our local bee place instead and actually talked to real people and viewed actual bees. Once, I put on some Leapfrog DVD that people were talking about, but it wasn't very captivating to ds1. When we talked about phonics together, when it became an interactive discussion, then things clicked; the movie did nothing for him.

So for us, we're just not big into TV and video games and all that as a family. We all veg sometimes. But in general, I think TV is a poor substitute for real life and interaction. Once my youngest is a bit older (and easier to take places), I anticipate that we won't be home much of the day anyway.

[LeftField]

Originally Posted by mommyofshmoo

I am intrigued by all the posts that say you have unlimited TV yet your kids don't watch much. My dd would watch WAY TOO MUCH if I let her.

Her long attention span is both a blessing and a curse!

I can relate to this. Both my kids even watched TV as newborns. It was very difficult to keep ds2 relatively TV-free until he was 10 months old. At that age, he would watch an entire episode of Blue's Clues without moving, seriously.

[RubyWild]

None of us watch any television. We didn't have a TV for about 3 years before out daughter was born, and I don't really see how we would have time for it now.

I didn't grow up with TV, really, and my husband's family only sort of had one channel, so we're not big fans of it. Occasionally my husband and I see some at other people's homes, although most people we know don't have a TV or rarely watch it, and we don't see what's so great about any of it.

[Persephone]

Originally Posted by LeftField

When we talked about phonics together, when it became an interactive discussion, then things clicked; the movie did nothing for him.

I think this is the value of having a video or TV show. You can use them as a catalyst for discussion and action. Sort of like what another mama was talking about with her dd in the unschooling day thread, where her dd watched The Miracle Worker, and that became a catalyst for her learning for the day.

What if you watched Mythbusters (fun show, btw.) and decided to conduct some of your own experiments, to see if you get the same results as they did? (With the safe stuff, obviously! )

Or watched the beekeeping Reading Rainbow, and then used that as a springboard to study bees, and actually go visit a beekeeper?

When TV is used in that way, I think it can be quite valuable as a learning tool.

But you're right, it's a poor substitute for real life, and real learning.

I'm just pg right now, but I'm going to homeschool when the kids are old enough. Right now, dh and I watch a lot of dvds in the evening. We like to watch NCIS and Smallville. And dh and I like to watch basketball. When the baby is born, I would like to keep the tv off while they are small. I don't want them watching it til they're older. But when they are developmentally ready to handle watching some shows, I feel that will be ok. We will prolly never have cable. So, it will likely be PBS or videos for my kids. But I don't want TV to be a time sucker, so it will likely be off most of the time anyway, because I want to provide my kids with so many interesting and fun things to do that they don't need to watch tv.

[NoHiddenFees]

We hadn't intended on doing any TV until well after DD1 started to read. Well, she is an early and avid reader so she now has her own NetFlix queue -- she's allowed one at a time -- and keeps a single DVD for a week or two.

For the forseeable future she's only permitted nature videos. We're working our way through David Attenborough's various series. I'm very impressed with how information is organized and presented in these; she's picked up an awful lot about beyond just, "Oh, that's a pangolin." and so have I. We also did Walking With Dinosaurs. She was a bit disappointed with the latter because, "I miss David Attenborough mom, when do we get to see him again?"

At this point, we still intend to wait a few years before introducing movies, though we've already promised her that she's going to the cinema next year to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. My fantasy is to be able to move the girls more or less chronologically through (age appropriate) cinema so they're not all jaded with the new stuff by the time they are introduced to the classics.

[UUMom]

I'm all for a relaxing 30 min of Will & Grace or That 70's Show....or whatever. : I'm even OK with an hour here and there of Pokemon... I don't like TV for little brains, but when kids get older I'm less concerned.

I do like films and we do watch films/movies/whatever on the weekend. We love to snuggle in bed on a rainy day with an old movie. I also think there are some really great informative things out there. I'm just grateful that it feels pretty balanced here for all concerned. If a 4 yr old needs 20 minutes of Blue's Clues to chill, so be it. OTOH, some kids (i have one) acts sickly after too much TV -watching. Kinda anxious and jumpy. I think one person's sedative is another person's cafiene. I trust the mamas here enough to know that we are acting in the best interests of our children. I know I am, and I give that the same to credit to others. i do like to hear how others handle things.

[Claudette]

I was thinking about self-regulation and modern society last night...

There is a strong argument in many communities for self-regulation; allowing children free access to food, tv, computers, whatever, and letting them self-regulate based on the idea that demanding breastfeeding is self-regulated, and children, if left to their own devices will find a natural balance.

I also believe this is true - PROVIDED the access is to NATURAL elements. Give a child free access to the breast, or to sleeping, or to a healthy range of natural foods, and I wholly believe children will very successfully self-regulate to their own benefit, as the body is getting the right balance of messages...

HOWEVER, give a child free range to most of modern days' idea of food and entertainment, which is all designed to elicit consistent consumerism, and soon the messages in the body will become unbalanced. The body will recieve too many of some elements, and not enough of others, which will result in the body craving more of the unbalanced foods or stimuli, and the cycle will continue. It is the way high levels of sucrose create a high production of insulin, which eventually plummets and creates a craving for more sucrose. Television and computers create a stimulus which releases a high level of adrenalin, which eventually plummets, creating at once a lethargic bodily response, and a craving for more adrenalin...

So, while I'm all for self-regulation in my children, I believe that when it comes to unnatural input (foods and stimuli), I have to take responsibility for the fact that these input are designed to create a craving for more of the same, and it is the exception, rather than the rule, that people can self-regulate successfully (let's face it, if people could take or leave tv and computers, then I doubt very much that practically every household in 1st world nations would have one or more of each! Tv and computers and fast food are not necessary for human survival, they do not feed or shelter us, and there are countless other better ways to gain intellectual stimulus, and yet even the poorest households in Australia and the US have a tv...).

[FireWithin]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

In our family we treat TV viewing habits (and the general issue of screen time) as "mental hygeine" issues, to be discussed and trouble-shot regularly at family meetings. At our weekly family meetings we discuss anything that's come up in the course of the week, but we also have a 'standing agenda' of things we touch on every week: sleep, nutrition, exercise, housework and screen time. They're all aspects of physical, intellectual and emotional health that we keep tabs on. We talk about how things are balancing out and, if we agree the balance is not quite right, we discuss little adjustments that might help.

So my kids have always got the message that too much TV viewing is not a good thing, and that they are in charge (with my help) of defining their limits and finding ways of striking a balance. I've let them over-run limits that I'd consider acceptable without judgement. We just discuss "how they've been doing with TV" at the next meeting and invariably they resolve to change things in some way.

We didn't start the formal Family Meeting thing until the kids were older, but my approach was the same when they were younger: to make it clear to them that I felt that with the right information and support they could make good decisions for themselves about TV-watching.

Miranda

I really like how tv watching is approached here. I expect we will do something similar when DC becomes older.

At the moment, he has mostly unlimited. I am aware of how much he is watching, and if I feel like he is watching for a negative reason, or it has become an unhealthy amount, I suggest other things.
I do believe that tv can be addicted which is why I feel parents should be involved with guidance but children should be making most of the decisions.
I have begun to use the phrase "this is healthy for you body, it helps you grow" concerning food. He really is into the idea. I just thought now I could use that phrase considering excessive tv watching. I will have to think about it. I think he can undertand that idea.

[mommyofshmoo]

I liked the post about how some people can handle some addictive things and not others.

It gives me insight into DD.

For example, I don't really limit her sugar intake and it's never been a real problem. She never drank juice. She does eat ice cream (chocolate only), and other sweet stuff- but she never goes overboard and is just as picky about "desserts" as about other foods.

There are plenty of parents who do a lot more to limit their kid's sugar intake and I can often understand why. If I have a sweet treat for dd to share, their kids become crazy and try to shove all the sweets in their mouths.

I think TV is a weakness for dd. It would probably be better to do 0 TV, but as it is, I just have to limit it.

[Aura_Kitten]

no TV; very limited videos.

// nak

[kayjayjay]

There are some interesting points here, I go back and forth on this issue. I used to think all screen time was bad, and at times I wish we didn't even have the tv, but lately I've been noticing that my 2nd DD really benefits from some tv time now and again.

We don't have cable and we only get a couple of channels...I would really limit their exposure to broadcast tv if we did. With dvds and videos we can limit what they see by what we check out or buy.

I have seen learning ideas set in motion by tv watching, but not really very often (of course, since we don't watch it much that makes sense).

[snyderjoint]

hs and tv

I don't think it matters how your schooled. I've always had unlimited tv, and I really don't think there needs to be a limit. I'm physically disabled, could not do alot of the things kids today get to do. It seems to me between school, outside activities, friends and family kids are actually pretty busy. My theory is make sure they have these things, they'll be less likely to want to watch alot of tv then. I envied alot of other children because they were doing things that I could not do. And anyways I can't imagine kids wanting to sit and watch tv all day when they could be doing what ever they want to. I think busy kids don't need limited tv because if they have things to do, they won't even want to watch alot of tv, and when they have other things to do, it's not like they are sitting there all day, so who cares if they watch more than like 30 min. or and hour of tv a day. Just my take on this subject.

[LeftField]

Originally Posted by Persephone

I think this is the value of having a video or TV show. You can use them as a catalyst for discussion and action.

This is true, as long as we don't forget that books can serve the same purpose. I've gotten a great deal more meaningful discussion from a well-written kids' book than I have from any TV show. Of course, a lot is age dependent. For my kids anyway, I haven't yet found something that TV can do for them that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Obtaining it elsewhere is more work on my part and not as convenient, however.

[shaywyn]

We don't really limit TV, other than the occasional redireting when dd's behavior is suspiciously similar to Ed, Edd, and Eddy's :LOL

We read, read, read, have lots of activities, and a backyard full of discovery so I am not worried . Dd seems to watch it in spurts, her favorite channel is Animal Planet (with cartoon network a close second, she's a pokemon fan, what can I say :LOL ).