Anybody else strict with television and video games?

[Entertaining_Angels]

I'm just curious, is anybody else 'strict' (by societal standards) when it comes to television and video games? I'm not really looking to debate what shows or games are appropriate but rather do you have family members or friends who think you are too strict?

We limit the television shows for our children. They do not watch television every day and when they do, they watch shows with no commercials. Our kids are only seven and two so we feel there is no need for more. Our seven year old also has educational games on the computer (Carmen SanDiego, Reader Rabbit, etc...) and a few gameboy games ('Land Before Time' variety and none with violence or anything that could be construed as evil) for long trips but again, the gameboy is for the car and not really for the house.

I get alot of flack for these choices not that I mind a whole lot but I was wondering if anybody has these struggles with other parents as well.

Thanks

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

We're not a strict as you but we do limit what our daughter can and cannot watch. I think you're doing a great job limiting the amount of trash your kids take in!

 

[Leanna]

Yes David doesn't get to watch TV unless I am at the end of my rope and then he gets to watch a short video. He does not get to watch TV everyday. I don't get any flack yet because he is only a toddler. Also on my dad's side most people go "mostly TV-free" so this is a family acceptable choice. In fact at our family gathering I said something about popping in a video when David starts getting emotionally charged and one of them started a lecture on me about kids and TV.

 

[DLX]

We have a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 2 year old. They are allowed to watch what we choose (shows without commercials like you said). Mostly shows that would be for toddlers (Blues Clues, Veggie Tales, some Dora, some Barney). I watch everything either while they are watching it, or before they watch it, so I know what they are taking in. My 7 year old sister is allowed to watch shows like Lizzy McGuire and Ghost Busters. I think those shows are totally innapropriate for such a young child. But I guess each parent has their own value system.

Chad and I are pretty strict about what we watch too and it feels good. I used to watch shows like X Files and stuff like that. Now, we don't and I feel healthier for it.

Lexi

 

[Princessperky]

Yeah we limit (prolly more than you in quantity, less in 'quality') and yeah we get some flack, not to much since the flack has about run out (we breastfeed, homeschool, have bedtimes, don't do santa, no pop, little sugar, ect.) I think the family just gave up .

 

[5stringJeff]

We only have basic cable at our house, which means we get 20 channels total (to include the TV Guide channel, local gov't tv, etc.). So there's not much on for us to "veg out" on. We try to watch TV for a purpose. Otherwise, we watch movies instead.

And when our daughter (12) plays video games, we give her a time limit. Usually 1 1/2 hours.

 

[Manna]

When it comes to what my daughter takes in, I am VERY strict! We don't watch television every day, and a big part of that is there is very little that I allow her to watch! VeggieTales is a hands-down favorite. She's crazy about it, I love the messages and the hidden humor in it! She is allowed to watch Sesame Street, though we rarely do. And on some Saturday mornings we'll watch Blues Clues together. She's allowed to watch Clifford the Big, Red Dog, but that's about it! I've watched most of the cartoons that are on right now, and I'm not even a little okay with her watching them!

And she's way too young for video games just yet, but I know I'll be strict about those when the time comes. =)

 

[AbidingInHim]

I'm right there with you guys.

We very rarely watch TV, I think they watched little house on the prairie last month, they can watch a video, I do like the between the lion show, but i can never keep track of when it's on because they change the time, so in the mornings when I'm doing my bible study they watch something like the osnut man, miss pattycake or veggietales, with a biblical lesson in it that's basically all the tv they get unless, they've had an especially busy day and missed a nap, then I might give them some quiet time with a video.

They do enjoy educational computer games, reader rabbit and little bear....my 6 year old plays civilization, DH and I will probably never buy a gameboy or video game for our kids


I don't get any flack because I don't discuss it with others, and really have a limited family to the mil and fil anyway

 

[Linnis]

My situation with my nephew is different. When he's with me, I limit his TV/Videogame/computer time. A lot of the stuff he chooses to watch or do at home alone wouldn't be allowed when he's with me, even if we're at his house. Although since TV is allowed by his Dad, and I cannot go completely against his Dad, we have come to an understanding about good TV choices. Sometimes, I'll say "If we don't watch TV today, tonight after dinner, we can watch a movie." and normally he'll go for that which is a good movie so it works out.

Sometimes people think I'm completely insane for this, but ohwell.

 

[okiemommy26]

Yes we limit tv with kids. They do not play video games. Desiree has her own computer but is not aloud on it unless we tell her it is ok. My kids are 7 and 3. They watch what we let them. If is something I do not think is good for them they do not watch it. When I think they have enough I tell them so and they go play.

 

[cubbyandmel]

We are way more strict than you on our 5 kids! We don't have TV period (no cable or sat). Well, we do have tv's but they are only for prescreened movies. We have an X-box for special occasions and the kids have a computer that is not internet accessable for educational purposes although we would get rid of all these things in a quick second if we felt they were compromising our childrens future. We homeschool, I breastfeed Ben, who is not quite a year old (for some reason people think it's strange), we don't do halloween or santa clause. We don't take our kids to movies unless we can go view it first. These things have caused great controversy with some family. We just stand our ground knowing that our kids are better off because of the tough choices we have made. They don't complain about not having TV. They feel no need for it. Our family talks more and we do more things together. Our kids are very happy and well behaved. We have had no issues with our oldest daughter. She is almost 11 and not a door has been slammed or a foot stomped in our house (she did roll her eyes once a few years ago- ONCE). We have a conservative feel and she has picked up on that.
Don't let others question what you know is right. In the end their ideas don't matter. Aim for Gods approval, not mans.

 

[wanderingone]

When they were little it they didn't watch much TV.. a couple hours a week..we weren't home enough to make much use of the tv when they were small.. and our evenings and weekends were dedicated to experiences (museums, parks, art activities)

A lot of my friends don't own televisions (ACK!) so they think I'm waaaaay too attached to my TV and wonder why the kids aren't little tv addicts. The kids aren't very "into" tv at all.. my two oldest are not nearly the media junkies that I am... and my youngest loves film and photography.. but actually watching a lot of tv she's not interested.. they're not tv addicts because despite my need for background noise to sleep we never really watched TV when they were small.

We have probably every video game system made .. (except the most recent one xbox) but there are some games that we wouldn't buy when they were kids.. and still won't buy for my youngest... we're just into the tech stuff.. I still have my old commodore 64 and the atari my mom bought us when I was 10..... but up until middle school they were VERY limited on how much time they could spend spacing out in front of the games.. and playing alone for more than a few minutes was a no-no. My youngest can play with her brother ANY time.. (he's not home much now and they talk a LOT while they play so that's okay by me.. I want them to keep connected... ) but otherwise video games are a weekend activity.

All 3 kids have interests they've developed well enough to not think of TV first for entertainment. My 12 year old reads 4-5 books a week besides her reading for school...

In my opinion TV and games as babysitter are a bad idea.. and allowing them to be the primary entertainment when kids are VERY young will lead to teenage couch potatos. I never took any slack though when they were small.. because most of the folks I was around were balancing things pretty much the same way we did. Some people think my belief that solo video gaming is not such a great idea a bit odd.. but people think I'm odd anyway

 

[Effervescence]

We have one television in our house, and that is in the living room. We live pretty far out, so we don't get much television reception by default, pretty much just PBS, and I don't feel that cable or satellite is worth the money for what I would really allow myself or my family to watch. The girls (ages: almost 2 and 4) are allowed to watch Barney, Teletubbies/Boobah, Clifford, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and Reading Rainbow on TV, I also don't mind Dora, Blues Clues, but we don't get them at our house. As far as videos go, Veggie Tales is definitely the favorite in our house, along with the spin off Larry Boy.

I get the most slack from my stepmom about what I let the girls watch, because she doesn't see the harm in nearly as much as I do. The top of the list of shows that I absolutely don't let the girls watch are: Sponge Bob Squarepants, Arthur, anything like Pokemon or Digimon. My stepmom and I butt heads over Arthur a lot, but I just think that a. it's too old for my girls anyhow, and b. I don't like the name calling and teasing that goes on.

I get a lot of everyone telling me I should get a TV for the girls' room, and let them have a VCR in there as well. I say why???? Why should I PROMOTE them sitting on their rear ends when they're more than content to run around and play.

The biggest challenge is my husband, who comes from a family that considers "quality" time together as time spent staring at the TV. I don't find it to be a coincidence that the majority of his family is overweight. Not to mention that they're all addicted to the Law & Order/CSI breed of shows, which I simply cannot tolerate anymore. I've found that there is enough of that ugliness in life that we're forced to be exposed to, that I really don't need to sit and watch the dramatized version for entertainment.

I go back and forth with my husband over movies like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and we've basically agreed to disagree, with the stipulation that he can watch whatever he wants, but the girls will not.

My stepmom once went to a chiropractor who mentioned that she only allowed her family to watch SkyAngel, and nothing else, my stepmom asked me if I thought that was kinda over bearing, having nothing but Christ based programming to watch, my response? In a perfect world, that is EXACTLY how it would be.

 

[sunshiinedays]

You're getting flack for limiting your children's tv and video game time?!?!

Most of the year, when the weather is warmer, my children watch maybe an hour of television per day, if that... I know in the summer, there are lots of days they don't watch tv at all. I very rarely let them watch cartoons/children's tv shows. Instead they rent a movie each week or watch one of the videos we own. The tv they do watch is usually educational - discovery, animal planet, etc. We don't own video games, and I can't see getting any. One thing that bothers me is that every time my children go to play at their friend's homes, it seems they end up watch something.

I haven't had anyone give me any flack for what/how much my kids watch. I've received a few compliments and Good for yous though. So my comment to you OreGal, and other parents who limit their children's tv/games is good for you!

 

[Peppermint Patty]

As Christians AND homeschoolers, we get some flack from people because they think we're weird already. When we restrict things like Harry Potter and such, I get comments like, "It's only fantasy, just relax!" But I know that I don't have to answer to them, I have to answer to God for what I let my kids be exposed to.

We monitor what my kids watch very strictly. Once I knew a little 2 year old girl who knew all the words to Britney Spears' song "Oops, I did it again" and right then I knew I wanted to protect my kids from the popular media. They usually only watch videos, definitely NO primetime TV, and mostly not even Nickelodeon, since that has some questionable material as well. We're doing a great service for our kids, keeping their hearts protected, so keep it up parents!

 

[Athene]

We really only watch TV in the evening and then we watch the Simpsons, Futurama and Malcolm in the Middle, and the kids have to earn computer time by doing jobs around the house and they're never allowed more then an hour on the computer. On saturdays I'm more laid back ,they get up too darn early and watch TV for an hour before I get up.

 

[andiesmama]

I don't make a habit of limiting Andie's time on the tv or computer, and I think that's the reason she doesn't abuse it. She'll watch tv first thing in the morning, while she's waking up (NickJr, soon we'll be getting Noggin back ), then we're out & about running errands or if not, after I get her dressed, I just have her turn it off & she entertains herself. She even has a tv in her room, it's almost never on....she mostly uses that to watch a movie after her bath at night, before she goes to bed.

As for the computer, she's got a Reader Rabbit game, and some other learning games...she'll ask me if she can play her game, but it's not an every day thing. The most she'll sit here playing is 45 min or so...sometimes I'll set the timer & that solves the problem of me asking her to hurry & get done.

 

[Entertaining_Angels]

The top of the list of shows that I absolutely don't let the girls watch are: Sponge Bob Squarepants, Arthur, anything like Pokemon or Digimon. My stepmom and I butt heads over Arthur a lot, but I just think that a. it's too old for my girls anyhow, and b. I don't like the name calling and teasing that goes on.

We absolutely agree on those shows. I let my son watch Arthur when he was about three or four and I started noticing they talked alot about horoscope-type things and fortune telling. When they had the episode with a seance, that was it. Talk about desensitizing children young. We also don't have spongebob in the house or any of those other shows you mentioned. And, yes, we get a lot of flack for it. Add to that 'banned' list shows like The Simpsons, RugRats and other popular shows and people can get testy. It's odd, really.

But, I mean, c'mon, less than a century ago nobody had EVER watched television and society kept chugging ahead. Lack of television or very limited television is not a bad thing at all.

 

[Linnis]

What I think is odd is how other people act like I'm abusing my nephew by not allowing him to watch TV. I'm like "He will not die without TV, I promise." and really some take it that seriously, like him having to play with his toys, draw, read a book to keep himself busy is going to harm him.

I don't mind rugrats, but I'm totally against Billy & Mandy...the Grim Reeper lives at their house . I think it depends on each family what's okay and what's not.

Oh and I let him only have 1 chocolate chip cookie instead of 4 and that's somehow "depravation" too.

 

[Give'imGlory]

I have a 7 yr and 4 yr old boys. I dont limit tv too much. I simply dont allow them to watch certain programs. As for video games I dont even have to limit what they play because they do it themselves. For example if it's too scary or has any gore in it they wont play it because they dont like that sort of thing.

My children are very well behaved and they dont cus. I get compliments all the time. And very goodlooking too. They get it from me (dad). I have always been very reserved and calm. My children reflect that. And I was'nt limited anything when I grew up. Except for the amount of time spent. My family was'nt christian when I grew up. And I turned out well.

Another thing is being exposed to horoscope and bad behaving cartoons played no factor as to who I became when I grew up. My kids watch spongeBob. I have no problem with that. Only show I hate is Ed, Edd, and Eddie.

Let me also add that I watched DragonBall Z with my eldest when he was like 4 and I knew it was a bit much but I watched it with him anyway. My youngest did'nt watch it because the show does'nt air anymore. My eldest is the best of the two when it comes to behaving.