TVs in bedrooms

[UnquietDad]

ooh, this might kick something off!

Doesn't surprise me. Also this comment "Poorer children were six times more likely to watch TV during their evening meals," probably because poorer families do not have the luxury of devoting one room to a diningroom or have a big dining kitchen.

There is an element of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle here too. Middle-class families hear that it is "common" to have TVs in the children's bedrooms and so hold off doing it for as long as possible...

Mrs spoon there is no excuse for not turning the TV OFf, whilst eating. Even if it is in the same room people have to eat in.

just because there is a tv in the room, doesn't mean it has to be switched on.

I wouldn't have a tv in my son's room - he reads up there or listens to music/stories on his cd player - if he wants to watch television then he does it downstairs.

UQD, DD1's friends at state primary all had TVs in their bedrooms but now that she's at independent secondary, very few do, so there's definitely something in it. Having said that, she still wants one and DH and I both find it hard to give her a good reason why not. We can't really say: "Because it's common", can we?! She's not getting one, though, no matter how much she pesters us - not least because she ought to be doing a little more studying and a little less telly-watching, as her report and exam results demonstrated!

i hate tv's in bedrooms, friends and family think i'm cruel and outdated- but i will not let a child have a tv in their room until they are of a suitable age (teens!)

Loads of people we know sit on the sofa watching telly and eating meals perched on their knees not because they haven't got a table but because the parents don't want to have to talk to the kids about the day!

We're holding out, but others are not.

We're also holding out against the tyranny of the Playstation, although parents of teenagers have said that they won't go round to the houses of those who haven't got them.

my DS's are only young so i've not had to deal with the games console thing yet!!! I dread to think what'll be said about me then!

My pet hate is young children being put to bed with a dvd on to send them to sleep!

Mine are only 7 and 4, but some of DD's contemporaries alrady have playstations

i have a Wii but it is in the pavillion and only used by adults (games room- dh wanted one for the novelty factor but i think its been used oh twice!!)

We only have one tv, in the main living room.

We're dead posh, us.

(mind you, ds (12) just spent the entire weekend glued to his psp)

We do have a PS2, inherited from BIL when he moved to the States. We got it when the DDS were about 5 and 8, I suppose. To be honest, they don't use it much, and never have. Occasionally, when they have friends over, they'll play with the Eye Toy or the Karaoke, but they're not actually that interested. I think it may be more of a a "boy" thing, though - my friend's DSs are ALWAYS on their WII and head for the PS2 the minute they get through my front door. Oh, and they rarely leave the house without their Nintendos.

It always amazes me that many people who moan about being skint seem to have enough for a plasma screen TV, Playstation and DVD, new mobile phones etc. Their kids are on free meals but they can afford more hi-tech goods than us.

When I go to m y book group meetings I am always amazed at the sizes of the televisions people have in their homes - mine is teeny and I feel a bit embarrassed !

Same here, MaryAnne! Well, not so much tiny, as 15 years old and rather old fashioned. Fortunately it lives in a cupboard so I can close the doors and no-one can see how un-trendy we are!

nearlythere - I think the Wii is destroying my marriage. Dh goes on it with my brother every spare moment.

We have a 15-year-old portable, and a knackered old matte black thing in the living-room which chops the edges off credits on American shows. I'm sure they deliberately make programmes in wide ratios to encourage people to buy new TVs they don't need.

My dc will most definately NOT have a tv in their bedroom. We have one old telly in the lounge and one small even older one in our bedroom. That one is a left over from when I was heavily pregnant and feeling so ill I could not leave the bed.

Even though my dc are 8 and 4, we do have a Playstation. However, time on it is strictly limited and controlled. It is a fab bargaining tool - do your homework/feed the dog/clean your room then you can play on it for a while. Likewise it is withdrawn as punishment and really works!

At the end of the day, we don't watch too much tv, take meals together at the dining table, have a large garden with trampoline where the dc are to be found 75% of their free time, they both have plenty of hobbies and sporting activities, so a little bit of playstation at the end of the day to unwind/relax is not too bad imho.

But tv's in teh bedroom - no way! I want to be able to control what they watch and when they watch it!

margo- put it in the shed and buy a padlock which only you have the key to!!! I laughed at chrimbo when loads of people threw the remote thing through their tv's!!!

we have one normal sized telly (about 20"), and dd1 (9) and ds1 (6) both have Nintendo DSs (DS was given his, and then we succumbed and bought one for older dd for her birthday).
BUT we have just been given a nintendo Wii plus about 8 games by a friend who came to stay for the weekend! And it is definitely addictive. So I have unilaterally imposed a new rule - NO telly, NO nintendo DSs, NO computers and NO Wii before 6pm every day.

Of course that doesn't apply to me on my computer because I'm not playing games, I'm Doing Important Things That Need To Be Done(ahem)

I am do glad my dh shows no interest in computer games! I think the men can be as bad as the kids!

Re TV - as a kid we had one ig one (15 years old) and one little one that was in another room so my sister and I could watch what we wantd - but my parents were always in and out so we were supervised! I think the lack of supervision is the problem with having a tv or computer in the room. You never know what they are up to and they can sneak it on when they should be asleep etc.

Will not ever let ds have a TV in his room or a PC. DP isolated himself and in his oopinion having tv and computer in his room helped him to socially isolate himself. He has had problems socially because of this.

I also see th TV as a family thing mainly, isant on all the time and ds can take it or leave it. We have a playstation which we also use as a DVD player and ds again can take or leave it.

We are lucky ot have a kitchen/diner so eat our meals at the table. Also have new carpets so NO food in the lounge . Tbh if we only had a lounge I would put a folding dining table in there (did at my old house).

Will not ever let ds have a TV in his room or a PC. DP isolated himself and in his oopinion having tv and computer in his room helped him to socially isolate himself. He has had problems socially because of this.

I also see th TV as a family thing mainly, isant on all the time and ds can take it or leave it. We have a playstation which we also use as a DVD player and ds again can take or leave it.

We are lucky ot have a kitchen/diner so eat our meals at the table. Also have new carpets so NO food in the lounge . Tbh if we only had a lounge I would put a folding dining table in there (did at my old house).

I will never understand people who spend good money on huge flash tv's. The family across the road have a mahoosive wide screen. It faces the window, so we can see what they are watching from our house across the road. Why?? Okay have a modern tv when your old one breaks down, but one so big it takes up half the wall of an average sized lounge?