What to do when your dc outgrows commercial-free TV channels?

[lilgreen]

My ds (6) will likely outgrow the shows they play on the commercial-free channels. When we went to the library last week we rented a bunch of cartoon episodes as alternatives for when there are no shows on that he likes (he only watches 1/2 hour every evening and a half hour to an hour on weekend mornings, too). But, the library didn't have much of a selection and I really don't want this to become a struggle. Do you have any solutions? Do you buy boxsets of cartoons? If so, how do you konw they're decent cartoons? So many cartoons on the commercialized channels are so crap and I find they gender and racially stereotype.

Any suggestions will be tremendously appreciated.

If only h would agree to get rid of the TV all together.

sigh.

[Nolamom]

We limit TV and avoid many cartoons, too, but my DD (4.5) has watched some shows with commercials. I also know that once a week at Grandma's house she has alot more freedom with the TV. I've decided to take an education approach and have spoken with her about commercials and what their purpose is - to sell you something; to make you want to buy something. We've also talked about the concept of truth in advertising and how some commercials may not be truthful. At this point, I don't really know if she's gotten "it"... she has seen a few things she definately wants! That said, I'm hoping that she will grow into a discerning consumer and be able to make informed choices.

[jillmamma]

Do you ever watch PBS? They have some shows on in the afternoons that are geared more for older kids...Arthur, Ruff Ruffman, Between the Lions, etc. and no commercials. We don't get cable/satellite, so if it is on, PBS is the most watched channel.

[lucyem]

I have a friend who makes her children put commercials on mute.

We tivo tv shows and then fast forward through commercials. Actually having the tivo ability is wonderful. I can be more picky about what DS watches and then he can see whatever we record when he gets his tv time. He likes to watch ocean shows from discovery channel for example.

[JennaW]

Would your DS be into nature type shows or getting a DVD about something specific like airplanes? I know this is what my friend does with her 8 y/o DS, he is really into informative type shows, she gets them from Netflix.

[pigpokey]

HBO Fam-i-leeee. Family H-B-O. duh duh duh duh! (theme song) Then straight to Big Love.

[chfriend]

Nature, Nova, DragonFly TV, Be the Creature, Ruff Ruffman.....

[5gifts]

my older kids 10, 12, 15 have no desire for tv shows.
I just let them pick stuff on netflix.
the little ones like watching the veiw instant stuff

[2shy2post]

We borrow DVDs from the library.

My kids love:

Lassie
Andy Griffith Show
Little House on the Prairie
Leave it to Beaver
Discovery Channel ~ documentaries, Mythbusters
BBC documentaries
PBS documentaries
(can you tell we like documentaries? )
Cyberchase
Clifford

we also borrow a lot of the "RockNLearn" shows

We can inter-library loan things as well. I know a lot of people who don't have an extensive library catalog use Netflix or even spend the money to purchase some things.

I would to OWN Little House. My kids can watch that over & over again!

HTH!

[phathui5]

Our kids don't watch commercial TV either, except for on Saturday mornings. We let them add things to our Blockbuster Online queue.

Movies of books they've read
The Electric Company (awesome old TV show)
Magic School Bus

[2shy2post]

Originally Posted by phathui5

The Electric Company

We have borrowed this too! It used to be the "step-up" from Sesame Street on PBS (in the 70's I think).

[SAHDS]

Originally Posted by Nolamom

I've decided to take an education approach and have spoken with her about commercials and what their purpose is - to sell you something; to make you want to buy something. We've also talked about the concept of truth in advertising and how some commercials may not be truthful.

This is exactly what we do too. Ads are everywhere - billboards, magazines, posters at school, Internet pop-ups, etc. By teaching our children why they are there is giving them a tool to be more aware. I've noticed my children actually shying away from commercial products because they feel the need to be more independent and less manipulated.

Thank goodness, cause I don't think I could stand a Hannah Montana poster in my house... *shudders*

[famousmockngbrd]

We get a lot of tapes from the library, too.

We have started watching Boomerang - it's a subchannel of the Cartoon Network, which I abhor, btw. But Boomerang is fun. We watch Tom and Jerry after supper. The kids love it, and we have had several meaningful discussions about dynamite and what it can really do to an actual human. I hope they get it.

I used to LOVE T&J as a kid. I wish there was a channel with the Road Runner, etc. they were my favorites. Yes, I grew up with images of coyotes being crushed by rocky outcroppings.

TLC is a great AM channel, here anyway. DS (5) loves Bindi, the Jungle Girl.

[ananas]

You mentioned that your husband (I assume that's what "h" means, please correct me if I'm wrong!) won't get rid of the TV, but that does that mean your son HAS to watch TV? It's pretty simple to keep the tv "out of sight, out of mind", and it's easier to make them forget it's there if you do it when they're young.

[One_Girl]

Do you have a movie rental place around you? If so you can rent one a week and live off of that. You might also bring in the titles of some cartoons you want to get on tape and then ask the librarian to put them on hold or do an interlibrary loan. At our library the good things are almost always checked out but they exist and we can get them eventually through holds.

If the cartoon is crap and you don't want it viewed in your house but there is no tv alternative you could also give the option of watching the show he is allowed to watch or turning the tv off and finding something else to do. If he just wants to sit on the couch there are other things that can fill up the time on the couch like reading, drawing, talking to you, listening to books on tape or songs on the radio, or playing with some toys on the couch, or moaning about how unfair life is while you read a book somewhere else after you acknowledge his feelings and reaffirm the tv rules and choices.

[GooeyRN]

Originally Posted by jillmamma

Do you ever watch PBS? They have some shows on in the afternoons that are geared more for older kids...Arthur, Ruff Ruffman, Between the Lions, etc. and no commercials. We don't get cable/satellite, so if it is on, PBS is the most watched channel.

I was going to second Between the lions and Arthur. I think there is a show ZOOM too on PBS. And zaboomafu. They are appropriate for a 6 year old.

[*Kelly*]

My older kids are rarely allowed to watch TV. But, we watch nature shows and such sometimes. They both know how to mute the commercials and we often have the conversations about why commercials exist/how to recognize when people are trying to sell you something.

[Elastagirl]

Ditto to PBS, Discovery channel shows and HBO family (haha! The theme song is stuck in my head now!) We also talk a lot about the shows as they're happening -- particularly the Discovery shows, so commercials are the perfect time to discuss the show so far and tune out the commercials. I like the idea of putting commercials on mute!

We also talk a lot about how we don't listen to everything they advertise on TV and just because we see it, we don't have to buy it. Ds, 5, will say, " I saw something really cool in a commercial, but I'm definitely NOT going to buy it, mama!"

[SabraMamma]

Originally Posted by phathui5

The Electric Company (awesome old TV show)

They are currently making NEW Electric Company shows that should start airing in about a year or two.

Other PP's have said it- but PBS has shows for older kids- the PBS Go! shows- Postcards from Buster, Maya and Miguel, Ruff Ruffman, DragonflyTV, Arthur, etc. My almost 8 yr old DD watches some of these.

If you have digital cable, some of the PBS stations have digital channels geared solely towards a certain age range. Here we have a PBS Go! channel.

[Butterflymom]

I just wanna throw out my case for not having a television at all, in case it sounds decent enough to repeat to your DH and then you have no issue at all. Here's what we do:

We have a projector that can be attached to a DVD player, an iPod dock, or our newest purchase, a hard drive/box/player/thingy that can hold 500 gigs of movies, etc.... and we have room for our entire DVD/television episode library and everything we would ever want to add for years to come. We use one empty wall in our living room to project the picture onto when it's dark enough to see it (obviously after dark at night, but also first thing in the morning it's dim enough to see it quite well also, since the sun isn't high/bright enough or shining into the room at that time). If you had a room with no windows that would be ideal, as you could use it anytime.

What we do to get material is ask our friend who is a friendly pirate and downloads material off the net and burns it onto discs and gives it to us. Then we can put the discs into the DVD player or then upload them onto our new box thingy, and watch them on the wall from there. My mom sends tons of the kids' favorite shows from the Noggin channel, as well as sesame street episodes, from her dvd burner at home, from the tv, which has no commercials, and if I want I can borrow from the library and upload onto our box while we're borrowing it. My kids (4 & 2) love Backyardigans, Dora, and Diego quite much, which I view as relatively harmless and decent soundtrack to it so I don't go mad. I'd never handle commercials playing in my home, even on a radio, after having none of it for 6 years.
The projectors aren't so expensive if you buy one used. Ours is mounted on the ceiling so it's really a home theatre style deal and you don't have to worry about the kids knocking it off a table.