Do your kids have a TV in their room?

[Traci Reed]

And how old are they and do you let them watch it at night?

My boys got into a REALLY bad habit long ago of going to bed with the TV on and I'm about to take it out of their room because I'm tired of it, so I wanted to know where everyone stands on the issue.

Poll coming.

[Jengerbread88]

When I was growing up, I had a TV. I didn't have a set time the TV had to go off, but I rarely watched TV (sometimes if I woke up in the middle of the night, I would turn it on for noise, set the sleep timer, and fall back to sleep)... it didn't really need to be regulated.

My 10 year old brother has a TV in his room, but he sleeps on the couch in my parents' room, so it hasn't been an issue for him obviously, because he's never even back there.

And, there's a TV in the nursery, but that's for my benefit, not Zach's. With breastfeeding, I'll probably want SOMETHING in there to keep me busy, and I imagine holding a book while I feed him will be difficult...

[gracelikerain]

My 9 and 11-year-old children have a tv in their joint "playroom" but no way would they get in their rooms. I'd never see them if they did

[SmallMoments]

Absolutely not. And Luke is 7.

[CA Dreamer]

I have a 7 and 12 year old. No TV (or computers) in their bedrooms. Although, I have thought about having a TV hooked up to a DVD player(no cable) in my 7 year old's room. That way, he and his friends can watch a DVD when they come over if they want. Or, we can watch a movie before bed - sine my DH and older son HATE to watch the 'baby' movies with us....

I would hate to have to police what they are stumbling upon on TV during the night.

[ColleenSwerb]

I never did as a kid and I don't think I want one in my kids room either. Maybe once they're teens. When I got older and had my own computer I just left it on all night and had playlists I fell asleep to. I've always preferred some noise to fall asleep (now we put the tv on sleep timer). I didn't have one in college, now that I think about it, and even when I got my own place I just had the one tv. It wasn't until Jordan and I moved in together that I got a tv in my bedroom, lol.

[tuneskids]

none of my children (6, 8, 12 & 16) have a TV in their room (at least not in this house, the 16 year old has a TV in his bedroom at his father's). There is a TV in the kids' playroom/tv room, which is where their video game consoles are (Wii & XBox360) and satellite as well (set to block anything PG-14 rated & up). They can watch TV whenever they want during the week, but we have a no video games rule on school days (which includes handheld games {DS & gameboy} & computer games as well). There will also be a computer in the kids' playroom, but it will have parental controls attached, to monitor & block websites.

[Tracie Stroud]

Definitely not. No tv's or computers that aren't in family rooms. I might consider a tv in a playroom (if we ever have one lol) but with strict limits on when and what they watch.

[Julie Billingsley]

Originally Posted by CA Dreamer

I would hate to have to police what they are stumbling upon on TV during the night.

exactly. Jacob had a tv in his room when he was 7ish, but it was only because we lived in a small condo and only had 2 tvs- living room and his bedroom. At bedtime the tv went off and was never allowed on. During the day, he would have to ask to watch and tell what show it was. Now we live in a house with a living room and family room so the 2 tvs are there. But now Jacob is 19 so he has a tv in his room, but he only has the xbox hooked up to it.

[nun69]

funny thing is Ben is 10 and had a TV in his room from probably the age of 6, but he only had it on too go to sleep and for the light! If I turned it off he wouLD get up in the middle of the night and turn it back on Abby and Peyton had one in their room to watch movies on {they were under 4} but Peyton started taking the movies in and oout of the DVD player and pretty much destroyed it. So we moved to the new house and Ben{9} and Abby {4 almost 5} had it in their rooms and very seldom watched them, so just a couple of weeks ago we took them and put them in the garage! We pretty much let them watch what they want on the TV downstairs or the TV int he loft....and I ususally put Mozart on the TV upstairs at night for them to listen to to go to sleep

[cardinalskate]

No way. No TVs in bedrooms. I'm weird and don't even like toys in my DD's room. Bedrooms are for SLEEPING. No TV in the playroom, either, just toys. Only TV is in living room (and Mommy and Daddy's room) where were will be around knowing what she watches.

[color of my heart]

my brother doesn't (at 21), and i didn't until last year (at 25). growing up, the only TVs were in my parents' room and in the living room. and the only reason i have a TV in my room is because i bought it to bring with me to school.

i agree with the "i wouldn't want to police what they are stumbling upon at night". for the record- movie channels go bad after dark.

[mdb21]

My 5 year-old son and 11 year-old daughter each have a TV in their rooms, but they're not hooked up to cable. They can only watch Mom-approved DVDs.

[kresta]

Nope, nope and nope.

[Julie Billingsley]

lol... reread what I wrote and just wanted to say that I'm not opposed to my 19 year old watching tv in his room, but we just don't have a directv receiver in there. If he wanted to get one, I would be fine with that. Logan is just 8 and if he asked for a tv in his room, I'd be okay with it once he is like 14-15ish.

[brooke22]

My 6 year old had a tv in her room, but its only hooked up to a dvd player, no TV signal at all. She only ever watches it when she is sick and in bed all day.

[MandaT]

No TV in the bedrooms, we have talked about putting one in the girls' room for movie watching, but haven't gotten further than that (they are 2 & 4, it would have to be up high enough that they couldn't touch it, because, it would be ruined in 2 seconds). The only TV we have is actually in the livingroom area of the house.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Our kids have a TV, but it's not hooked up to cable, just a DVD player for days when we need to keep them out of the living room for Mom & Dad date night, sick days, etc. We can hook up the PS to it if need be, but it goes unused 95% of the time.

[scrappurple]

I have read/heard that falling asleep with white noise AND light in your room is really bad for you. You brain does not shut down and sleep like it would in a black, quiet room

[jessica31876]

yes and no. my 13 y/o does not. My 17 y/o does. If I let my 13 y/o have a tv in his room he would never go to sleep.

[Shawna]

Our oldest had a small TV in her room starting at age 2 just because we had an extra TV when we got a new one for the living room. But it was always mounted high on the wall and only had a VCR to watch Disney videos (no cable hookup). But we were the only ones that could turn it off/on and start videos so it wasn't used all that often. Our girls started sharing the room when the oldest was 5 but then the VCR went out and we didn't replace it so eventually we just took it out of the bedroom and now none of the kids have a TV in their bedrooms.

[tanyiadeskins]

My eldest is 18 now, and she has no tv in her own room. The younger ones share a room and are 13 and 10 ... no tv there either. They did have one but I took it away over a year ago when I found out they were just leaving it on all night long.

[mariewilcox]

Currently DD (11) does not, but that's because it died and I haven't bought a new one. She's had one on her room since she was probably 3 or so. Back then DS (16 then) had one in his room too. We had a small apartment and no den/playroom/TV room, etc. I didn't want to watch what DS watched so he got one in his room for when his friends were over to play games, watch tv, etc. DD always had one for pretty much the same reasons - only other TV is in the living room and I get mighty tired of watching iCarly, Suite Life, and Wizards of Waverly Place. Our Wii is hooked up in the living room because we both play. I've never had issues with TVs in kids rooms - my kids are/were both so active in sports that they only watch/ed TV for about 30 minutes a day anyway. The one room that's never had a TV was mine (ours when DH was alive) - neither of us liked to watch TV in bed and I still don't like to. I never had issues with what they were watching and I've never heavily sensored them anyway - DD sensors herself because she hates anything remotely violent and hates anything that uses the word sex or sexy - LOL. DS liked crime shows and such - not a biggie for me. He grew up to be an extremely responsible, well adjusted adult

[MissKim]

Girls are 11 and 15, boy is 17. Girls share a room. Both bedrooms have a TV. They all go to sleep watching them. Girls watch the Food Network to go to sleep. No idea what boy watches... probably sports. 95% of the time if they're watching TV, they're in the living room with us (or the girls and I go in my room to watch my TV because dh and I disagree about what is quality TV).

They have TVs because we have bought or won consecutively larger TVs for our living room and bedroom, so we hand them down to our kids. My dh is a cheapskate and would never dream of giving away a working TV, or even selling it for less than he thinks it's worth. And trust me, his value is way above market value. So the kids get it. They only have basic cable. Not the extended, every channel possible, that we get.

[Traci Reed]

See I don't worry about WHAT they watch, after 8 they turn it to Nick Jr or "safe" channels. They just leave it on to go to sleep to until I come in and turn it off before I go to bed. It drives me NUTS.

[mummytothree]

I have a 20 month old, 3 year old, 6 year old, 9 year old and a 13 year old and none of them have TVs in their rooms.

However, the girl's room (9 & 13) have their bedroom in our finished basement and the other side in a playroom that has a TV. However the way it's set up they actually have to be *IN* the playroom to watch the TV.

My kids will probably never have TV's in their rooms. I just don't see the point,

[NeverendingJen]

nope.

[isaacsmom]

I have a 13 month old and a 5 year old. They do not have a tv in their room and I do not think they ever will. There is far too much tv watching that happens in my opinion. I want them to play with their toys and use their imagination or read books or play outside, not sit in front of their tv. But we do let our older son play his Leapster at night for 15-20 minutes. That's how he winds down for the night.

[MissKim]

Originally Posted by Traci Reed

See I don't worry about WHAT they watch, after 8 they turn it to Nick Jr or "safe" channels. They just leave it on to go to sleep to until I come in and turn it off before I go to bed. It drives me NUTS.

Sleep timer. My girls set theirs every night.

[Tracyfish]

L.J. just turned 6 and he has one in his playroom, but not his room. He goes to sleep in a pitch black room with nothing on...he doesn't even want a nightlight. I'm hoping to keep it that way since I HAVE to have the TV on to fall asleep and I hate it.

[mrshobbes]

The only TV in the house until I was about 11 was in my parents' room. Then they got a second TV, but my mom put it in the living room. We couldn't watch TV during school nights until I was in fifth or sixth grade, I think.

[jacinda]

No TVs in any bedrooms at our house. The kids have one in their playroom for watching DVDs if they're allowed.

There is a lot of debate on both sides as to whether TVs in kids bedroom is a good idea or not. I tend to hear more bad than good myself. Here are a couple of interesting links you might want to check out:

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8471072/...nder-learning/

[lauren grier]

technically .. there's a tv in his room our neighbors gave it to him a few months back (7). it's not hooked up to anything though- and he knows better than to throw in a movie or play a video game w/o permission (aka at night)

[pewtertm]

I had one in my room when I was about 7. I wasn't one to get up in the middle of the night and watch TV, but I've had quite a few students who did exactly that, and would then be exhausted/falling asleep in class. As I got older (20s), I'd go to sleep with the TV on (sleep timer)...I still do. I have tinitis from years of constant ear infections as a kid and my ears ring constantly if it's dead quiet. So the TV actually helps me go to sleep...a CD/radio does the same thing.

Rachel doesn't and will not have a TV in her room. There is a TV in the guest room...it's not hooked up to cable; only a VCR. Sometimes she goes in there and watches an old tape. She does go to sleep with her CD player on...whenever we do not turn on her music she winds up in our room in the middle of the night. If she has her music she almost always stays in her room all night long.

[rach3975]

I had to cure my husband of the habit of going to sleep with the tv on when we got married. I hated it! We don't have tvs in my kids' bedrooms (ages 2, 5, and 7). I doubt we ever will, but the battle will come in a few years when they want to use computers in their rooms and we're not ready to let them. My older 2 go to sleep with CD's playing, and they shut off automatically after they play through once.

[AmberK]

my boys are 6 and 4 and neither one has a TV in their bedroom. There is one in their playroom though. And they watch one show in our bedroom as part of their bedtime routine.

[Angie4b1g]

Only the 18 year old. I figure if he stays up all night watching tv, that's his problem. None of the other ones do. (14, 12, 9, 6)

[4noisyboys]

Mine don't count because they're adults, but...we never allowed a TV into their rooms until they were probably 18. It was a non-issue, no matter how many of their friends had them. We did have one upstairs that didn't really work...it was just used for video games. That was the only one.

I don't like having one in my room either though. I just bought my dh a big flat screen one for our room though last year. Now that he's working up in Alaska, it's unplugged until he gets home. He likes to watch news or sports while he's showering.

[emmasmommy]

mine are 3 and (we'll call her) 6. they do have a tv in their room but they aren't allowed to turn it on unless we turn it on for them and we have the remote. they do sleep with a white noise machine.

[julifish]

My 12 yo has a TV in her room and has since she was 10. She leaves it on all night. Even if we turn it off when we go to bed she will turn it back on. Grr!

My 8 yo does not have a TV in her room. She can't handle it. She'd stay up all night watching TV so she's only allowed to watch in the Family Room or in the guest room on special occassions.

[mlrw70]

Sean is 5 and no TV, but he does have the portable DVD player in his room. But he also knows he can't use it without asking.

[aggiefamily]

They do now in our new house. But their room is HUGE and half is playroom and other half is bedroom. Their tv does not have cable but has a dvd player and wii. So they watch movies on it and occasionally Netflix via Wii. During the summer they play Wii on Wednesdays and Sundays only. During school Wii is on Sundays. They do not watch it at bedtime and have to ask permission to watch a movie. I do this because my oldest needs restrictions or else he will sit on his bum all day long.

In our old house they had a tv in their playroom.

[nanienamou]

We only have one tv in the house, in the family room. However, my oldest who just turned 7 has ADD as well as anxiety and sleep issues, so he falls to sleep with classical/easy listening/jazz music on the alarm clock/radio in our room. The two younger ones don't need music or white noise.

[Milmomma]

I didn't get a tv in my room till I was 13, it was my birthday present. I didn't have my own pc until after I was married. My kids are 4 and almost 6, not TV's in their room, nor will they till they are at least teens. My kids will not have computers in their rooms until they are 18 or older. They use the netbook at the desk in the living room so we can watch them. I want them to be kids as long as possible

[HeatherKS]

The girls (6 and 9) have a TV in their bedroom. It's actually "hidden" in the closet and they rarely watch it unless I send them in there specifically because I want to watch something in the living room. They'd rather be out where the action is. Callan, 3, doesn't have a TV in his room and I don't see him having one in the near future.

[DawnMarch]

Nope.

[Joana1n]

No TVs in any bedroom in our home, ever. EVER. When they move out and get their own place, if they want a TV in the bedroom, fine. But we won't ever have TVs in the bedrooms in our home.

Not that I feel strongly about that for our family or anything.

[JenTapler]

No. We have one TV in our house that's in our living room and we have very strict limited TV times, otherwise it's off the majority of the time if my 4-yr-old son is awake. If Joel and I want to watch something, we set the DVR and watch it after Dean's in bed. Dean's "screen time" (this includes TV times, video games, computer time) is very strictly monitored and limited - he is allowed a total of 4 hours of "screen time" per week plus we typically have "Family Movie Night" one night per week, or less often (that doesn't count as part of his 4 hours). He is ONLY allowed to watch / play educational stuff (PBS kids, etc).

When he starts kindergarten in the fall, we're contemplating allowing him to "earn" additional Screen Time (most likely this will be in the form of computer time NOT TV time!!) by reading or doing work "schoolwork" or eventually by doing chores and stuff.

I researched this excessively and I'm not budging on it. There are tons of studies out there about the topic. Every parent has to decide for themselves of course what works for their family. This works for ours. He will not be allowed a TV in his room EVER, even as a teenager (at least that's my stance for now). We'll figure out some type of negotiation for sharing our family TV. There are only 3 of us and Joel and I aren't big TV watchers anyway. Eventually we'll get him his own computer but will have strict limitations on it's use so he's not slumped in front of screen for hours on end day after day.

Also, Joel and I survived for 4 years without a TV at all and we managed just fine. In fact, I'm pretty sure we were better off without it. We got one when we moved into the condo we lived in before where we live now and free cable was included with our maintenance fees (free! ha! what a joke) and someone gave us a hand-me-down little TV. We used that little 20-inch TV until just last year when it finally died and we upgraded to a flat-screen. But really, our family was just fine without a TV and if I had my way, we'd go back to no TV at all.

[kscwgirl]

No. They had one.. and then we found out abby was getting up in the middle of the night and turning it on and watching it.. then she lied to me about it.. so they lost the tv and i don't know when.. if ever.. she'll get it back.

[StephanieLH]

No TVs in bedrooms... though they have asked. There are so few opportunities for kids to just play. We limit TV and having one in their rooms would be hard to oversee. We have one in our room though . They can watch in there with our permission.