Thoughts on TV in kid's bedroom?

warriormomerin · January 2011

At what age do you think it's appropriate to allow your kid to have a TV in his/her room? I've always sworn that my DC would not have one until they were teenagers since I didn't get my own TV until I was 16.

However, now that I have two who are into totally different shows and constantly fighting over the TV, I kind of see the appeal. I don't think I'll go there yet, but I was curious to hear what other people will/have done.

AllieSchmallie · January 2011

Okay, here's my "professional" opinion on TVs in bedrooms (and I hope I don't get flamed for saying this) - I don't think it's ever a good idea to have one, whether you're a kid or adult. Everything I've read about improving sleep quality says that the only things that should be done in the bedroom are sleep and intimacy. The reason being that your mind and body are then trained to only use the bedroom for what it is intended for - quiet time and sleep. TV stimulates the mind, as do toys, games, etc, so you're less able to settle down when it's time for bed because you're not in the right mindset that bedroom = sleep. So, I don't have a TV in my room for that reason (I have enough trouble with sleep as it is without any outside assistance!).

Take it or leave it, that's just my opinion.

Meg41208 · January 2011

We weren't allowed to have TVs in our bedroom. I think DH got one as a reward for good grades when he was in middle school or junior high.

Anyway, my brothers and I worked out a rotating schedule where we one of us got "control" of the TV. My parents always got the final word (like if they wanted to watch something else). We would also barter for exceptions... I think my parents were happy with this solution that we worked out diplomatically.

This was before the days of DVR - could you record the stuff they want to watch and then let one decide for half an hour/an hour, and then let the other choose?

identicaltwins2be · January 2011

M has a TV in her room but it isn't hooked up to cable - or non-cable for that matter. It only works with the VHS/DVD player and she has to ask permission before watching a movie. It has worked well for us and she doesn't seem to have any sleep issues although I totally get what Allie is saying and would tend to agree.

Traycee1242 · January 2011

We were never allowed to have TVs in our bedrooms.. Even as teenagers. Probably especially as teenagers!! My parents felt that we had little time together as a family as it was with all the sports and activities we were in.. So TV downstairs (one in the finished basement too) was watched together. There was some arguments... But there were shows we always watched together and it was fun. I'll do the same for my kids.

Superchicy · January 2011

I had a TV in HS, but it was black and white and only maybe 12", so I didn't really watch it that often. It also wasn't hooked to cable so it only got like 6 channels with rabbit ears. It was nice when I wanted some alone time, but I honestly never watched it that much. I don't think DD will have a TV until at least junior high, maybe HS, and even then we'll limit how much she can watch it.

Rose.9.6.03 · January 2011

I've never had a t.v. in any bedroom (except my dormroom). I like to keep the tv separate from sleeping. My kids can get a tv for their room when they move out of the house.

Whitney DD · January 2011

My good friends have a tv in their 3-year-olds bedroom and use it to make her fall asleep. It works, but there is something about it I just don't like. I don't think we'll do tv's in our kids bedrooms for a long while. We have one in ours, but watch it maybe once a month.

DH is a bookworm, and i'd love if our children pick up that habit. Even listening to audiobooks like I do before bed would be better than watching tv (if I don't my mind with go over all the things I need to accomplish or stress me out with things I didn't do.) So my opinion? No tvs yet... HTH

Mrs.Cooley2bee · January 2011

I am going to jump on the never bandwagon. My sisters and I never had one and I don't plan on letting my kids. I guess we'll work out some sort of schedule if they start fighting.

KristenBtobe · January 2011

We don't plan on allowing tv's or computers in their bedroom. They will be in the family room. We have a small one we can put in their rooms when they are sick as a special treat if need be. My parents did that with me when I was a kid. I did have my own tv (rabbit ears only) from about age 9 on though, as I was spoiled.

We do have one in our room.

hannah&ben · January 2011

I have not allowed it yet for any of the kids and I do not plan on every changing that for lots of reasons. Because I want to be able to monitor what the kids are watching and how much, because bedrooms are for sleeping, because we don't get enough family together time as it stands and I don't want them running off to their rooms every chance they get, because they don't need to watch more tv than they already do & I'd rather they do other things like read, etc.

I get where you are coming from with having kids of different ages into different things... we have that problem too. However, I view that scenario as another opportunity for both of them to learn about compromise, sharing, getting along and taking turns We do have DVR so if there is some sort of major conflict with shows something can get recorded and watched later, so that has squashed major conflict a few times in the past.

But really, we only have 1 television in our entire house, in our family room. Nobody has one in a bedroom, not even Ben and me and I don't plan on ever changing that.

ETA: I saw KristenB mention computers in the bedroom and also agree we won't ever be doing that either. We have an older laptop in our family room as well that the big kids are allowed to use while there's an adult present and that won't ever change either.

notguilty · January 2011

I will never allow a TV in my kid's bedroom. I think that there is already such a disconnect in families already with computers, phones, TV's etc. I wasn't permitted to have a TV in my bedroom. Heck, it was a big deal when I got my own phone in my room at 16 years of age! I would also never have a TV in my bedroom. It's the one place in the house that DH and I don't have any distractions.

When they are fighting over who gets to watch TV, I would use it as a lesson in sharing. Also, maybe you could set up a set schedule for when each one gets to watch a program each day. This lets them know when they can watch their program and also allows you to control how much/what they get to watch. It also cuts out arguments because they know when they can watch TV and when they need to just go play!

curlypie1 · January 2011

I'm also in the no television in bedrooms camp. I grew up without having one and I believe it forced us to have face time with our parents during the awkward teenage years when you want to have mostly alone time. Also, I like being able to see and hear what my kids are watching. I'm hoping that our family room ends up being the place where most non-sleeping activity happens. Once our house addition is finished, I want to move most of the toys out of the bedroom too.

tiffyr0se · January 2011

I may, at some point consider putting a tv in the playroom or den as DC gets older, but never in the bedroom. We don't have a tv in our bedroom either. We have restricted our own tv watching to after DC goes to bed, so we prefer to keep the tv off most of the time. Though we do watch Thomas and Sesame St sometimes.

Moesten · January 2011

16 or older depending on the kid. I didn't have a TV in my room til I was out of high school and I believe that was a good choice.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my opinion on any topic at any time.

KarmaKP · January 2011

Conner is 9 and has never had a TV in his room at our house. No plans to let him have one anytime soon.

He has a TV in his room at his mom's house to "help him fall asleep". She has had many issues with him sleeping at her house and he has almost no trouble sleeping at our house. Coincidence? :-)

johnandkristin · January 2011

We probably won't have a TV in the kid's rooms at all. For us, it's more like I can't afford to put one in every one of their rooms, and it wouldn't be fair for only 1 to have a TV.

Also, I would like to be able to limit the amount of TV they watch, and have their room be a *quiet* place they can go to. That way if they want to do homework/study, listen to their own music, etc. they can do that and not be distracted by a TV.

jerseygirl81 · January 2011

We only had one TV growing up, and we only have one TV right now. It's in our living room. Every once in a while I wish we had a small one in the bedroom for late night sporting events, but for the most part I like being a one-TV family. Charlie will never have a TV in his room. It's just not something we feel is necessary.

allibaba76 · January 2011

I don't plan on putting one in my son's room for several reasons...he already watches enough tv, I would rather he choose other activities, and it could be a safety issue (we don't have a playroom so he does play in his room quite a bit and I would worry about the tv falling and hurting him or him being too rough with the tv). I am not at all anti-tv but I think we all get more than enough as it is. As for the fighting over it...DVR is really priceless. If there are certain shows my husband and I want to watch we can watch them at our convenience. And same for my son, I would rather be able to control how much and what he watches (and when). Having it on the DVR gives us the chance to FF through the commercials and anything else we don't want him to see.

buckeyethor · January 2011

I think it depends on the house/living situation/number of kids plus adults. How is that for the most obscure answer? Right now with a tv in the living room and one in the family room, I see no reason for it. As our family grows and our kids age, I most likely will let them watch movies in their bedrooms but I am not sure about cable. If we had only 1 living space for our family, I would probably do it a lot sooner.

I do not let my DH have a tv in our bedroom. I absolutely cannot sleep with one in my room. He always had one and fell asleep to it... I hate that bc I cannot do it. Plus, I think it is a huge waste of electricity even with the sleeper timer.

Megs&Nick · January 2011

TV's in the kids' bedrooms is not for us, but to each their own. We do have one in our room, but it rarely gets used.

kel716 · January 2011

We have one in DS's room. We put it in there for us when he was an infant with the intent of taking it out when he "knew" what it was.

Now, we have directv, and it does not have a receiver. It only plays DVDs, and it is up high so he has to have us help him get it set up.

But, now my son doesn't nap at home. We took the tv out, tried to get him to nap, and had no luck. Now, I can get him to rest in his room, in his bed, if the tv is on. It's a motivator for him. If he gets out of his bed, he loses his tv priveleges. So for us it works. I don't like it, but it's the one way I get him to lay still for an hour each day, and it works. So I'll take it.

Now... the computer.... that's a different story. When we're at the point of using it for lengthy periods of time (he plays for about 20 minutes each day now), it'll be located in a central location in our house so I can monitor what he's doing.

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