Todays tip of the day

[anais]

"42% of three year olds in the UK have a TV in their bedroom. "

Discuss...

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Rhubarb - glad to hear you wouldn't dream of telling others how to raise their children - me neither!

Twinkie,

Don't do it, don't do it!!! (I am praying for your soul)

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HMC - I'm pleased that we agree! Do feel free to slag off my views if you disagree with them!

My dh buys the Mirror - what's a broadsheet? I don't think they sell them round here!

I don't think children's programmes are immoral at all. Or worse. What about Tikkabilla, Balamory, Teletubbies, Bear etc etc - all packed to the gills with education and strong moral messages about kindness etc etc. Ds likes to watch Fun Song Factory and Teletubbies and the odd bit of Bear In The Big Blue House. He also likes cbeebies in the morning (while I hide in the kitchen with the Today programme as much as he'll let me ). I think we all need to be a little bit lazy etc from time to time in order to be sane - esp at 6am.

I think Zingalong and B*rney are definitely immoral and should be banned

I'm another fan of good quality TV/videos in moderation. The other day DS1 (4) explained to me the finer details of a Blockade, because he had seen one on Babar the Elephant. I don't think I would have thought about teaching him such things for years. There are lovely stories read to them on cbeebies and I think if you get involved yourself by talking about the characters afterwards, it's very educational. I think the quality goes down a few pegs in the stuff for over 5's, which I will have to censor soon, and I think that is a real missed opportunity - just think what they could teach them if they embedded it in a cartoon! It's a very visial and immediate medium.

I tend to record stuff for him so I can control it. He'll probably never have a TV in his bedroom, but I don't encourage bedroom play either, and he doesn't like it. We prefer to do things together.

I think we need to chill about TV and worry about something more important. As long as you are sensible and limit the amount of time and control the quality and make sure they spend time running about outside (which mine do, far more than inside) etc, etc................. I'm sick of all the mummy-bashing in the media at the moment. None of us would be stupid enough to plonk kids in front of it all day every day and the few who do need much more radical help than surveys and finger-wagging.

I ran away this am during The Fimbles, though I know ds likes to watch it with me. Sometimes I'm just not strong enough...

Aloha, exactly. The today programme helps keep me sane and it's only possible because of cbeebies. I think that if you use the relaxation to help you to be a more cheerful, energetic mum, then it can only be a good thing. The families who use TV to totally ignore their children are probably doing other unpleasant things too. The TV is probably the best things in the lives of those poor children.

And another thing, while I'm having a rant. What do you think happened in our grandparents day? Did they spend all day talking to and stimulating their under fives? Did they ~#*$! They did housework from morning till night, there were few toddler groups, no transport and children were largely left to it. I'm all for boredom BTW, I agree that it's the mother of invention and we have plenty of it in our house too, just in case, but I think that these days there is far too much guilt about silly things and not enough thankfulness.

Sorry, I hope I haven't offended anyone, it's just that I always get a bee in my bonnet about this. I think it's because of my childhood and the differences between what I do for my kids and what my mother (didn't) do for me. IGNORE ME.

No telly in the nedrooms in our house. I feel very strongly about that in my own house, but I don't really care what other people do. I can see the good thing about a telly in the bedroom if you get an extra couple of hours sleep though. In my mind, everything is allowed for extra sleeptime

Droile, I don't think you are saying anything very controversial or that would upset anyone. I also wouldn't have a TV in ds's room personally. I don't have one in mine either. For us, TV is part of the mix of activities.

i agree with a few here that as long as it's with a mix of other activitiess then i can't see the harm in it! My dd is always out and about and when at home she's painting or having her art box(sticky stuff) out , or cooking or washing up!! Sometimes she just wants to sit and watch t.v and i let her! If that was all she ever wanted to do then i'd worry! As it is, when she wants to chill, i let her Have answered further down about t.v's in bedrooms, dd doesn't have one and neither do i but that a personal preference, i like quiet bedrooms

so if you had to work it out, how much t.v do your kids watch in one day?.......

I think Rhubarb just said what I was trying to say, but a lot better than me!

HMC, don't apologise, I was giggling about being called mrs angry!

Droile, it was really the after-5 age group progs I was referring to. We don't have sky, but I think most of the pre-school programmes are fairly harmless. It's all the nasty american cartoons that I dislike. Programmes for that age group seem to be just unpleasant, completely amoral and out to shock. I think back to the programmes of my childhood, and wish they would re-run some of them, they were wonderful! Hmm, I'm waffling now.

That's very gracious of you Anais - but I was a bit rude!

My children don't even have their own bedroom, never mind a TV...

agree with hmc's message - I don't think the chance watching of an undesirable TV progamme does untold damage as long as the home environment is OK. TV watching is a valuable wind down and part of a mix of activities in our household too.

My children don't have a TV in their bedroom but I have no strong feelings anti - there are so many ways of limiting viewing (pull out a cable, fiddle with the channels, lock the bedroom door etc). OK, your child may see something unspervised but unless you can say, hand on heart that you are always in the same room with tham when they watch any TV, then what's the difference? What's to stop you regularly checking up on them in the bedroom?

We have just got a TV in our bedroom and it's great. My 4 year old can watch things appropraite for his age - Thomas the Tank - while my 9 year old can watch something like Fort Boyard.
With a big age gap between children, having 2 TVs is a big plus.

Incidently, I am really happy for my 4 year old to watch toy ads - he knows he won't get the toys he sees usually. In the same vein we often go to toy shops to view the toys but not to buy them. Seeing toys in a shop or in theads holds his interest and fire his imagination. We talk about them later, and he describes the toys to me and what he likes about them.

He was looking at a box this morning and pointed to a word on it and said 'matchbox' - he'd learned the look of the word from a TV ad and knew he was picking out the word. Now that is something for him. He likes books but is not yet at the stage of wanting to read or recognising words from the alphabet (we have done simple worksheets but he's not that into them). If a toy ad can inspire him to search for words then that's fine with me!

My dad (I'MMMMM the man of the household) decided for us all, with no discussion, that he was getting rid of the tv when we were young and I spent lots of miserable school years pretending that I had watched things so I could fit in.

I think you can go too far. All things in moderation in my book.

I agree with you anais, those programmes are awful.

Was interested in tigermoth's take on adverts. DS only ever watches vidoes or occasionally cbeebies apart from that on a Saturday morning he will come into our bed and watch trans-world support with his daddy. This is his only exposure to adverts. And he doesn't even know they are adverts - it makes me laugh that he is so sheltered and innocent.