To think TV's are not evil.....

[VinegarTits]

Why are some people so against dc watching a bit of TV?

Is it the work of the devil or summit?

My tv's always on. Sometimes it's cbeebies, sometime it's something I want to watch, but it's always on. Ds watches it on and off really, he brings his toys to the living room and switches between playing and watching tv, but because it's always there, he doesn't seem overly bothered.
There are plenty worse than a bit of tv, IMO if it keeps them quite and gives you time to do other things at some point, the great.
It's difficult this time of year I think, not like we can soend all day running around in a cold park and in door play centres can be quite expensive if you look to go a few times a week.

ITNG - crack for babies!

Having witnessed little Ff's (10mo)don't care attitude towards the TV, I couldn't believe her reaction towards Iggle Piggle and his weird little friends. I have a few episodes on the Sky+ now, for when I have to be in the kitchen, or if Bloke and I are later than her tea. I don't think there is anything the matter with a bit of TV, but like everything, there has to be a balance.

LOL dd2 is the same she had never so much as raised an eyebrow at the tv when dd1 had it on untill ITNG. She is over the moon with all of her ITNG toys she got for xmas and rushes to the tv with her upsy daisy dolly every time she hears the theme tune. She shows the tv her doll. I think maybe she thinks upsy daisy can see her through the tv. Bless.

Ok so the concensous is, TV in moderation is fine

But is there anyone why doesnt allow their dc to watch any TV at all

I am genuinely interesting in your reasons why?

I know quite a few people who do this and it's bonkers. I also know a lot of people who ban all telly and computer games during the week.

I find this strange as I realy don't mind my kids watching a bit of telly after they've been working hard all day at school and doing the homework but come the weekend, I really want them to be out and about doing things rather than stuck inside catching up on T.

I have no problem with tv in principle, don't think its wrong or will turn children into axe murderers or anything like that. We don't have one, but that doesn't mean I disapprove of others who do. But . . . I do disagree with those who say that children who don't have tvs are fascinated by them. DD (age 6) has no particular interest & just doesn't seem to 'get it' at all - if she's round playing at her friend's next door & friend wants to watch telly then dd usually comes home. She does like some dvds, but only a very small number, and even those she doesn't ask for often.

I agree with the opinion of TV in moderation. I don't think TV is evil. However, when children or adults watch too much TV, this is bad. I also don't understand why so many people have to have the TV on all the time (I read some reasons above, but these are unusual circumstances). Although children will play with other things while the TV is on, I find that they will not fully concentrate on their puzzle or whatever they're playing with. Won't they become used to having the TV on all the time? How do they react when the TV is not on?
I really dislike to see TVs in children's bedrooms. I think if children are watching so much TV that they need their own one then they watching too much.

young children with TVs in their room that is!

ds can count to 10 in spanish from watching dora when he was smaller.
Sometimes tv is needed, like when I need to clean and keep ds out from under my feet. If its off though he's not bothered, will play quite happily.

I am guilty of having the tv on all day, even when no kids here just for background noise which is terrible

TV is a god as far as im concerned, without it i would never have got anything done when kids were little.

All hail TV

I hate TV. It's rare that I find something I can watch for the entire length of a programme. At night I go to bed early and read because DP loves sports channels. So from my POV it's pretty evil.

The DC's however watch it when they want - DS1 likes it, DS2 will not look at it for more than 5 seconds. I find myself migrating to different rooms when it's on though because of the din and the general crap. Backyardigans kills me.

I don't generally have the tv on much. It's most likely to be in the kitchen at breakfast time or DS's tea time while I'm getting his meal ready or clearing up.

He doesn't sit and watch any programmes on tv specifically either - we don't have it on in the lounge while he's playing or anything. It's just never occurred to me to put cbeebies on or anything tbh.

I have one friend with a DC who we went to visit a few months ago. They have a fairly small lounge and a very big (instrusive) tv, and it was on for the entire duration of our visit. I didn't really understand why. If we did have the tv on it would go off as soon as someone came round.

Vinegar - in response to your question, yes - I don't allow my dd to watch any tv at all. We have a rule - the tv isn't switched on in our house until after 7pm when she is in bed. She doesn't miss what she's never had, and for as long as possible I'll continue to make sure she doesn't watch it. She's two now and has never watched a programme although obviously she has seen tv's as other people have them on when we visit them and she sees them in the shops etc. I have many reasons for this stance - and I certainly don't judge others who watch tv with their children. In fact, I often feel judged by the people who justify the fact that their own dc watch tv. I would never tell any parent not to allow their dc to watch tv... whereas they forever tell me how educational programmes are, what a Godsend they are, how I'm depriving dd etc - when I never even mention it. The main reasons why I don't want my children watching tv is that I don't like all the branding - fair enough watch a programme and get to know the characters but its the hard sell on DVDs, lunch boxes, clothing, character toys etc etc etc. Dd doesn't know who Iggle Piggle or whoever is - and is happy just playing with her standard toys. I also think that tv can be passive - fully appreciate that there are a wealth of learning opportunities out there and for parents who interact with their children while watching tv there must be so much to learn (I'm not saying its a bad thing to just use tv on occasion for the children to watch on their own either - I'm just saying that the educational opportunities are there when you interact with the children about what they're seeing too) but personally I prefer to use other methods to interact with my dd. I don't feel like I'm 'better' than anyone who does watch tv. It doesn't feel like an effort not to watch it, and me and dh only watch occasional tv ourselves after dd is in bed - wouldn't really bother me to get rid of the tv altogether. Perhaps we will, perhaps we won't. I don't think of it as a big issue.

great post happynappies

I love the telly. But then I am the devil.

Thanks happynappies, hope you dont think i was judging you, just want to hear your reasons and fully understand about the branding, which although i think is just a shit money making scheme, also is not harmful to dc as they dont really see it as branding, and anyway, when you go into shops the merchandise is there for dc to see so you cant really avoid it.

Your dd is still very young though so is probably not that bother by tv yet anyway, as is my ds (same age) but what about when she gets older and goes to school and all her friends are taliing about tv programs they like, will you still ban TV then?

I'm not sure - I think I'll have to play it by ear. I wouldn't want her to be bullied because of our decision, so I'd have to see how her personality develops. If she is still not bothered about tv herself, and can sort of hold her own about being 'different' then we'll continue as we are but if it was going to make her life a misery I'd have to rethink! In some ways I feel like it myself as everyone is always talking about "Strictly" or "X-Factor" or whatever and I haven't a clue what they're talking about, but I realise it is different for an impressionable youngster who wants to fit in rather than an adult who has made her own choices... interesting question!

No, I didn't think you were judging me - just that I often feel like people do even though I only ever mention it if someone directly asks e.g. "Does your dd watch ITNG?" or "How much tv does your dd watch?".

As for the branding, because dd hasn't watched anything, she is obvlivious to all those branded toys in the shops and shows no interest, whereas I often hear about children who 'have to have' character toys etc. I know they aren't harmful in themselves... toys are toys and each to their own.

oblivious even!

The branding isn't an issue for us as they only watch CBBC, Cbeebies or DVD's.

As Compo first said, if I've taken my son out for fresh air and play and then he watches some tv I think it's fine. All about balance, and different ways or learning, relaxing and giving us a break too!

In fact I think it's good for kids to watch age appropriate television, especially if they are sat down for 1-2 progs, and not just left with the channel running on to other progs. My son learns so much from his favourites, Kipper, Maisy, Charlie and Lola, Tigger and Pooh, Fireman Sam, Mister Tumble. Mostly he's learning words, about helping, sharing, cause and effect etc.

I hate him watching anything too American, especially anything where they say "good jaaaaab!!" instead of well done ...

The problem I find is that having invested in Sky + even at 2.5 my son knows we can put on a programme on demand for him. Good as that is to save the age appropriate stuff, my husband and I can't lie and say it's not on, plus think that too much choice can be a prob.
Especially as when we were a bit older than him we would watch a nature programme or an old film or musical or whatever because it was the only thing on in "our day" (remeber the Saturday Matinee after the wrestling??).
But it was nice; nowadays kids have got so much choice on TV, and DS's and Wii's etc that they don't have to broaden their horizons past those interests. Hence when my imminent baby girl is older I shall be getting out the Sound of Music and other musicals to watch together.

until dd was 2.6 she just had no interest in tv at all. sometimes it was on when dh was watching rugby, but generally she was 'screen clean'. then, suddenly she got into tv, she LOVES films, more than tv programes. we stuck to dvd or bbc to avoid ads, and also because bbc show programmes where they've researched how many shots per minute a young brain can handle. it's the high speed cartoons that are actually NOT good for children under 2 - their brains can't process the info as quickly as it is fed to them, whereas teletubbies is at quite a slow speed - which is why us adults often find it dull. (can't remember who did the research, but one fo my 6th form used it in an essay when i taught media studies). hence, tv for veryyoung children, if the wrong kind, and in large amounts, could potentially be damaging & lesson their concentration. did you spot how many 'maybe's are involved. as far as i know there is NO evidence that up to 2 hrs a day, for childrne over 2, causes any problems at all.
i allow dd 1 -2 hrs a day, more if one of us is ill (not often) or it's horrible outside (minus 25 degrees last night), but there are days too many other things are going on. she is entranced by it & loves it to pieces, atm, we've just moved & she doesn't have friends calling round, so there's more tv than before. i'm sure this will change when spring comes.

one of my friends does seem to think that tv is 'evil' - i have seen her shielding her dc's eyes from it (twas a prog for older kids) and saying 'no don't look' when it was on in a pub. i'm happy with limiting it & making sure a wide range of other activities also take place in our household. dh does sometimes use it as lazy parenting, and that annoys me, as does any kind of incessant background noise, so i'd never cope with it being on in the background all day.

happynappies so why do you have a tv at all? Why is it fine as an adult but awful for a child? At what age will you allow her to watch tv with you?

My two are preschoolers and watch cbeebies occasionally. Mainly we watch pixar or disney films and things such as 'life on earth' which we have a boxset of and I believe is a brilliant thing for them to see and always prompts lots of questions.

Fair enough putting children in front of the tv all day is a bad thing but I don't see any reason in banning it all together?

I'd be interested to know at what age children start to ask for tv and feel left out for not having it. I've been waiting for it to happen, tbh, but so far at age 6 dd has shown no interest or desire to have a tv. I have started to wonder whether tv is a bit passe really in terms of playground culture - there are so many different things available now in terms of websites, computer games etc that there is no one specific thing that a child is missing out on.
We've also been waiting for request for nintendo ds etc, but again nothing so far - unfortunately what dd really, really, really wants (in this order) is (a) a shetland pony, (b) a parrot and (c) a monkey.

happynappies, I really agree with lots of your post, I definitely like the idea of controlling discussing what my children see and what it means. And brand awareness is frightening - though I hope to help dd and ds evauate and analyse their choices as they grow up.

We don't actually have a telly at all