At what age would you allow a child to have tv?

[DianaXXX]

Hi all

So we purchased a new tv at Boxing Day and now have the old tv ( not smart tv) but can mace smart via kindle stick in storage.

It's been suggested to put in kids room

One nearly 4 the other is nearly 7.

I think they are way too young for a tv I was allowed one till I was 15!

They both have kindle each ( allowed to have on Saturday ) and also bought them google hub for Christmas for music but would like to find out what other parents think with probs and cons of one:

Just to add they share a bedroom so have w bunk bed

My childhood would have been pretty miserable if I hadn’t been allowed a tv in my bedroom!

Those ages are a bit young but some posters seem puritanical about this!

I didn't have a TV in my room until I was 18. My childhood wasn't miserable.

My daughter is 4 so I haven't even thought about this yet. Although her cousin of the same age has one. I judge, I admit.

18 if they bought their own.

We have two TVs downstairs, no plans to get any for bedrooms at any age (my eldest is 13).

Agree with CommanderDaisy. Never.

My dc are 17 and 13 and we have one TV in this house - the one in our living room. Screen use has been scientifically proven many times over to be deleterious to kids' development and also to their sleeping habits. Don't do it.

IMO people who put TVs in their young dc's bedrooms are lazy and do it because they can't be bothered to engage with their own kids. It's tantamount to poor parenting. You should be encouraging them to read and explore books, not sit there passively like zombies watching all kinds of crap.

If in doubt, read Tanya Byron on this issue.

No TV in bedroom for anybody. Donate it if you want to get rid of it.

I would never let kids have TV in their rooms. Ours have their own TV in a playroom downstairs where I can monitor use.

No TVs in bedrooms here even though we have cables etc. Probably won't. We have a spare TV in playroom/conservatory which we use for kids occasionally for DVDs and Netflix. Usually when a rugby ,arch is on main telly!

My kids had them in their rooms from about 3. They hardly watched them though as they played mostly downstairs in the playroom so watched TV in there. I would sometimes sit with them in their rooms before bed and watch a film. They probably started regularly watching them on their own at about 8, again before bed, for an hour or so. They are more addicted to PCs and iPads than TVs.

Personally I wouldn't at that age! We have an extra tv in the playroom for the Nintendo and watching films etc (children are 10 and 5). We don't allow any screen or electronics in the bedroom.

Some people will be horrified but my 4 year old has got a tv in her bedroom passed on from MIL. She is allowed to watch a film at bedtime on a weekend/ non school night so it is used twice a week!

Her brothers also have a TV and watch before bed most nights - if they don't have the tv on they muck around and it calms them down (they share a bedroom - and believe me we tried everything!!)

They go to bed at 7ish and the sleep timer is generally on for an hour youngest is asleep before the timer finishes and eldest goes off shortly after tv is turned off - they are 9 and 7. They sleep a lot better and longer than most of my friends kids who are still up and downstairs at gone 8 and it gives us a bit of time to unwind!

My kids were quite young. However, we wall mounted them and only gave out remote controls on Saturday and Sunday mornings with a time limit (not before 7am for example). It was the only way to get a lie-in. They had no idea it showed anything other than CBeebies /CBBC. As they got older, I left the remote in their bedroom when I checked them when I went to bed. Now (at 10 and 12) they keep the remote in their rooms with warnings about getting caught (the cables go through the ceiling into the loft so easily unplugged). Occasionally (when I need them out of the way so I can wrap pressies for example ) and during school holidays, I let them watch a DVD in bed. I would rather they do that than stare at a phone / tablet etc.

Wow quite shocked at some of the replies in this topic! I thought generally we were pretty normal but seems not! Our kids don't lock themselves away in their bedrooms or have consoles connected to them as they don't use them in the day at all - and that's not a rule we put in place they have just never asked.

I've never lived in a house where there was a tv in any bedrooms and have no intention to do so.

None of my 3 kids have TVs in their rooms and won't be getting one, ages 18, 15 and 12. They are able to watch TV series and films on their tablets and laptops which they have as they are required for school.

Mine are 5 and 3 and I would not consider it for a long time yet. I'd want to encourage them to read at night rather than watch TV.

I didn't have one until I was around 12 or 13 and always read. My brothers had one in their room a lot younger and never read and just watched TV. I'm aware this wouldn't be the case for everyone but I'm lead by my own experience.

I've always said the same, no TVs in bedrooms, and have stuck to it. However I do think my (young teens) will look back and laugh at me remembering how I wouldn't let them have a tv in their rooms but let them have smart phones and iPads which they use to sit in their rooms watching Netflix half the day (removed at night al least). At least with a TV you could see what they're watching - not so easy with a phone/tablet. Kids in OP a bit young though IMO.

I am surprised at the number of children that watch tv in their room before bed. Mine are only allowed to read, Lego, play quietly (draw, art). They wind down in their rooms before sleep.

They go to sleep well apart from a couple of problems with my 2 ASD dc. They watch tv before dinner but we try a screen break before sleep.

I won't be. Ever.
I don't have one in my bedroom I have a radio 🙈 and books
Don't see why I would treat DCs differently

But that's just how it is in my family. Older DC has a tablet but I try to encourage that to be used in the living room not bedroom. Tbh we spend most of our time in a room together so even if we are on tech we are still having a cuddle on the sofa, communicating etc.
I don't go and read in my room during the day, I read in the living room while the kids play/watch TV etc. Likewise using my phone (unless having a grown up conversation).
When we get into PS/Xbox territory it will be take turns with the one TV.

Grey area for me is personal computers tbh. Feel like it's getting harder to get through secondary school without a laptop, and wouldn't want to make life more difficult than necessary.

For university. Television in bedrooms has been proven to impact on academic achievements.

Had one since I was 4, some Vizio TV or whatever. Had no problems what so ever.

But uh, maybe 6-7?

Ok reading all the messages let's be honestly 95% say no way

And that's what I told my partner and since a lot of people going on about books let me tell you my 6 year old routine

Mon- fri
One book per night plus 10 words 10 times each per night then the following day mathletics and a book
The only day that he has no homework is Saturday so totally his day apart from two hours or Greek school.

He is on top of the class for most subjects, allowed his kindle on Saturday.

Still wouldn’t do it. Child is only 6!

It’s a slippery slope...

A book a day isn’t a lot. Reading lots of books really does improve a child’s vocabulary and, in turn, their writing.

All the people saying no probably are doing what you are going at a minimum!

An 18 year old without a TV in their room.. ridiculous. They're an adult FFS.

I sincerely doubt the 95% of this thread that say their children don't have TV's in their rooms and I say that as someone who doesn't have one in our bedroom.

No tv in any bedrooms, ours included. I’d hate a tv in my room.