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JSchaaf
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 10:00am | IP Logged
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If your children watch television, would you share your experiences with me? Please?
How much television per day/week? Is it cable, DVD's, etc.? Do you regulate how much TV? If so, how do you do it? If you have limited/got rid of television, how did you go about that? If you have kids in traditional school, do they watch TV after school? Again, how much/how often? Have you noted any adverse effects from television watching? Positive effects?
No, I'm not writing an expose on the TV watching habits of Catholic homeschoolers. 
In truth, my almost 6 yo has become a TV fanatic in the past few weeks. I think it started when we were all sick and the TV was on more than usual. I've always let my kids self-regulate TV watching (time, not content). If I thought they were watching too much I would suggest a more fun alternate activity. (Come bake with me! Let's get out the paints!) But Ally would prefer to watch TV over other stuff. I must admit she is at about 3 hours per day.  Mostly PBS and DVD's, but still...
So, there it is. I'm trying to figure out how much TV time is appropriate, how to set those limits, how to enforce them, or whether I should just relax about the whole thing.
Jennifer
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 11:10am | IP Logged
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I think that it is natural for TV time to be difficult to rein back in after an illness or a vacation, when we tend to watch more than normal. But I also think it is important to do so, and much research on the effects of screen time on young children backs me up on that.
We don't get any TV, broadcast or cable, but we do DVD's. Our rule is no TV at all during school hours. Only 1 movie per evening. Depending on the weather or what is going on, it may be none at all. I am much more likely in the summer to shoo the kids outside all evening, while in the winter we do more DVD watching.
But the bottom line is that all of the kids know the rules, and they know they must ask before watching a movie. They also know I can and do often just tell them no. Around here TV time (and computer time as well) is a treat, not a right.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Rachel May
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 11:24am | IP Logged
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What Theresa said.
Our system: Each child has an assigned day where they get to pick the afternoon movie, BUT they are only allowed to watch 1/2 hour. So if it isn't Veggie Tales or the like, they only get to see things incrementally. On Friday we all watch a whole movie together. Occasionally, I will let one of the little non-schoolaged kids pick a morning movie, still a half hour and must be educational like Magic School Bus or Signing Time.
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Sarah M
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 11:26am | IP Logged
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Oh my.  Confession time. I'd rather not admit this. I am not a TV watcher myself, but everytime I log on to the computer, the screen is flicked on for my littles. They watch PBS (Mister Rogers, Caillou) or EWTN or DVD's (checked out from the library usually- I'm big on the Weston Woods Books on DVD). I'll bet my kids watch close to 2 hours a day if I'm not up to fighting the battle. It gets better when it's not rainy out (we live in the NW, so...that's like, what? 10 days a year?  )
The thing is, I know better. And I know with absolute certainty that my kids are better behaved, more respectful, and way more creative when we turn the TV off completely. We turned it off during Lent and I wondered why we ever turn it on at all. My kids were so much more pleasant to be around. What seems to happen is we are pretty good at keeping it off, then somebody gets sick and I let it stay on all day, and we have a painful time getting back to turning it off again. It's a vicious cycle.
As I type this, they are watching PBS. 
I think a reasonable goal in our home is 1/2 hour a day. If I don't turn the TV on in the morning, it's easier not to turn it on at all. I like to wait until dinner-making time (4:30). When I've done that in the past, it's worked really well.
Of course, that insinuates that I'll be turning it off now, but in truth, I'm going to finish browsing the boards and then go wash the mound of dishes piled up in the kitchen  .
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LucyP
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 11:39am | IP Logged
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It's hard to scale back again, isn't it? Our ds usually has such a small amount of sugar/sweets/chocolate that even I almost feel sorry for him - since Easter he won't stop crazing for more and more!
With TV we have a small set (now a 17" passed onto us, but a 14" for years) and a dvd player. We keep it in the spare room. Typically the children watch 30-45 mins a fortnight - sometimes if I am ironing and there is so much I do it in the afternoon they watch a nature film or a bit of a movie while I iron.
I don't have the self-discipline for TV.
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BlessedbyGod
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| Posted: April 04 2008 at 5:53pm | IP Logged
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We do regulate TV. They watch about 1/2 to one hour of PBS in the early morning while I shower and eat. Then it's off usually for the whole day. Sometimes in winter I will let them watch a DVD in the late afternoon. My older kids rarely watch any tv at all but my 10 and 11 year olds enjoy the food network.
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Rachel May
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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One nice benefit to limiting TV, which I was noticing last night, is that the kids really engage in the story. For example, my kids were crying from laughter and falling on the ground during the funny parts of the movie compared to their friend who only stopped running around the house to watch that one part with a smile on his face. When they watch educational DVDs, they really pay attention too.
Drawback, I had to physically push each one out of the waiting room when it was time to leave the pediatrician's this week. 
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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folklaur
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 11:12am | IP Logged
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oh dear.
We don't really limit tv. Well, we limit what they watch, but we do watch what I am guessing is "a lot."
We love nature shows. DH & I love history channel. He loves MythBusters, and the kids like to watch that with him. DD18 watches the Food Channel. We watch Liberty's Kids every day at 3 if we are home. They also watch the rosary video or one of the saint videos almost daily.
But it is also off a lot, too. Well, for me it is "a lot"- my parents almost always had TV on (My mom still does this). She doesn't watch it, but it is always on as background noise.
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 11:21am | IP Logged
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Rachel May wrote:
One nice benefit to limiting TV, which I was noticing last night, is that the kids really engage in the story. For example, my kids were crying from laughter and falling on the ground during the funny parts of the movie compared to their friend who only stopped running around the house to watch that one part with a smile on his face. When they watch educational DVDs, they really pay attention too.
Drawback, I had to physically push each one out of the waiting room when it was time to leave the pediatrician's this week. |
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This is so us!! I had to make a TV rule for ME... otherwise I would let them watch it all the time without realizing it. But the benefits to the kids have been just what Rachel said. JP dies laughing at parts of movies compared to others who get to watch more. And... my kids LOVE any doctors' office... because of the TV.
ETA: BTW - Our rule is movies on Sunday. On Friday, if they are good they can watch some of Qubo (Veggie tales and the like) on a local channel. On a daily basis we don't do any tv until the afternoon and then it's either Signing Time or PBS. I just have little kids, so we don't do movies at night.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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PDyer
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 12:03pm | IP Logged
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We limit content more than time, as long as the watching is mindful. Sitting and vegging for hours on mind candy on a beautiful day won't do, barring illness. Now that he is beyond the morning PBS stage, my son rarely is interested in TV other than watching sports with his dad. My daughter loves a movie and will dig herself into a rut if I'm not careful to shut it off when movie #1 is over. I watch TV only late at night if I can't sleep, which isn't the healthiest, but there it is.
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Patty
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mellyrose
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 1:10pm | IP Logged
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We don't watch TV until the afternoon / evening, and will often go whole days without turning it on. School, chores and errands have to happen before any screen time (TV, computer, DS, Wii) Well, as long as my DH isn't home. He loves TV and has to have it on even when he's not in the room. Heck, he leaves it on even when he leaves the house so it's on when he returns.
I monitor content, and use our DVR to record appropriate shows for the boys so there's no channel surfing going on, plus it's easy when a show is over the TV can go off again.
There's more TV watching when DH is home, but the kids like to watch Mythbusters, building and nature shows with him. Oh, and sports.
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Melanie in AZ
Colin (11/00), Nate (05/02), Lydia (04/07)
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CAgirl4God
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| Posted: April 05 2008 at 9:39pm | IP Logged
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we do more Wii than TV most days. lol
we don't have any hard and fast rules about our watching.
the three yr old will watch an hour or two a day.. some days.
others none at all.
the older kids mostly watch in the evenings if something good is on.
we like animal planet, disc channel, history channel and the military channel.
some weeks/months they will want to watch more dvds.. so we may have movie nights.. or on rainy days...
most of the time it is pretty balanced
sometimes we will all sit and watch shows like dancing with the stars (we like dancing in our house).
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: How much TV?
