What TV rules do you have?

[acnebride]

Thought I wouldn't clog up the other thread with these...

My TV rules are quite simple.

1 No TV in the morning, EVER, unless -
it's the Olympics
it's the Ashes
it's a general election
it's the assassination of a politician
it's the wedding of the heir to the throne
there's been a terrorist incident
DS is ill
I'm ill
I'm getting dressed and need to stop ds pinching my socks
I'm feeling a bit bored

2 No more than 8 hours of TV a week, EVER, but see 1

3 No adverts, unless they're funny.

There, that's clear, surely.

I have one....

No TV at all

Much simpler

no tv before breakfast
girls take it in turns choosing which dvd to watch
tv turned off and they go to kitchen table for meals

1. They don't sit too near it.

2. After a couple of hours it's switched off and they play. 3. They don't watch it while they're eating - they come and sit at the table.

moondog- ditto!

Acnebride,I like your list. Very funny!

GG..glad it's not just me!

Don't really have any rules but they don't watch much at all. They always eat at the kitchen table with no TV present but thats more of an eating rule than a TV rule. I suppose the only rule is:

They can only watch it if I say so.

1 rule - cbeebies on from 7am - 7pm simple

tv in morning whilst eating breakfast (so I can do the red button on Sky and see what is going on).

Then off for most of the day.

Back on for bedtime as dd1 likes doing the Jimmer Jammers on NickJr (cute).

Football on most nights but I read the papers so it is more of a background irritant than watched.

and only cbeebies (hate ads)

listen to radio 4 during breakfast

dd was watching too much cbeebies so we got rid of the tv completely.More room in my living room now!

TV removed from living room except for Blue Peter. The improvement in behaviour since doing this has been fantastic. If it is not there they don't complain!

No rules.... there are more important things IMHO to be regimented about than TV. I love TV!

I am allowed to watch it from waking in the morning to falling asleep at night

The same rules do not aply to DS or DH

Valid point RTKM - I do have rules regarding access to the remote.

No TV. So pleased I am not the one and only!

Love the rule about "No adverts unless they are funny." Who decides?

No TV in the mornings except in winter when they have their coats on and are ready to go out the door as soon as it's time.

This has happened twice!

No TV until homework is done. Only 1 hour at a time, unless it's a film. Only Cbeebies.

But they are allowed to watch the X Factor!

A sort of sub-query:

Do your own viewing habits (as a child, or now) have any bearing on what your kids watch? E.g. do you let them watch a lot because you enjoyed it so much as a child? Or do you NOT let them watch a lot because you wasted your childhood sat in front of the box? Just interested...

They don't watch it while eating (they always sit at the table and there is no TV in the morning room).

They only watch Nick Jnr or videos (Thomas, Brum or Pingu).

That's it really. I don't think TV is a big deal - it can be educational and even when it's not, so what? What's wrong with a little chill out in front of the TV? Most of the time we are out or occupied with other things so mine are not addicted to it or anything. The only things they are really bothered about watching are Dora and Backyardigans!

Franny - Not sure I would put it as contentiously as "wasted your childhood sat in front of the box"!!!!!

I watched as much TV as I wanted as a child.... that meant I watched when I was stuck indoors and went out to play whenever I could! HARDLY wasting my childhood sat in front of a box!!

And I don't think my childrens lives are being wasted either.... just because I think there are far more important issues to use up our energy than whether they have watch 33minutes of Cbeebies in a day.... or 33 hrs!

It wasn't really possible to watch TV all day when I was a child - children's TV was not 24 hrs in those days!

We didn't watch ITV as children and DS doesn't apart from ART ATTACK so he is not bombarded by adverts

Although I always channel hop during them or turn sound off during them

DS always watches Blue Peter and he likes dramas on BBC

He regulates which progs to watch as he chooses not to watch the rubbish cartoons like pokemon etc. Although all his friends watch them.

He decides what to watch himself within reason

He is 10 years btw.

he can watch TV when he comes home from school but he decides what to watch and when BUT he knows he has to have done his trumpet practise and homework before 6PM.

So it is up to him to be responsible enough when he watches tv or plays with lego or whatever else he wants to do BUT homework and trumpet must be done by 6pm

god I would have loved to waste my childhood sitting in front of the box

but I am so old there was only about half an hour a day on when I was little

we were forced outside in all weathers when there was no kids telly on.

No channels that show ads in the run up to Christmas!

DD gets to choose 3 CBeebies programmes in the afternoon. No watching TV while eating at the table - unless it's Formula 1.