Bedroom Talk

How many parents out there think NOT having a TV in the kids bedroom is a GOOD idea?

I have 3 kids.. and none have a TV in the bedroom. In fact they claim they are the *only* kids in their peer group/class/school who are so 'deprived'.... Am I all alone? Well... my kid ages are 13,12 and 10. And it doesnt seem to have retarded them. Actually when they were younger.. it was a good way for them to get out of bed!

Public Comments

1. i think you a very smart parent
2. My son has a radio....no TV. He has his own TV in his playroom, but the bedroom is a place to sleep, not watch TV.
3. Me! I think it's the right decision! There are enough things in this world that will waste their brains away, why add all hours tv to the mix. CT
4. I too have three children. None of them have a television in their bedroom. And they never will until they are a LOT older. When I send them to bed there are already too many distractions. I can at least, to some extent, control the other distractions, but not late night television.
5. my kids have a tv and a dvd it keeps them quiet when wanting to watch telly when there is a programe on for me and at weekends when they are allowed to stay up later they go upstairs and watch a dvd.............and they never harass me to watch it on school nights because i dont allow it and they know that.......wow i cant belive how many people dont allow there children a telly whats the big deal
6. im not aparent but i think that you are doing the right thing! when i have kids they wont, i didnt until i was 20 years old!
7. I think it sucks. Kids love to watch cartoons & other kiddie shows, but you might want to set the parental controls on your TV to keep them from watching inappropriate programs. They probably are the only ones without a tv in their rooms.
8. TV in the bedroom is evil. Bedrooms are for toys, books and SLEEPING Imagine you get up at 2am - you hear a noise. What is it? -- your middle child went up to pee and decided to watch tv. It also makes kids need the tv on to fall asleep. And with their door shut they could be watching ANYTHING and you won't know it. No tv or internet in the bedrooms for kids!!!
9. no thats a great idea. in my moms house we dont even have a tv in the living room or dining room. so when we eat no one is distracted by the tv and we can eat and talk as a family and learn about each others day. and i will carry this onto my house when i purchase one.
10. Nope, you are not alone!
11. 3,000.
12. you should let them have a tv!.
13. We always said that our kids would never have a tv in their rooms, and both do. BUT... we have strict rules about the tv's, and they actually do follow them. If not, they would be removed from their rooms to the basement.
14. No your not alone, I too believe that kids should go to bed to sleep. Plenty of time for tv during the daytime. Keep up our good work!!
15. I do not believe you are wrong in your belief. Not having TVs in kids rooms can keep most kids active within their family and outside activities. Televisions in the rooms of children can cause them to be isolated from their surroundings.
16. I absolutely will not allow a television in my kids' bedrooms. Granted, they're pretty young (5 & 7), but most of their friends already have tv's in their rooms. Kids watch enough television as it is, without plopping one in their rooms. My primary objection, though, is that I want to not only monitor the amount of time they're watching but more importantly, what they're watching. I guess we're the weird ones!
17. My son is only seven months...so no he doesn't have a television in his bedroom. I won't let him have one in there either--maybe when he's sixteen or seventeen--and he can buy one for himself. Kid who do have TVs in their rooms can lose themselves in their room, stay up until all hours of the night, and have an excuse not to spend quality time with the family. My parents had a TV in their room and if my sister and I wanted to watch something other then what my parents were watching we could watch in their room.
18. NO. I unplug my sons (he's 3) after his morning shows are off (sesame street, Dora). At night, he listens to a CD. I started doing this because he had 2 nightmares. You are not alone. Have your children read good books, and give them cliffhangers, so that they'll look forward to the rest of the story the next evening. Good luck...good parents are hard to find!
19. Maybe not in the bedroom, but in a TV room. So you can relax in another room. Then you can use this to discipline your kids!!!
20. My step daughter comes to our home every other weekend. The way my husband works, he barely gets to see her. She begs for a tv so we told her that when she saves up her own money for one, she can buy one. She has learned the value of a dollar and has not been rotting her brain with tv while she is with us for her short visits.
21. GOOD JOB DAD! Remind them of the other more vital things they could be deprived of rather than not having TV in their rooms. Your children, and family life in general, probably benefitting and preparing them for life on their own in ways much better than all those other kids who may or may not really have a TV in their rooms.
22. i didnt have atv in my oom for a long time. There is nothing wrong with that. It is a very good idea, it keeps them from becoming glued to the set. At least this way they have to go into the living room, or den or whatever in plain sight and you can see what they are watching and have some sort of idea of how long they have been watching it. Watching television takes less brain power than drinking a glass of water. Not having tv's in their room force them to find other things to occupy their time, like becoming more active. Notice how childhood and teen obesity is on the rise?? look at how video game and tv usage is on the rise also*
23. My kids will never have TVs in their rooms.
24. No you are not alone. My daughter is only three months old but she wont have a TV in her room until she is 16 and even then...she has to keep her grades up. I don't think that the bedroom is the right place for a TV.
25. I agee with NO T.V or computers in the bedroom. I like my family to be togeather, and I like to know what they are doing/watching at all times. They are not deprived......but good try on their part
26. You are one smart parent. You are on the right track to smarter more appreciative teenagers and adults.
27. I'm not a parent but I am a teacher and I currently have a class of 5-7year olds. I think you are right to do this, as I never fail to be shocked by the TV programmes that some children come in to school talking about. If your children don't have a TV then you are able to monitor their viewing and stop them watching anything unsuitable, also they are less likely to be up half the night watching things and then feeling really tired the following day. I've noticed on a few parenting programmes recently that the TV is taken out of the childs room quite quickly to try and solve problems. I'm sure your kids aren't the only children in their group of friends or class without a TV but even if they are I think you should stand your ground and be proud that you are concerned enough about your children not to have one. I know If I have children I won't be letting them have one and it didn't do me any harm when I was a child not to.
28. Our kids do not have a TV in their bedroom. There is a TV with a DVD player in the toy room that they can watch sometimes during the day though. It is not hooked up to cable, so all they can do with it is put in DVD's that we provide for them.
29. When I was kid, we went outside and played until the sun went down and only got 1 hour of TV a day. No wonder kids are fat arses nowadays - they all sit on their backsides glued to the telly loading up on breaded and deep fried reconstituted chicken vaginas and chips cuz parents are too lazy/busy/indifferent to make a decent meal and kick their kids backsides outside! Sorry, little rant...my bad :)
30. my parens say it's bad for my education to have a t.v in my room
31. I believe in a one television household. We have one television and everyone does just fine. On the weekend we watch football, in the mornings on weekends we watch cartoons, during the week we take turns as well. We watch tv together and we talk about it together. I believe a study showed that kids that grew up without a tv in their room had a slightly higher IQ and scored better on state tests than those who did have a tv.
32. My 3 year old has a tv and dvd player in her room. She is only allowed to play movies on it when we are watching something in the living room and she wants to watch another movie. She watches a movie in her room about once a month, if that. My parents bought it for her because she loves Dora and it was a dora tv and dvd player. It really was a waste of their money since it is hardly ever used. I do not agree with parents that allow their children to fall asleep while watching tv. Children need to learn how to fall asleep on their own, and not be dependent on a tv.
33. deffinately not a good idea, we tried it for a while,but got tired running up and down the stairs turning it off after he kept turning it back on,and besides how can you keep an eye on what they watch from another room? best thing we did was take the tv from his room,if he can`t sleep now he reads which has to be far better educationally.
34. You're definitely doing the right thing. My two won't be allowed one until they're teenagers.
35. My kids are the same; all three of them have said they are the only ones who don't have their own TV in their room, and my youngest is 7! My daughter informed me it should be considered abuse because I have the nerve to limit her time on the computer and because the computer is in the family room were a close eye can be kept on it. You are not alone, but it certainly does feel that way doesn't it? It can be hard to stick to your guns but hang in there. I wish there were more parents who felt this way, because I really believe kids watching inappropriate TV, movies, music videos etc is one of the biggest contributing factors to the world be in the mess it is. Good luck
36. excellent idea! Make tv time a treat instead of a God-given right and the whole family will benefit. It becomes something shared, like proper meals at a real table with intellligent conversation. Parents - get rid of your telly from the bedroom. Better still, chuck 'em all out...rant..rant
37. I agree, bedrooms are for sleeping and quiet time ie reading. Most kids get over tired cos they dont relax before settling down to sleep, therefore you have naughty overtired kids on your hands.
38. I think it's a bad idea. My kid's have always had a tv in their rooms and I wish I had never let them. We either get them watching the same programme on 2 different T.V.'s or 3 if we're watching the same thing. They won't set it to go off till midnight, later in the holidays. They're 14 and 16 now. That still gives them 7½ hours sleep if they go right after the TV goes off. Sometimes if they forget to set it to go off I end up doing it at lord knows what time in the early hours. If I could turn back time, I certainly would.
39. I think it is an EXCELLENT idea for you NOT to have a televison in any of your children's rooms. Not only can you now monitor what they watch but you can also talk about what they see on the TV. And I hardly think you are alone in keeping the "boob tube" out of your children's rooms. Besides, they need to busy outside their rooms - not "squirreled" away inside doing nothing.
40. well i am a kid and i have it all a TV, computer and cd player etc... i fink if u are a parent that has a lot of time to spend enjoying time with their children the go ahead and carry on. but if not just playing with the same old toys can be very boring and you dont always want to watch the same programms as ur siblings.
41. no,i dont let my kids have tvs in there rooms,to encourage them to play,read,and use there immagination,which they do,if they have never had it they will not miss it.
42. My kids have a tv and dvd player in their bedroom. They dont use it 7 days a week, they mainly use the main tv in the living room. Surely there are times when parents want to watch something too. When its the summer ( when the evenings are light forever!) and sometimes at weekends they go to bed earlier to chill out with the telly. Having a tv in the bedroom doesnt effect them, All my kids are above average for school, and no they dont put the telly on in the night, it gets unplugged when they go to sleep.
43. I have have a tv in my room...and that's when it all started. I watch tv all night long and if my parents only knew the shows that i watch they would proly take away my tv.... lol I think you are making a great decision b/c i watch tv instead of studying or homework and that kinda shows in my grades... so...i dont recommend that you buy them one unless they are straight A students
44. A bedroom is for sleeping and homework it isn't for TV. A TV Should be banned from children's bedroom Children who watch a lot of television, especially at bedtime or in their bedroom, are more likely to resist going to bed, have trouble sleeping or wake up more, a study suggests http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9909/07/sleepy.students.ap/
45. I don't have kids yet but they will not have a tv in their bedroom!! you're not alone :)
46. My kids, 10 and 14, both have a TV in their room. But, there are rules that go along with it. They are only allowed to watch it at certain times, and only certain programs. I have blocked the channels that I don't want them to watch. It's not bad to have a TV in their room, but we as parents need to monitor what they are watching and when they are watching it. Just like we do with the TV in the living room.
47. I tell my daughter that not all kids have a TV in their room because she doesn't. If she did then maybe her statement would be true. No, no TV in the bedroom and also once we decide to give her the internet, the computer is coming out, too. When she is sick and needs to stay in bed I will allow her to use the portable DVD player to watch movies.
48. Nope! My kids will not have a tv or a phone or a cell phone. You are a good parent. These things are not needed.
49. no its not a good idea because kids need to be guided... and whatever they input is what they will output... if its in their room u wont b able to c what they r watching and its important that u do
50. My children do not have a TV in their room, nor will they ever. I never did, my husband never did, an I simply don't think it is a good idea. My kids don't even have toys in their rooms, they can read, it's a great place for them to expand their mind :) Stick with it! You're doing the right thing! :)