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Parenting

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Original poster

How old before TV in bedroom?

262 replies

Mummywalsh · 25/04/2011 17:38

My 2.5yo DD1 and 19mo DD2 share a bedroom and MIL has just given us a portable TV with DVD player. I've always been against the girls playing in their rooms and believe they go there to sleep, but now I'm thinking would it be such a bad thing for a quiet DVD in the afternoon, definitely not before bed or otherwise. How old were your LOs before they had a TV in their room?

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MooMooFarm · 28/04/2011 14:05

God I must be such a crap mother - I have no problem with my DC having tvs in their rooms! However, my younger DC do not have access to 'tv' as such as they have no aerials. My younger DCs tv is just wired up to a dvd player which they can use to watch a film at bedtime at the weekend for a treat. My eldest is a teen now so I have no problem with him having a tv/dvd/games console/the whole shebang in his room. He paid for all of it himself anyway!

I think it's easy to blame tv for bad parenting - to me it's all about balance. Yes my DC have tvs in their rooms (kind of, anyway) but they don't spend much time there. My teen sometimes disappears into his room for a couple of hours but to me that's reasonable. But just because a tv is there, doesn't mean it doesn't have an off switch.

annasophia · 28/04/2011 14:05

I haven't read all the replies but I would never, ever put a tv in any of our bedroooms. I'd rather they read a book or play games. We rarely watch tv as a family - there are so many more interesting things to do .

I don't believe lambethill's point above that " the point is that having a TV in the bedroom is now the norm" - surely not ?!?

tammytoby · 28/04/2011 14:11

No TVs in bedrooms in our house either, I just don't see the need and feel the temptation to watch it at the expense of doing other things is just too great, especially for children. Of course, they will prefer watching a movie/tv show instead of reading a book which requires more effort.

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tammytoby · 28/04/2011 14:14

Perhaps we should conduct our own survey here and look at the academic achievements of those with tvs in their rooms vs those without. Of course there will be exceptions but if we get lots of (honest) responses we might be able to get an idea as to whether the Scientific studies are correct.

usualsuspect · 28/04/2011 14:28

I have 3 o'levels and a swimming certificate

HTH

Maryz · 28/04/2011 15:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thefirstMrsDeVere · 28/04/2011 16:50

My DS has a low IQ. He has just managed to read and write though. He is 8. He has always had a tv in his room.

I may be kidding myself but I tend to put his problems down to his birth mother neglecting to feed him for 8 weeks and her drug and alchohol intake whilst she was pregnant. Oh and the fact she bearly looked at him.

I had a little black and white tv in my room when I was a young teen. I didnt go to university. I would love to put that down the tv because that would immediately give me hope that all my boys will be able to go to the uni of their choice if I simply remove their tellies.

But, despite having a tv in my room, I am not that stupid.

hmc · 28/04/2011 16:56

MrsDeVere - he might not have a low IQ? Could be a spLD? - i expect you have thought of that already though...

thefirstMrsDeVere · 28/04/2011 17:02

Thanks hmc. I was using IQ as shorthand really (I would never allow an actual IQ test). He has LDs and ASD and a processing disorder. He could have dyslexia but it would be pretty hard to test him although its something we have considered.

None caused by his tv

In fact tv helps him learn as it grabs his attention and DVDs are even better because he can rewind over and over.

JemimaMop · 28/04/2011 17:04

DS1&2 have a TV in their bedroom, but only to watch DVDs (no ariel). They watched a DVD in there yesterday, I think that was the first time they have switched it on since Christmas. It certainly doesn't get used very much. They are nearly 6 and 8. They have had it for about a year.

DD is 5 and doesn't have one in her room, but does watch DVDs in the boys' room with them occasionally.

If we had a playroom it would be in there instead, but we don't.

We have a TV in our room too, which also doesn't get watched that frequently. It was useful when I was studying with the OU as I could watch the case study DVDs in there.

We didn't have a TV in the house at all for a large chunk of my childhood. I'm not entirely convinced that I can put the fact that I'm a graduate down to that though...

NotaMopsa · 28/04/2011 22:02

I did think that BMI thing interesting PoppyDaisy

tammytoby · 28/04/2011 22:14

Interesting articles, Poppy. This sums it up for me:

"Why a bedroom television appears to have such a pronounced impact is unclear. It may be that it?s a distraction during homework time or that it interferes with sleep, resulting in poorer performance at school. It could also suggest less overall parental involvement."

gabid · 29/04/2011 11:08

Yes, the articles are interesting, however, it is unclear how much other factors play a role in academic achievement, e.g. parents' level of education and their involvement in their children's schooling may play a role. So it is my assumption that on the whole in families where there is unlimited TV the level of the parents' education is not that high either as they watch TV rather then read (this is the case in DS's friend's family, I mentioned earlier). And these parents may have lower expectations of their children's achievement, and they may be less able or interested to support their children's schooling.

This wouldn't really have anything to do with the TV in the bedroom thing. So I think the research needs to be a bit broader - not sure whether there is anything else out there, but I may have a look now.

QuintessentialPains · 29/04/2011 11:10

I think the perfect age for a tv in the bedroom is when turning 75, or any age or condition which makes you unable or unwilling to leave your bed.

Tolalola · 29/04/2011 12:14

Quintessential. My grandma's just had her 95th birthday and has started to vaguely wonder whether to get a telly in her bedroom. Shouldn't think she'll actually go through with it though.

tammytoby · 29/04/2011 14:21

"So it is my assumption that on the whole in families where there is unlimited TV the level of the parents' education is not that high either as they watch TV rather then read (this is the case in DS's friend's family, I mentioned earlier). And these parents may have lower expectations of their children's achievement, and they may be less able or interested to support their children's schooling. This wouldn't really have anything to do with the TV in the bedroom thing. So I think the research needs to be a bit broader."

Yes, but if these parents did remove their kids access to too much tv and increased their access to books/games/musical instruments, then their kids had better chances of doing better.

And yes, I agree with you Quintessetial - when you're old and bedbound you can have a tv in your bedroomo .

usualsuspect · 29/04/2011 14:28

Obviously because my Ds has a TV in his bedroom he doesn't read ,write music or play his guitar ..he is so mesmerised by the TV he can't do doing else

mathanxiety · 29/04/2011 15:13

I think there's a correlation between tv and other gadgets in the home and in the bedroom and an interest in high tech or an embrace of technology; instead of seeing a correlation between Onslow-ness and tv in the bedroom I see comfort with things modern. I think some of the extreme prejudice against it goes hand in hand with an element of trying to stop the tide.

Tolalola · 29/04/2011 15:23

mathanxiety - eh?

LOL at your analysis. I'm a bioscientist and DP is a computer geek engineer and we don't have or want television in the bedrooms. I assure you we're pretty comfortable with modern technology.

ragged · 29/04/2011 15:30

A correlation is only a statistical thing, there are always outliers Tolalola.

Tolalola · 29/04/2011 15:38

True ragged .

Although thinking about it, only 2 out of 10 of us in my doctoral lab had televisions, and I remember reading that the city it was in (a Uni town) had one of the lowest percentages of households with tellys in the UK (although still very high).

COCKadoodledooo · 29/04/2011 16:06

Eh mathanxiety? I live with a bunch of uber-geeks and since before dc's we've only had one telly (in the lounge).

At 18 months ds2 is already a gadget freak. At 3 ds1 was teaching his preschool leaders how to use the laptop.

mathanxiety · 29/04/2011 16:14

OK, however I think there are exceptions to every rule though?

I too live with a bunch of geeks and the two highest achievers (so far) have had a tv in their rooms, with DS, who is no dim bulb either, having a laptop.

I think there's a tendency to look down on TV here and identify it with The Great Unwashed.

thefirstMrsDeVere · 29/04/2011 17:15

Yep.

gabid · 29/04/2011 20:17

Well its not all bad. I use it to expose DC to my mother-tongue. DC have few people to speak German to here in the UK, so we watch DVDs and use the internet to find stuff to watch. However, they don't usually watch alone and they can watch films/programmes they like again and again.

DS (6) and DD (2) speak German to each other and I feel Ds speaks German as good as English - partly thanks to TV/Internet.

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