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Original poster

TV in child’s room… what’s your stance?

30 replies

Screenager · 27/11/2025 22:29

I have a 16yr old and 12yr old. I have always said no to tellies in bedroom. DH and I don’t have one in our room either.

But 16yr old has asked for one for Christmas and I have relented due to the fact that he spends most of his time in there anyway, on his computer or phone so he may as well have a telly for entertainment.

My 12yr old has mentioned wanting one, but I have said no as she still likes to spend the evening with us in the lounge and I want to keep that going for as long as possible.

Edit to say that 12yr old doesn’t have any sort of computer, but does have a phone and will sit in her room on that for a little bit… but not all evening.

What’s your thinking around tellies in rooms?

OP posts:
ItsDarkNow · 27/11/2025 22:32

No. For anyone.

Original poster
Screenager · 27/11/2025 22:33

ItsDarkNow · 27/11/2025 22:32

No. For anyone.

Why?

OP posts:
AnneLovesGilbert · 27/11/2025 22:35

No. We have one tv and it’s in the living room.

Interested in this thread?

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12 year olds 16 year olds
ResusciAnnie · 27/11/2025 22:36

No but I’d choose a TV in the bedroom before I’d let any other tech in the bedroom.

We have a TV in our bedroom and I absolutely love it, was anti before DH convinced me and I can’t really think why I was anti (for grown ups). Love lying in bed watching telly. I don’t want my kids to have TVs in their rooms though because I would like to actually see them and not have them shut away all the time.

Interactive tech and internet search enabled tech in bedroom is a big no for me.

Burningbud1981 · 27/11/2025 22:36

Yes my boys have a TV in the bedroom but the remote is taken at night

Redwinedaze · 27/11/2025 22:37

We only have one in the living room.

StillCreatingAName · 27/11/2025 22:38

Being on a phone in their room is far more harmful than a TV, so why say no to the TV?

Checknotmymate · 27/11/2025 22:41

We have a no devices upstairs rule. I don't think I'd want a TV up there because in the 90s I'd go to friends houses and they'd be watching all sorts (soft porn on channel 5!) and now on demand they could end up watching loads of content you wouldn't want them to. But I guess if you've allowed phones they can access it all anyway.

AgentPidge · 27/11/2025 22:43

No to TVs in bedrooms. My DS got one when he began working and could afford to buy it, and I didn't feel I could continue to say no. Now he and DH watch films in DS's room and I mostly get the main TV to myself!

Kneeslikethese · 27/11/2025 22:43

I have one, it rarely gets used.
Ds 16 has one, he uses it for his Xbox.
Dd 17 choses not to have one, her choice.
Both have phones and laptops in their rooms.
I don't have a big issue with them, they regulate their screen time themselves.

Gallopingunicorns · 27/11/2025 22:49

We have a TV in the sitting room and one upstairs on the landing which the DC use for gaming mostly.

DH and I used to have a TV in our room pre-kids but I think with the advent of streaming services it has changed viewing habits. I don't like watching TV anymore. I find the choice far too overwhelming and I don't have the patience for a series so don't really bother. My DC aren't huge TV watchers either so it seems fairly pointless.

DramaAlpaca · 27/11/2025 22:54

We have TVs in two downstairs rooms, but not in bedrooms. I've never wanted a TV in the bedroom and to be fair, the DC never asked for them. If they had, the answer would've been no.

Then eldest DS turned 18 and bought himself one!

Copperoliverbear · 27/11/2025 22:57

Always let mine have one used to let them watch a film to fall asleep to will I got on with packed lunches ect for the next day, but I’d say have some rules.
no eating dinner upstairs watching tv and they’re only allowed to go upstairs and watch tv at a certain time.

CoralPombear · 27/11/2025 22:58

It doesn’t bother me. Both teens and ourselves have tvs in bedrooms but we aren’t much of a watching tv household really. Occasionally DH and I will watch something on Netflix or similar and continue it upstairs but dc1 mainly watches the downstairs tv, rarely using their own and dc2 just uses theirs for gaming.

Peclet · 27/11/2025 23:02

No tvs in bedrooms no phones in rooms overnight.

dd17- has devices for life/college but fished homework/revision around 7pm the we eat and watch something together on they nights they don’t do sport.

ds14 has a laptop for school work and is a devil for watching Netflix in her room- so we limit it and watch things together of a evening. She can “rot” in bed watching selling sunset on weekend mornings before her sports!

usedtobeaylis · 27/11/2025 23:27

Mine has a TV in her room. I'm not a big telly watcher and never really had a TV in my bedroom until I had one during covid. I never used it after the initial novelty so let her have it in her room - and then she never watched it either. It was basically a dust collector for ages. Then she started watching the odd thing just as the TV gave up the ghost and asked for a new one for Christmas. It's hardly on again as she's normally downstairs with me where the TV is just usually background noise, but sometimes she does like to just squirrel herself away and watch endless episodes of something and I don't mind that at all. I get it. So your 12 year old may watch it but still prefer to be with you overall.

Arpegios · 28/11/2025 00:00

Is this thread from the 90s? No one has TVs in their room anymore. It's phones and iPads these days. Which is much much worse than TVs by the way.

Wickedd · 28/11/2025 00:02

Yes to 16 yr old
No to 12 yr old until 16 or that’s completely unfair to 16 yr old.

Strokethefurrywall · 28/11/2025 02:24

We have one in each room but rarely do we watch them separately - 14 might watch something in his room if he’s sick (same for me) but we generally all watch together in the main room.

We only put a TV in our bedroom recently and one in the gym, and that’s probably the only other one that gets used most often.

i didn’t grow up with one in my room, i think i was 16 before i got one, and my kids have never been that bothered to have one.

lxn889121 · 28/11/2025 03:40

I had one as a kid, but I won't be getting one for my son.

Firstly because TVs are not the same. Mine was small and awful to watch, and only had basic channels at first (so nothing exciting in the evening etc.) Which is very different to even basic smart TVs today...

But mostly because I don't want to segregate my Child away to their room or "kids spaces". I know that they will naturally want their space as a teenager, but I don't want to push that. When I was growing up my parents let me have tech in my room (computer, TV, games). I loved it because I could do what I wanted, and they liked it because they could do what they wanted in the main living areas. But it meant that we were increasingly segregated/separate. They dominated one area, and I scuttled off to my area..

I don't want that with my son - I want us to be much more together. For example, I could never ever play video games (or any toys) in the living room during the evening, because my dad wanted to watch TV, and it had to be exactly what he wanted, every night. For my son, I want us to be close enough, able to communicate enough, and flexible enough to all use the common spaces in the house in a reasonable way. Sometimes together, sometimes doing our own thing, but doing so in the same few common rooms/spaces (dining room, living room, study)

Nightlight8 · 28/11/2025 04:10

Arpegios · 28/11/2025 00:00

Is this thread from the 90s? No one has TVs in their room anymore. It's phones and iPads these days. Which is much much worse than TVs by the way.

Plenty of kids have a TV in their room. DS plays his PS5. He's good though around bedtime never caused any issues once I ask him to turn it off. Sometimes he will watch a film if he's tired too.

Salvadoridory · 28/11/2025 04:26

Kitchen, bedrooms, garden. We have loads of TVs, a mirrory one in my bathroom as well. I love telly and we all like the background elements of it. Horses for courses. Speaking of which I saw a horse at my stables the other day who has one opposite her stall that plays horsey stuff 24/7.

GiveTheDogAPringle · 28/11/2025 04:57

My kids have had tvs in their bedrooms since they were young although never watched them much. Once they were teens they also had iPads, PCs, phones, laptops as well as a tv in their room that they use for Netflix, Amazon etc. They prefer watching films and series on a tv rather than a smaller screen.

They still spend time with us and have always turned things off when they need to wind down etc. Neither of our kids have ever been addicted to their phones and although they both love gaming, they do plenty of other things. They’re older teen and adults now and we’ve never had any issues issues due to the tvs or any other tech in their rooms.

We have a tv in our room as well. I love watching tv in bed and hate watching things on a small screen.

boulevardofbrokendreamss · 28/11/2025 05:16

Dts don’t have one (15), purely because they haven’t asked. They have iPads and laptops and watch Netflix on those. I have a tv in my room. Love watching TV in bed in winter, not so much in the summer. They’ll still come in with me to watch things like IACGMOOH

GrannyTeapot · 28/11/2025 05:22

I have a no devices after dinner time rule, and the only TV in the house is in my bedroom and rarely gets watched.
I moved the TV out of the living room a few years ago and I’m so glad I did, the room is really relaxed and we play cards/board games/read/knit/chat etc more than before…it feels so cosy.