So I have a question on the banning of the TV. We decided to let the boys watch tv on saturday morning so Fred and I could sleep in (or actually get some sleep for the first time in a week) on the condition that they only watch Qubo (the only channel that has non-violent shows on weekends). to enforce this, we removed all the other channels from the tv program so when you flip through the "up channel" button, you only get the one. You can still get to the others, you just have to type in the number and the boys haven't figured it out yet. They were good about turning it off when we asked. I have since restricted internet access to sites that I put on the favorites list, which means they can't go on chaotic or transformers and places that aren't basically a PBS violence level. But realistically, at some point the kids have to learn how to self-ration their media time, so at some point they have to have access to it so they can learn the self-control needed. Haven't we all some into contact with people who were denied electronic media access (tv, internet, video games, etc) as a child for some reason or another and never learned the self-discipline involved in shutting it off? This week without tv went great, we had some whining but no major meltdowns, and they played outside a lot more. My current plan is to restrict tv to the weekend mornings, and internet to 15 minutes a day if they're lucky and all homework and chores are done.
Here's the debate: Is this little enough electronic time that it will have the effect I want, that they will be aware that it is there but it doesn't have to be used, but enough that when they move out and make their own media decisions they won't become addicts because they've never learned to deal with it?
Post a comment, I am most interested to hear ALL sides of the story so I can be more educated in my guinea pig approach to media dictatorship.
Monday, March 10, 2008
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5 comments:
Last year or the year before, we put the TV in the closet for a month. On Fridays we would hook up a projector to the computer and watch a DVD! It was the greatest month the kids LOVED it! They have even suggested that we do it again sometime. It gave us all the motivation to something other than just watch TV.
We limit Internet. We have bookmarked a handful of sites that they can visit--some are educational some are just fun--pbskds, starfall, bbc kids, wonka, sparktop are a few. I have made it clear that if they clear the history they lose their priviledges on the internet. I need to be able to go back and check where they've been. It gives them some freedom with accountability. Nathan and Kielle have email accounts to write grandparents since they live far away.
I think that it is good to give them a little bit of freedom yet set appropriate boundaries. At this age when they want to search for something, we need to be in the room do that they don't click on the "wrong" link. If my girls wanted to do a search for dolls it could get pretty interesting! Trust me I know!
I'm glad that you want them to learn to make informed decisions and to not make it so inaccessible that they go overboard in their desire for it. You're a great mom!
I think what you are doing is great. If kids learn that there are things to do other than watch TV and play on the internet, they are more likely to keep up that habit. Especially if you don't make a big deal about there not being any TV.
I think a little bit is good, because if you say NO NO NO, that is when they try to sneak it at someone elses house or something like that.
Also, another tactic could be to give them a certain amount of time to watch tv, use the computer each week. Once they've used that time, they know there is no more tv that week. (watching tv together counts for both).
I know I'm not a mom yet, but those are the thoughts I have had that I want to try on my kids!
We tried tv tokens last year. They would start out with a certain number at the start of the week and put in their token when they watched tv. (1=30mins) They could earn more for doing extra chores too. It was amazing the change that there was in the house and after a few weeks, they weren't even using all the tokens! Things like that always fizzle out...that was a good one, though. I'm gonna start that up again. Especially in the summertime! Alex just discovered the xbox. He's loved computer games for a long time but now it's all about playing Lego StarWars and I'm starting to worry. I'll throw those into the token plan too. I also liked that they had to be responsible and decide if a show was worth a token and budget it out. You are a great mom and I think you have great kids!
We don't really watch T.V. after school. Tyler has homework and too many toys that do a much better job at entertaining the kids than any T.V. does for all three kids at the same time. Andrew gets to watch in the mornig while I'm cleaning but other than that we record what shows we really want to watch so we can skip through commercials and ignore the bad stuff. But I haven't taught them how to use the remote, so I'm still in complete control. Let me know how it goes for you.
I try to limit the amount of TV that Bridgett watched..she's not even 2 so I think that she shouldn't watch TV at all, but then I realize that I need to get dressed in the morning, or make dinner, and i know that it is a gift for me to have her sitting where I can see her and she's not in her room coloring on the wall or taking all of the wipes out and throwing them on the floor. She also has been introduced to shows she probably shouldn't watch at such a young age, but it's hard when she asks to watch Superman (Louis and Clark series from the 90's) and Patrick and I just want to sit and relax too. I definitely want to start backing off on her TV watching though b/c Patrick and I have let her get into the habit of asking for it, and I'd rather her be in the habit of playing outside, or coloring, or reading books(like she used to).
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