do you have any " not v" days?

[cod]

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[cod]

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[Enid]

god no

[cod]

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[Enid]

we have 'sweetie day' though

[vict17]

God no, can't survive without it!!! But imo Saturday is probably best day as TV is generally crap. Cod - do you have a no mumsnet day?!!

[Enid]

lol

[Xzebra]

We don't even own a telly.
I am so glad to be free of children's tv & tv in general. Don't think I could cope with it, tbh. We have great fun when we go to a B+B or visit friends & get to watch tv... for about 10 minutes. Then we remember how 99.9% of it is cr*p, anyway.
We have plenty of computer games & dvds, but DS is allowed 1/2 hour of computer games which must be followed by 1 hour of no computer games at all. He seems to really like these rules, actually. He was getting very wound up by constant playing The Simpsons before that.
We generally say no movies during meal times, too.

[Enid]

I have friends who don't have a telly. Very confusing when you throw tv related comments into conversation. They are very smug about reading lots of books instead

[KBear]

We have plenty of no tv time but not a no tv day - surely the children would wonder why they were allowed to watch yesterday but not today. Seems like a pointless rule in my opinion.

First contraversial comment on MN EVER - look how fast I can duck and run for cover......eeekkk

[cod]

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[Wallace]

Some days we don't have the tv on at all (the kids I mean, not us!), but would never have a "no tv day" rule, as you don't know when you might need it. Especially on a Sunday when you might want to..erm.."pop upstairs"

[jodee]

Oohh Wallace, whatever do you mean?

I can't wait for the TWO TELLYS we are having delivered this week!

[Wallace]

To put the ironing away in the drawers of course...

[Xzebra]

Coddy -- thing about not having a telly/only watching dvds on computers is that my kids get bored of seeing the same dvd's over & over, instead of having 99 channels (or whatever Sky offers, everyone around here seems to have Sky). So they don't watch as much... plus they can't operate the software themselves, so no turning the movie on without our help/guidance. A lot of the kid movies we have are unusual stuff, The Iron Giant, BFG, Just So stores.... We have few dvds from modern kid's tv series, and my kids aren't so tempted by toys based on whatever tv series. Plus I don't have to deal with ADVERTS. I'm not pestered to buy this or that, I really sweat thinking about dealing with advertising at kids.

We exchange gifts with DH's cousin's boys, who are 6, nearly 5 and nearly 3. Xmas I asked what the boys wanted. "Oh," cousin said, "the older ones are into Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles. The youngest, bless him, is still into Tractor Tom and Bob the Builder". I was flummoxed, didn't know what to buy, so I checked with the boy's grandmother. "Oh", she said, "apparently they're into Power Rangers, Nina Turtles..."

What toys my kids wanted for Xmas is not based on TV characters, that just blew me away. But, Not being judgemental, I hope, just factual, I think that's really common in this age group.

[coldtea]

I have no tv when i want to spend good quality time with ds. Or if he has mis-behaived i tell ds i have 'cancelled' sky , basically involves switching it off from the back!!

This has worked wonders for the past year until last week when i said "i have no idea why sky isn't working" & he said "it's ok mummy the switch was off at the back"

Damn........!

[KarenThirl]

We have set times for tv, and ds can have extra for good behaviour. I don't think you can get away with no tv at all because it affects kids' peer relationships - they're all talking about their favourite tv programmes and it's not fair to isolate your kids by not letting them have at least occasional access to it (IMO).

In our home tv/videos/dvds mean the same thing. If it's time for an hour of telly then it's one or the other - you can't have an hour of each. J's been brought up that way and doesn't know any different, so it works for us.

[feelingold]

Personally I think TV is like everything else kids want, it's ok in moderation. We do not have a no TV day either, but if the kids have been watching tv or on the playstation for an hour then they have to be turned off and they go and do something else. When the weather is nice out we do not usually have the tv/pstation/computer on at all as we go out in the garden, but if it's holiday time and it's raining (like today) we may have them on for a little longer but certainly not all day.
As for advertising, my 3 see things and say 'wow that toy or whatever looks great', but that's as far as it goes because they get pocket money and they know that if they want something when it's not birthdays or xmas they have to save up for it and when it comes to spending their own money rather than mine they are very careful what they spend it on and do not waste it. (mine are 10, 9 and 4 1/2 by the way.)

[SeaShells]

Most days are no tv days, the kids tend to watch the same dvds and vidoes repeatedly and I just don't like much thats on lately. I wouldn't set specific days that are 'no tv days', it just goes on when we want to watch something in particular rather than it being on talking to itself most of the time.

[hoxtonchick]

like cod, we have quite strict limits. which go out the window a bit when dp gets up with ds or i'm feeling knackered & pregnant. we got a dvd player last week & yesterday ds asked to watch "the one with the man eating all the chips" - supersize me..... he didn't believe me when i said it was boring.

ps just watched one of the new series of balamory & it was really funny. i think i need to get out more .

[Titania]

I limit the TV watching anyway. They watch the cartoons etc in the morning and in the evening after school and the occasional video which we all sit down and watch together. I can't stand the telly on as 'background noise' We would all rather put a cd on and bop round the house!! uses up more energy!! The only time the telly is on more is if one of the kids is ill and laying on the sofa. There are days when I don't put the telly on. We do something like play games, colouring, making things or if I am feeling brave, we go into town on the train.

[wordsmith]

Zebra - you don't have to watch adverts you know. What about the jolly old BBC - whoever thought up Cbeebies should be knighted IMO.

I agree with feelingold - evrything in moderation. I think if you deny kids something that other kids do/see regularly, they will feel left out and, when they do get to indulge, will go totally OTT. My DS likes TV but isn't hooked on it!

As for toys, again, it's not compulsory to buy Power Rangers!!

[Bozza]

I'm not sure about this argument about denying kids something being bad because they will then go the other way when they get chance. It came up on the food thread as a reason to feed them junk etc and now its coming up on here.

I hadn't really thought about it but we have no TV days when the kids are at nursery - 3 days. Thats because they are out of the house most of the day and when we are all together I think we should be playing/talking/eating and not watching TV. We always eat in a room without a TV and if my kids are elsewhere (grandparents) and the TV is on the background they are very distracted.

Often DS will watch something on a Friday afternoon after swimming because this can be a tired time for him. He mainly watches videos/DVDs with a little Cbeebies and he also likes most sports. The only time he watches commercial TV is Noddy on a weekend morning in our bed. And he drives me mad because he does not understand the concept of adverts. He has now decided "I don't like adverts" - good enough for me but don't suppose it will last. We don't have Sky - only Freeview.

[Bozza]

Probably DS only watches TV twice a week on average. Last time was Lion King on Friday which he had to watch in 3 goes because I kept dragging him out somewhere.

[Mud]

oh the horror of the thought of a day without tv

[dabihp]

I dont limit amount of tv dd can watch. but its usually only cbeebies, countdown or "the man cooking dinner" - ready steady cook... oh and Neighbours and The Simpsons.... lol


HOWEVER, my daughter is still very active, very clever, very confident and very sociable...

So, whats the harm , really?