How much TV did you watch as a child?

[Orissiah]

I grew up in the 70s and 80s and don't remember TV being rationed. On school days there wasn't much time for TV but I certainly remember watching an hour or so after school and also watching a few hours of children's TV on Saturday and Sunday morning and then an hour in the evening (after a day of being out or playing).

I like to think that I turned out fine.

And it makes me wonder whether I need to be so strict about TV for my own DD. She hardly watches much during the day as she's so busy with activities and playing or out and about but I wonder why I stress so much if my DD watches an hour in the morning and an hour in the night!

If she's only watching an hour here and there, then I don't know why you're stressing about it either TV didn't have to be rationed when I was a child, as there was very little of it anyway - no breakfast tv, a bit for small children at lunchtime, a bit for children after school, a bit on Saturday morning. I could have watched all of it and still have had plenty of time for other things.

The ting now is that children could watch tv 24/7 - that's why parents need to consider how much they are watching and make sure it gets turned off so they do other things too.

We didn't have one, so I only got the odd snatched half hour round a friend's house. But even my friend was pretty well rationed with only two channels and neither of those operating in daytime; as AMIS says, it is a completely different scenario these days.

Mmm half an hour at lunchtime (I came home for my lunch) and possibly 1-2 hours after school. Saturday mornings and evenings. Not so much on sunday apart from bagpuss / pigeon street.

Childrens TV was only on for a few hours a day in the 80s. I remember being off school sick and so bored I restored to watching the schools programmes on BBC2. I also remember watching open university out of desperation (it went mostly over my head)

We weren't allowed to watch 'adult' TV ie. soap operas etc until we were about 13 as it wsa 'not appropriate' and my mum avoided ITV as much as possible because of the adverts

The tv in our house when I was growing up was always on. So now, my tv is always on. The dc's don't watch it constantly, they come back to it and then go off and play, but it is always on if we are at home.

I watched loads of TV as a child in the 70s/80s it was always on in our house. We never had any restrictions on what we watched either, although we did obviously have an earlyish bedtime 7/8 while at primary school so were rarely up past watershed anyway.

None at all - we didn't have one. Not because I am Old (I am 29) but because my parents didn't want one. TBH I didn't really feel like I was missing out - if I stayed with friends I would be bored shitless if they sat watching cartoons. It was a bit harder as a teenager - nobody ever believed e when I said we didn't have one, and I was hopelessly out of the loop in the playground, but I didn't mind much.

Now I'm all grown up and do have a TV but it lives in my bedroom and I watch it maybe 2/3 times a week. DD (7) watches the odd programme/film. She doesn't seem to care one way or the other tbh, and very rarely asks to watch it.

It is never just 'on', there has to be a specific programme that someone wants to watch, and after that it goes off.

I used to watch lots of telly. I grew up in Italy in the 1970s and we had all sorts of private channels springing up in the late 1970s/early 1980s, offering all sorts of crap programs.
Also, my parents weren't strict on tv watching and didn't even censor what I watched that much.
I loved it!

I do now ration my dc's tv intake. Now that we don't live in the UK anymore and we live in Italy we don't even have an aerial to watch tv, the children watch dvds I buy on amazon

As much as I wanted I think. Telly wasn't as good back then though, so it didn't amount to lots of viewing.

It wasn't rationed at all. But, then it wasn't on 24/7.

It certainly (until the early 80's) didn't start til mid morning until Breakfast/GM TV and even then there was only 1 child programme ie watch with mother after lunch.

There were then a few hours after school and 11 programme like ivor the engine/noah and nelly/rhubarb and custard/Captain Pugwash before the news.

saying that....tv has it's place and it's not rationed in this house.

oops - no idea what 'and 11 programme' means - but you get the gist

we watched a few hours a day as kids and it was so boring despite it being age appropriate. I remember desperatly wanting to do something more interesting - crafts/play with friends/activity groups but my parents provided few opportunities and TV just seemed to be on. I imagine lots of parents will say heaps of TV is fine but if you look at the research that has been done over the years you will find they recommend no TV for under 2's and then only very limited TV for toddlers. These days i and my kids like to watch the odd film or couple of programmes each week - but mostly like to do other things.