Child on playdate has just told dd...

[eemie]

that she has a tv in her room and is allowed to watch it till 10pm (they're 8)

that bedtime stories are babyish

and that for her packed lunch she has a sandwich, a packet of crisps, two chocolate biscuits and a scotch egg

dd has to stop watching tv at the close of CBBC (7pm) goes to bed at 7.30, has stories till 8 or so, and has no tv or music in her room. She'd love to have packed lunches but I've always said that, until she eats more fruit and veg, she has to have a cooked meal. Also that when she does have packed lunches they'll be healthy.

Am I trapped in the 1950s?

You old luddite.

I bet on your TV set, they read the news in full evening dress. (We were discussing this on a thread the other day and decided that when they stopped doing that, that's when the rot set in.)

Well I'm sitting in my computer room (so old it needs a room) dressed ready for afternoon tea (in my bow AND halo) Aren't you?

PS Tea affects absorption of vitamins doesn't it?

I have indulged in a bit of self-analysis and do you know the reason I have a TV in my bedroom? Because it was a status symbol/aspirational item when I was a teenager. I think I got one when I was about 14. That lasted until I was about 26 (and married) and then was replaced by the current model. I only ever use it to watch Coronation Street or Gardener's World when DH wants to watch something else downstairs. at this confession. DH and DS use it for watching Match of the Day repeat on Sunday am. And DD has recently been allowed to watch Noddy at the weekends.

I really must be a very up to the minute parent, an in denial parent or a bad parent - can't decide!

I have a Flat Screen hd tv in my bedroom, one also in the kitchen hanging on the wall, a large tv in the living room (which is getting old now) and ds has a tv video combi in his room, and he is only 2! He does not watch it at bed time and he can't reach it.
It is put on for him when I am in the bath or when I fancy 10 more mins lay in! He can't watch tv on it as it has no ariel(sp) he just watches teletubbies on vid on a loop!
And he does eat the odd scotch egg here and there!

I do not agree with young children sitting up through the night watching tv. I never had a tv in my room as a child, or teenager. So maybe I am making up for it now!

I have to say (and wish I could stop myself!) that the mum I was talking about in my earlier post, really is a crap parent. I'm sorry if that offends some of you. Her son has absolutely no other interests whatsoever apart from sitting in his room watching TV or playing playstation or being outside hurting other kids with his far-too-rough playfighting. His mum never, ever encourages him to read, draw, write, play with actual toys, play nicer games with friends, or have friends round. She moans about his behaviour and lack of social/academic skills on a daily basis. I have tried dropping hints about things she could try, but it seems very much like she just can't be bothered. If I sound like a snob then I'm sorry. I'm actually just a single mum only just keeping our heads above water. All those of you who's kids have TV's, etc, in their rooms, I'm sure you are great parents (you all sound like you are) who limit the time spent on these things and encourage your kids to have other interests too. But this woman I'm talking about really is crap and it's so sad. End of rant

Soapbox - you really always watch tv as a family? Geez, I'd kill myself if I had to sit with my kids and watch Joseph or Mary Poppins for the 101st time this month! It gives them a chance to wind down, in their pjs after their bath when I don't really want them running around the house. I get some peace and quite downstairs then go back up to read to them before bed.

You know, the funny thing is, I made my peace with this a long time ago and I really don't know why I"m still justifying myself to everyone else. Personally I think the bottom line is some people are lazy, indulgent parents and some aren't and you can't always tell the difference based on tvs and fridges.

Right I AM NOT going to post on this thread again!

sm I don't think my children have watched the same thing twice in the last 3 months honestly! That is partially because 2yo DD will not watch TV without me or DH sitting with her. And DS just hasn't, although I think given the opportunity he would watch repeat football matches. Sad boy.

My sister has two children 7 and 9. They both have TVs in their rooms but with no ariel they can't watch TV. They are for videos that are supervised at an appropriate time.

I hope she still doesnt have them in bed by 6.30! but she always used to.

Oh blimey Bozza you're lucky, my DS has watched Pirates of the Caribbean about 8 times since mid-December.

Mind you, I've probably watched it about 4 times. Family bonding you know. (Nothing whatsoever to do with Johnny Depp prancing around in a pirate costume. Nothing at all)

Think DS would have nightmares with Pirates TBH. Although he tends to get upset when he first goes to bed which has to be better than the middle of the night.

Having read some of the points I do think that televisions in rooms can be of use to parents, especially when they are the main playrooms and the viewing i supervised to some extent. The only thing I do disagree with is young children being allowed to watch television in their rooms with no regulation, late at night this is especially bad because there are many programmes on that are unsuitable for children when they hould be asleep. Cbeebies etc is never going to upset a child watching it all the time whereas watching programmes with lots fo violence and no explination cannot be a good thing.

Hmmm. My DS is far too young to worry about all this. But since DH & I have TV in our bedroom & I watch masses of TV myself & watched it constantly as a kid & now work in TV... I'm just not going to have a leg to stand on if he wants one in his room. It hasn't made me fat or stupid so I can't tell him that it would do anything dreadful to him. And this whole 'They should be out climbing trees' thing sounds like some idealized swallows&amazons style childhood. I had a very happy childhood, but my happy memories include the Red Hand Gang and Battle of the Planets, Chorlton and the Wheelies, Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Mysteries. Oh I get a warm glow just thinking about it! Okay I did climb a few trees too, mostly 'cos my parents made me!

But I know that other parents will disapprove of me...

my ds1 and dd wanted tv in there room ,we said no as believe they are too young.but as a comprimise they have tv/dvd/video combo with no ariel so no tv channels in dinning room for films.

my ds1 and dd wanted tv in there room ,we said no as believe they are too young.but as a comprimise they have tv/dvd/video combo with no ariel so no tv channels in dinning room for films.they are 5 and 6

Hey don't dis swallows and amazons - it's great!

Hey don't dis swallows and amazons - it's great!

Yes Swallows&Amazons is lovely, but it?s fiction. Nobody actually ever lived that way, even in the 30s. My Dad?s childhood in the 30s consisted of being abused in an orphanage and hospitalised for malnutrition. My Mum?s childhood in the 30s consisted of being locked in a small cupboard with the bread & butter pudding she didn?t want to eat when she was five years old. My childhood consisted of telly, sweets, Look-In, Ice Magic... Much better.

Sugarmag - you are right up to a point - we do all sit and watch it together, BUT I have my laptop with me for a bit of MNting should it get a little repetitive

TBF they mostly watch discovery kids which I quite like - or Dr Who. High Street Musical or Drake and Josh is another fav, but I can live with those too!

We did have a bad spell on holiday where we were much more relaxed with the TV watching (so that we could chill out on the terrace with a bottle of wine) and the DCs must have watched Cheaper by the Dozen too, about a zillion times!

While I?m on this... All this ?am I in the 1950s? ?oh, well if you?re in the 50s, I?m in the 30s? thing. As if the 50s and the 30s were this wonderful era to raise children and are something we should be aiming for.

Checklist to know whether you are in the 1950s or 1930s

• Do you need a ration book to buy food for your family?
• Is Polio a real risk for any of your children? How many of them have had TB?
• Do you have no reliable method of contraception available to you?
• If your kids were sexually abused what help is available to them, and would they be believed if they spoke about it?
• If in the 1930s, then bear in mind your sons are likely to be sent to fight in WW2 in a few years time and the brightest and best of them won?t come home

Well, at least they weren?t watching telly. And DEFINITELY not in their bedrooms. So that's fine then...

Message withdrawn

When DS & DD were pre teens I never restricted the amount of TV they watched, simply because it never became an issue - they were always interested in other things & would watch one programme & then wander off. They still don't have broadcast TV in their rooms, they just watch DVDs & it's never seemed to bother them.
When DS first got his playstation he was obsessed for a while, but it settled down after a while & he hasn't even bothered to take it to uni with him.
However,DD would be on the computer all night if I let her - she won't be having one i her room until she's 18, when she'll probably get a laptop for her birthday
I think it depends on the child as much as the parent.

Well I'm a parent stuck in the 1890's.

We don't know what TV is, we amuse ourselves with family singsongs around the piano, or occasionally Dh reads poetry to us all.
And obviously I always wear a crinoline.

Am I the best parent. Do I win??

Fascinating thread. dd1 only just 3, so most of it not an issue for me yet - but FWIW I don't think any of those things necessarily = crap parenting. Or that the lack of them = great parenting. They CAN do, but not necessarily - depends how they're used, aka Greenie's fridge which I would never have thought of and which sounds brilliantly used.

Me personally, hate idea of TV in my bedroom, unless ill and stuck in bed during day time, and much as I'd like chocolate mainlined into my room atm (breastfeeding) haven't succumbed to larder/fridge/cooker either

Not looking forward to the days of peer pressure in times ahead. Bad enough that dd caught sight of an advert on Nick Jnr the other day, and solemnly announced that 'Disneyworld is where dreams come true' to her aunty

thebecster - I take your point and it sounds like your parents had quite dreadful experiences. However, I for one was NOT romanticising the 30s or 50s, merely referring to the absence of in-home technology available to kids in those times. And whilst things may be improved today in some areas of child welfare surely there are some dreadful modern evils eg internet child abuse

I know that the 7yr old in the flat next door has tv/dvd/playstation in his room because he keeps me awake at night watching them turned up loud - regularly until 1am on a weeknight.

His mum comes through about midnight and screams at him to go to bed but doesn't seem that fussed...