Tv in kids room

[Pumpkin5piced]

Ds 9 is asking for a tv. He watches it constantly in living room anyway so won’t really increase screen time, will just free up living room tv for others.
I’m worried about night times though. I won’t want him watching it at bed time but can see it being a battle.
What rules do others have around tv in bedrooms?

Also, is it possible to get one that can access Netflix but not youtube?

Get him a telly. My ds used to fall asleep watching it as he didn't like falling asleep in the dark Not done him any harm and I got my bed back to myself.

[quote Pumpkin5piced]@0nlyMe mines the same, obsessed with YouTube. I also have passcodes for the apps on the living room tv, so I can control when he puts YouTube on, turning it off is another story though. He watches gamers with the most annoying voices ever. If he’s not watching that or playing the iPad he literally climbs the walls and goes into meltdown. Only option is to go out.

@Retrievemysanity I don’t have YouTube, or the internet browser on his iPad. At least with YouTube on the living room tv I can hear what he’s watching. But actually, I may rethink this. All he does on the iPad is play roblox. If I allow YouTube on there he’ll have to choose between the 2 rather than doing both simultaneously as he does now. I’ll also be able to control the screen time on the iPad and only allow an hour a day of YouTube.

Still not sure how I can solve the issue of YouTube on bedroom tv though[/quote]
Can you not sort the ipad so he can have Netflix etc in there and that becomes his telly? So he can roblox or watch telly or watch YouTube but not all three?

@Dillyjones72

No way to a tv in either of our kids rooms. We have 9 and 11 year old. And if he’s hogging the family tv I would suggest that he’s watching too much tv or you need to kick him off it if you want to watch a programme Or he can compromise by putting something on that everyone’s wants to watch.

You sound like you'd be a right laugh at parties.

God I miss the 80s when parents didn't give a fuck about stuff like this

There was limited stuff on TV in the 80s.

TVs in children’s room are bad for sleep hygiene and quiet study. It allows for unlimited screen time in many cases. You are the parent. Say no, and stand your ground.

I will prob get slaughtered for this but my DD has had a smart TV in her room since she was about one and a half. She likes to watch Peppa for a bit before bed, it's majorly helped us with the bedtime routine. Mumsnet is not the real world and everyone acts like technology is the devil.

Mine are 19 and 20 now, they never had tv in their bedrooms, much preferred their company of an evening if they were in. Both off at uni now so they can watch all night long if it suits them.

Yes we had to make age appropriate choices til they went to bed, but hey ho.

I have a 12 year old diagnosed with ASD. TV in his room would be a massive no from me. He asked previously and I said no and it hasn’t been brought up again. My lad would stay on YouTube forever if I let him, but too much screen time has a negative impact on his behaviour and social skills so we regulate his screen time.
No screens past 9pm because it was effecting his sleep when he was allowed screens later then that. So now he reads to relax before sleep.
Every child is different and you have to base your decision on what will work best for him. If you think he could have a tv in his room and not effect his sleep etc then do it.

It's a big no from me. And I don't agree with TVs in bedrooms full stop. It's very bad for sleep patterns and general health.

@Ericaequites

TVs in children’s room are bad for sleep hygiene and quiet study. It allows for unlimited screen time in many cases. You are the parent. Say no, and stand your ground.

It’s possible to have quiet study and a tv in their room. It has an off switch. It’s only a problem if they can’t control their viewing habits. As for ‘ sleep hygiene’ whatever that is they can turn the tv off and go to sleep too.

Do whatever works for you!
Oldest DC had a TV at about 7 and youngest at 6. Both a smart TV with pre installed apps. Neither of them are glued to their screens and they are unplugged at night. No big deal, everything in moderation! They also have plenty of books/toys/time playing outside etc so I don't see the big deal

I wouldn’t have TVs in the bedroom. I loved reading in bed as a child. Both my kids read in bed too. We have one tv downstairs.

None of mine had tv in rooms, not until late teens for gaming consoles. We had tv in living room only. I don’t see what they need a tv in their rooms for. My youngest has no screens before sleep as he’s on melatonin so we have quite a mellow sleep routine. V calming so I couldn’t do that if there was tv blaring in the corner of the room. That’s my choice as their parent though, what’s best for my sons. I didn’t have one in my room either. Not sure how it would make me dull at parties? More to life than tv but if that’s your choice for your child that’s fine. Sharing your own choice/experience doesn’t make it wrong.

I have no issues with kids having a tv in tbe bedroom in general. My daughter had one from about 5. I really don’t see why some people are against it but each to their own I suppose.

What's odd is the number of people on here saying their child has a TV in their room but never watches it.

I have nothing against TV but a child watching TV is not doing something else. That half an hour of TV every evening could be half an hour of reading independently for enjoyment. Reading is far more beneficial - it's learning English by stealth. That's 3.5 hours a week of time lost. You can't get the same benefits back by slogging through spellings and grammar exercises. Or the child could be being active, or drawing or playing Lego etc. The fact that the child may do those things as well is fine but they are not spending nearly as much time as they would were they not losing hours to TV.

I think a lot of parents stick the TV on because they don't want the noise or mess of children actually playing.

No idea about autistic children so not a dig at the OP, but for most normal children I can't see any advantage to the child of watching TV. The benefits are for the parent. Which is fine but don't tell yourself it won't adversely affect your child to watch hours of TV every week.

Also it depends on your set up in the house and what everyone wants to watch on tv.
Wall to wall football/f1 etc in my living room wasn’t really my thing.

Dd10 has had a tv in her room from 8 and she only really watches it on weekend mornings and maybe a bit before she goes to bed.
It’s not ‘tv addict’ or nothing, there can be a balance.

@SnackSizeRaisin

I have no issues with kids having a tv in tbe bedroom in general. My daughter had one from about 5. I really don’t see why some people are against it but each to their own I suppose.

What's odd is the number of people on here saying their child has a TV in their room but never watches it.

I have nothing against TV but a child watching TV is not doing something else. That half an hour of TV every evening could be half an hour of reading independently for enjoyment. Reading is far more beneficial - it's learning English by stealth. That's 3.5 hours a week of time lost. You can't get the same benefits back by slogging through spellings and grammar exercises. Or the child could be being active, or drawing or playing Lego etc. The fact that the child may do those things as well is fine but they are not spending nearly as much time as they would were they not losing hours to TV.

I think a lot of parents stick the TV on because they don't want the noise or mess of children actually playing.

No idea about autistic children so not a dig at the OP, but for most normal children I can't see any advantage to the child of watching TV. The benefits are for the parent. Which is fine but don't tell yourself it won't adversely affect your child to watch hours of TV every week.

Careful you don’t fall off that high horse of yours! Jesus Christ could you be anymore judgemental! Dd watches crafting videos and then she sits at the dining table and sketches, paints or plays with clay … plenty of mess that we are happy to clear up afterwards! Ffs

Ours have a TV, but in their bedrooms on a timer, they go up to bed a bit earlier than lights out, they get 30 mins TV, then it goes off. Then 30 mins quiet play before lights out. They either watch a DVD, or Netflix, we have chrome casts in the back of the TVs, so we can control what is cast to the TV from our phone.

@Maudey im not sure if that was aimed at me, but our bedtime routine does involve reading, playing and chatting. He definitely wouldn’t be able to watch tv to go to sleep as I know it would cause issues for my child as he would stay awake and tantrum over turning it off. However, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing for other children to watch their favourite tv programme before going to sleep. I used to do it, it done me no harm.

@SnackSizeRaisin Just wanted to point out, not everything has to have an advantage or a benefit. I watch tv in the evenings, because I like it. I definitely could use the time more productively, but I’d rather not. I need downtime.

We didn't bother with a TV but went for a chrome book instead. It has access to Netflix and Disney. I'm not sure what you could do about YouTube other than regulate in some way or take the device out of the bedroom at night. We felt the chrome book gave more flexibility in the long run ie games, homework etc.

I had a strict no tv in the bedroom rule.

But I ended up with an ASD child with anxiety, so rules must change.

When she was little, we would put on a sleep timer and take the remote that controlled the tv power so she couldn’t turn it on without us. Her remote just controlled the selection and the volume. We also set it up so she had only approved content, so streaming services with her kid accounts and a home server we set up ourselves. No actual tv connection.

At this point she is a young teen and we know we can trust her so she has the actual remotes and full control, but that is how we kept things in the beginning.