How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

[cicy33]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

I have learned to be very careful of what channel it is left on when they go to sleep. On the weekends we allow them to watch tv until they fall asleep. If I am still awake then I will turn it off if not then it just stays on all night. One time I turned on a disney show on showtime and left it on and was so tired that I went to bed. Well, I woke early that morning (like 5) for some reason and went to turn off the tv and there was stuff on there that I definitely didnt' approve of! So now if they watch tv that late it is only on the cartoon network. or disney channel. even nickelodeon is not appropriate watching late at night for small children.

[Bluezy]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

CJ, who will be a very grown up 20 months next Tuesday, watches his Disney Channel programs before school, then enjoys Barney, Teletubbies and Big Comfy Couch after school.
His total TV time is 2.5 hours a day. However, please note that CJ is not allowed to watch anything else...especially anything at night that is of adult nature, or graphic and violent news programs.

So far he's doing fine and learns from his programs.

[CRFSaver]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

As an FYI be careful of Cartoon Network. I watch it for Family Guy, Futurama and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Those are definately not kid friendly shows... They show those and a lot of Adult Anime later at night.

[jmjj215]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

My wife and I just have a one-year old little boy. I'm still in school full-time and she's staying at home with him. I also work 3/4 time. We don't have much time for TV - but we also don't own one. When we first married I think some people felt bad for us b/c we didn't have one so one night there was knock on the door and I open it up and there's a nice used TV there, a VCR and some videos. We had the TV for about two months - but we ended up selling it. It's just a big time waster 99.9% of the time.

(Don't talk to me about the discovery or history channel, people always bring them up, but rarely do people watch the history/discovery channels a majority of their time in front of the tube).

I don't think we'll ever get one. Of course in a few years computers will be our TVs. And I do see a definite need for a computer...

[PrincessPerky]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

I was talking to DH last night about just how much football one can watch. I mean what 17 weeks of 3 time frames for football (multiple games so of course you can flick channels on comercial breaks) that is like 170 hours of football! Not including Monday night games or Thursday or whatever other nights they play, that is just Sunday.

Don't get me wrong, DH likes football, but in those 170 hours he can play a LOT of games with our two (will be three) not to mention get a little work done on the irritating spiders out back. And watch a game or two, or at the least follow up while writing his stories at night (game cast gives updates he can check when writers block surfaces.)

[stone]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

Well, football is the greatest sport on TV. I understand your husband..:-)

I think that a child should be allowed to watch 30 minutes a day. However, I think the programming is important for the parent to decide. TV is not dangerous necessarily, unless it is unsupervised. Just think of how much you have learned from TV.

[Dingoluv4eva]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

I think this might shock some of you lol... but it makes a little sense, it would just take a lot of supervision from parents.

The thing is most of the stuff on television is complete junk.
When i say junk i mean, do nothign for the development of a child.

Television is great at teaching children, about culture, and social skills tho.
so it would be challenging buy also the most beneficial to the children to focus on those things.

I'm saying limit watching television to about 2 or 3 hours a day most.. and when they do watch it, let them watch REALITY TV type shows. like MTV Real world, and other stuff, where it shows how people really do act.
THe tricks they will encounter in the real world,. and how they outsmart each other, and what works and what doesn't.

I think that would be a lot more education to a child, than watching bugs bunny, or some fantasy fairy tale, which makes kids "soft, weak, and dillusional"

but like i say, it woudl take a lot of supervision, since u'd be dealing with smarter, more confident children, that will be less willing to listen to you, since they'll know how to act and think for themselves.
but in the long run, those kidz are prolly gonna start succeeding at an earlier age, and be able to "recognize" reality earlier to, and know whats going on,.. u' wont end up with some kid that hates his parents cause he felt he was too sheltered and was fed junk all his life, just to keep him quiet and easy to control.

[cicy33]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

I have no idea what the MTV real world show is like but I will say that MTV is not permitted in our home at all. If that one is the one that is for rock and roll. I do allow cmtv. It really is just a matter of being involved in your child's life.

[Dingoluv4eva]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

I have no idea what the MTV real world show is like but I will say that MTV is not permitted in our home at all. If that one is the one that is for rock and roll. I do allow cmtv. It really is just a matter of being involved in your child's life.

Its just a show that shows young adults and teens living together, or traveling around the country together.

and they deal with drama that kidz will most likely encounter in a few years or already do.

just shows children how to have a good time. and what will get u in trouble and what won't.

Its a rare glimpse of how teens act, when there is no supervision around, so when they get put into that position in life, they arent to awkard in it.

I'm not a parent, so this is all just theory.. and stuff that i found to be the most educational on TV while i was growing up.

I'm 22 now, but i'm just noticing TV shows like that mean a lot more to me, and i use what i learn from them a lot more, than fairy tales and cartoons and etc..

in fact those things need to be all deleted from the brain, they tell exactly the opposite of what life is really like.. and are prolly just designed to make kidz more controllable.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

Just to clarify, my DH is the one playing games with his kids, not the one watching 170 hours of football. Though they are asleep so he is now catching an hour or two.

As for what I learned from TV from the 'normal' shows:

"You need more stuff!"
"EVERYONE else is doing it, why arn't you?"
"It is ok to make fun of people and call names, everyone does it"
"So long as you get away with it, stealing, lieing, cheating ect is cool"

From the stuff I prefer to allow my kids to watch:

-St Patrick was English, and sold as a slave to an irish person. But escaped and went back to 'spread the word' (' summo of the opera' tonight and that is what I remember)

-lapan is rabbit in french (sorry I learned how to say it not spell it!)

-among a few other actual factoids out there.

Personally if those teens had a bit more supervision (real supoervision) and education (real education), they wouldn't make much of a TV show out of their lives, no one wants to watch a bunch of people getting along and starting off on a career or family!

I personally think the 'magic age' is a major problem with teens 'poof you are 18 go act like an adult' yeah right, life isn't easy enough for that! how about handing over the reins little by little so that the drift into adult hood is nice and gradual? did you take away the diapers on your kids 2nd birthday? 'poof you are a preschooler, use a potty' no way! no kid trains overnight unless they pick the night (and rare is the child that picks a night anywhere close to 2y 0days!). How about when your kid turned say 16 'poof you can drive have fun' err I hope not! How about a few lessons?

Anyway that is totally OT, sorry.

[stone]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

I'm saying limit watching television to about 2 or 3 hours a day most.. and when they do watch it, let them watch REALITY TV type shows. like MTV Real world, and other stuff, where it shows how people really do act. THe tricks they will encounter in the real world,. and how they outsmart each other, and what works and what doesn't.

Do you really hink those shows are a good illustration of reality? I wouldn't want my kid learning life lessons from Puck, but thats me.

[Petal]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

After reading that your brain is more active when you're asleep than when you're watching TV(!), my kiddos only get to watch TV or play video games on the weekends. They will typically only watch for about an hour on Saturday morning, after that there's too much other stuff to do instead. I have an almost 7 year old son that would play XBox all weekend if he could though.. so I have to chase him outside after he's played Xbox for a while.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

Do you know where you read that? I have heard it too, but I like to be able to drop links to the 'proffessionals'. (like anyone can see that watching the average TV show kids get the slack jawed dead space look on, but proffessionals carry more weight)

[Petal]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

Sorry it took so long to reply. I read it in a book called "Teaching Tips and Techniques" by Rebecca Avery. The book is part of the Weaver Curriculum (I homeschool our kiddos.)

I'd have to go back and re-read it to see where she got that info from.

HTH

[cheapbastard]

Re: How much TV should kids be allowed to watch each day?

My two daughters watch no more than 2 hours of TV per day. There was a study done in New Zealand that children that watch too much tv are less likely to go to university or anyother type of tertiary education institute. I have also heard some other researchers say that tv watch appears to also be linked with childhood oibesity. After hearing about these studies I am a bit concerned. I may have to curb their tv watching habits. I need to take them outside and ride bikes or climb around on the playground. This will not only benefit them, it will benefit me as well.