T.V.

[mom2agang]

Is it really that bad to have TV if you monitor it?

We have been TV free at home the last 10yrs only movies. But we watch it everywhere else but I only let them watch certain shows. So is it really that bad to have a couple of cable channels to watch. I would still monitor it instead of a free for all and have reasonable time set. I'm having cold feet. I keep thinking how fun it would be to sit down and be able to watch a show when ever. But then I think how I'll be a wicked homeschooler who let their kids see TV.

[amy g.]

Don't do it!

[gardening momma]

We have cable TV. We keep it on Noggin, because there are no product or service commercials (just kid breaks) and I like most of the shows. We have a DVR, so we record what we want to see and watch it when we want to watch it. I rarely (almost never) watch TV during the day. I sit down with dh and watch in the evening, but even then, we watch about 3-4 out of 7 evenings per week. The rest of the time we play games on the computer over the internet (he on his computer, me on mine--we play games together).

[Shelly in the Country]

Is it really that bad to have TV if you monitor it?

 

 

I have often wondered this myself. I grew up watching LOTS (too much) TV. I was not really monitored either. We had cable. I managed to grow up (mostly) well-adjusted. I've always read widely and I did well in school.

 

My dh grew up without cable and did not watch lots of unmonitored TV. He also read widely and did well in school.

 

When we got married we decided not to get cable for monetary/spiritual/family "climate" reasons. We have a television that is largely a monitor. The only broadcast channel we can pick up is PBS. We do have Netflix though.

 

I don't know that wanting cable would make you a "wicked" homeschooler. You have to decide what you want your household to look like.

 

But after accounting for the widely divergent backgrounds of my dh and I, the only reall difference between the two of us is that I could whoop his butt on entertainment trivia.

[OnTheBrink]

I've been struggling with this same thing. I find that having TV anymore is just a waste of money. Most of the shows I get sucked into are just trash and do nothing to uplift or enlighten or educate. Just mindless trash and I hate that I get sucked into it.

 

So, while categorically, I don't think TV is wrong, for ME, it's a hindrance.

[MrsMe]

Is it really that bad to have TV if you monitor it?

We have been TV free at home the last 10yrs only movies. But we watch it everywhere else but I only let them watch certain shows. So is it really that bad to have a couple of cable channels to watch. I would still monitor it instead of a free for all and have reasonable time set. I'm having cold feet. I keep thinking how fun it would be to sit down and be able to watch a show when ever. But then I think how I'll be a wicked homeschooler who let their kids see TV.

 

Don't do it. You've come this far why start? It'll be just another battle and trust me, it'll morph into more and more, because you'll be tired of the battle. So why start what could end up being another battle? And trust me, there's nothing on. If the show is good (or doesn't have some obnoxious message) the commercials will kill you.

 

Back away from the tv. :lol:

[melissel]

Well, in our house, monitoring TV increases the strife level beyond my comfort. If I wasn't working from home, it would be gone. I would say that if you've been happily TV-free this whole time, don't introduce the arguing. Get yourself a Netflix subscription and watch TV shows online instead.

[Catwoman]

Is it really that bad to have TV if you monitor it?

 

I don't think so.

 

Of course, I only know of one homeschooling family that doesn't have cable tv in their homes, so they're the ones who are often viewed as being a bit odd. (Personally, I think it's pretty cool that they march to the beat of their own drummer, and it really works for them. They'd always had a tv, but they removed it from their home because they found that their dc seemed "addicted" to it, intending it to be a temporary punishment, only to find out that no one really missed it when it was gone.)

 

I think the main problems with tv are that many people spend too much time watching it, and there's always the risk that your kids could end up viewing something that you deem inappropriate, but since you plan to monitor its use, I see no reason why you couldn't give it a try. I certainly wouldn't see having a tv as being "evil" in any way.

 

Cat

[Ginevra]

We have been TV free at home the last 10yrs only movies.

 

I'm amazed you would consider it having had none for 10 years! Personally, if I could get the family past having one for that long, I would never go back.

 

That said, we have TV - 3 of them, in fact - and I have no issues with it. We all watch TV some, we have limits on the amounts, there are channels we never turn on and it just doesn't receive a terribly large amount of attention.

[BikeBookBread]

We've been tv free for a whole week now. It has been WONDERFUL. My husband and I have had actual conversations on the couch; something I didn't realize really that we HADN'T been doing until the TV went off.

 

Oh and another reason: we now are saving $74 a month. Have you priced cable lately?

 

For the sake of full disclosure, we are having a digital antenna installed on Monday so that we can have networks and especially PBS. But I doubt we'll ever go back to the way we were before.

Edited August 22, 2009 by BikeBookBread
full disclosure :)

[elegantlion]

Well count me a wicked homeschooler then. :tongue_smilie: We have cable, tv, netflix, and we actually watch TV on our computers from time to time.

 

When ds was younger we did monitor and we will still flip away from a show that doesn't fit our values (which might be quite broad to some people). I believe TV is a tool and we use it that way. My son is more likely to be hold up in his room watching Mythbusters or the military channel than anything else. Carefully selected TV shows have allowed my ds to broaden and deepen his interests in science, cooking, and the military. We starting discussing something in science last spring and he already knew all about it from watching the science channel. Of course we use TV as one source, not the only source for educational information.

 

We do not have movie channels, only basic cable.

[Desert Rat]

I see so many benefits to TV. My ds6 loves watching Discovery Channel and loved yesterday's show on how Loch Ness was formed. He even went to his rock collection to match the stones found there. He's learning. Could he learn about Loch Ness without the TV? Sure. But there are so many ways to learn. There's so much good on TV. PBS, Discovery, Discovery Health, History Channel, Animal Planet.

 

Everything in moderation.

[ma23peas]

We have basic cable ($9.95) a month and Netflix ($9.95) a month (actually the cable is less b/c of discounts having everything through one provider/phone/internet etc.) What I would NEVER go back to is watching anything with a commercial!! We haven't seen a commercial in over a year, to me that's the main junk of TV...we watch a family show together and I have the freedom to order or watch on demand certain shows that tie in with our schooling...just about to watch "God in our Government" and have seen many wonderful documentaries about WW2...we love being able to have control over what someone forces on us...so no commericals means we choose content much easier!!

 

Tara

[fivetails]

Is it really that bad to have TV

 

Yep. They'll come for you, just wait. Dark blue van, tinted windows.

 

 

;)

 

 

Of course it's not bad ~ nor will you be some sort of "wicked homeschooler". You'd just be a family who happens to have some tv shows that they enjoy.. hardly a crime.

 

Of course, you're talking to the "wicked" side here. We have three televisions with full digital cable packages ~ and... (You might want to hold onto something here) ... one of them is in dd12's bedroom.

 

*listens to the thuds as anti-tv parents everywhere fall to the ground in a horrified faint*

 

:tongue_smilie:

 

(TV itself isn't the big bad wolf. Like anything else, it *can* be misused ~ but no, you wouldn't be some sort of horrid person if you watched television sometimes, or let your children do it. )

[Orthodox6]

We have three televisions, used almost exclusively as monitors for DVDs (for VHS', in the "old" days :) ).

 

Nearly twenty years ago, we had cable television for a year or so. Last year we purchased "basic" service again, and are quite, quite disappointed. We watch television now only for BBC World News and the Weather Channel. Rarely, very rarely an acceptable, interesting movie is shown on Turner Movies.

 

We were expecting [sigh] that the variety of content, and the good quality of content for A&E, National Geographic, AMC, and a small number of other channels would equal what we had enjoyed in the late 1980s. Dream on ! . . . We would be bored beyond brain cell regeneration by what now is shown on those formerly intriguing channels.

 

The bundled services package we receive from our provider costs less than the unbundled services would cost us. So cable shall remain -- just unwatched, unless tornadoes are in the area.

[HRAAB]

Well count me a wicked homeschooler then. :tongue_smilie: We have cable, tv, netflix, and we actually watch TV on our computers from time to time.

 

 

Guess I'll have to join the wicked homeschoolers. We have TV and we watch it. Shows are monitored for appropriateness, but we do enjoy television within reason. We watch a lot of PBS. My dd's favorite show right now is Larkrise to Candleford. During football season we have Direct TV so dh can get NFL Sunday Ticket. When that is available we enjoy Animal Planet, Discovery, History and that type of channel. We do not have any movie channels in our home, though.

 

For those of you who are TV free, do you actually have no television in your home? What about DVD's? Use your computer. We watch lots of old movies. Just last night my dd and I watched My Fair Lady, and we have now put several Audrey Hepburn movies on hold. We have a family movie night every week; this week it was Life With Father. Hilarious. Just wondering if TV free excluded movies too?

 

Janet

[farmwife]

I beg you not to.

 

I'm fairly certain you will regret it, at least I did.

 

Our contract runs out in Feb. We are not renewing.

[Mom0012]

I don't think it's bad, but sometimes I wish we had gotten rid of ours when the kids were really little. I only let them watch one show in the evenings and since we don't have cable and no longer get tv reception, they pick a dvd from Netflix or the library. The main thing I don't like about it is that I know we would do more constructive things in the evening if the tv weren't available. Also, there have been times when I have wanted to take the kids out on the bike trail in the evening or do some other activity and my son doesn't want to because he gets very upset if he misses his show. It is something he really looks forward to. I don't think there is anything wrong with relaxing in front of a good program, but I wish I had at least restricted access to the tv to 2 nights a week or something.

 

Lisa

[MariannNOVA]

We have tv and netflix. The kids watch Discovery Channel and they love The Dog Whisperer on NatG or wherever it is. DD8 likes noggin -- she loves to sit and do art projects (which go on for hours) with noggin on. I've been somewhat lax this summer with the tv, and would like to get rid of cable (mostly for $$$ reasons), but for the one or two nights a week when I sit to watch Frasier re-runs, I would miss it.

Also, dh and I are big baseball fans -- if there is a Yankee game on or a Red Sox game or a Mets game or any game with a team that we like to follow, we would definitely miss having the tv.

So, I guess it is a guilty pleasure -- we definitely could get rid of it, and I think the people who would mind the most are dh and me.

[Remudamom]

Slippery slope!

[mom2agang]

We like somethings on TV. We enjoy the history channel discovery and my dh likes spike for UFC(he's a USA champion kickboxer). He isn't a big TV watcher. My kids enjoy full house. We don't watch sit coms they love game shows like wheel of fortune and who wants to be a millionaire. We like reality shows like the biggest loser and survivor. I also let them watch shows like cold case detective on how they solved crimes using modern technology. We watch some kid shows . I love word world. I don't let them watch the cartoon network unless its like a older cartoon like Tom&Jerry.

[Cera]

As long as you are willing to monitor it I don't see the problem. We have TV and a dvr box...our kids stick to taped shows so we can skip the commercials. We have also spent time as a TV free family.

 

Right now my kids are laying on the couch enjoying an episode of reading rainbow while I clean up after lunch (they are learning about manatees). There is a lot that can be learned from tv shows which is a blessing and a curse. Every time they run through the living room singing "what's going to work, team..work" or I catch them brushing their teeth as a recreational activity to prevent the cavities they learned about on Sid the Science Kid I am reminded of how important it is to monitor content.

[MistyJ]

I was going to start a new thread when I saw your post.

 

Yes, PBS has some good shows, and sometimes Discovery does, but crab fishing and "Dirty Jobs" is questionable.

 

It began to bother me that my daughter was so anxious to finish school so she could watch Wishbone, and that I would sit down to watch one show and somehow lose 2 or 3 hours.

 

We were TV Free when our first child was a baby. I remember sleeping, reading, and talking more.

 

I'm really excited. We are keeping our subscription to Netflix for science and history movies. And....we are saving $50/month.

[katemary63]

I know many people who have TV AND self discipline. If that were the case for me, I'd call the cable company in a heart beat. However, I am a child and can not tell myself no where TV is concerned. So...we don't have it.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

We are currently satellite free, not TV free. Prior to my ds, we have been TV free at times and satellite or cable TV free at times.

 

The thing with satellite that I found is that even with 180 plus channels, I often felt like nothing was on TV. Currently, we are satellite free to save money and because it is easier to control the amount of TV available to my ds;)

 

We do get about 10 channels off the airways. We also subscribe to Netflix which allows us to stream thousands of shows/movies to our TV. We also subscribe to Discovery Education United Streaming Plus from Homeschoolbuyersco-op.org. Both of these subscriptions are still cheaper than the basic family satellite or cable packages available to us. Plus now pbs.org has many free videos for kids and adults to stream to your TV as well. My dh hooked a cable from our computer to our TV for our viewing:).

[iwka]

I wouldn't do it if I was you. We have no TV for few years now, but my kids are watching smth educational daily. I get movies form the library or I find video clips on the internet. For the last year or so for fun we are watching Little house on the prairie. We are on season 7, but it took a year at least to get there. Occasionally we get Mc Donald's $1 movie, but they rarely have smth decent, so it's really seldom thing for us.

 

Sometimes I think that it would be so fun to have an access to an animal planet and national geographic, but with the internet we get what we need.

 

I just think that the time spent watching TV is a waist of time, bc of commercial time (not even saying nothing about the influence of the junky things being promoted) taking 1/4 of the real program's time and just because there are so many things we can do other than that.

 

If I would have $$$ I would subscribe to Discovery home school streaming.

[OrganicAnn]

we have no cable and my DD mostly watches PBS. Lots of good educational content. Lots of science. With the new digital channels we actually have 4 PBS channels.

[Tutor]

I think it depends. You know your own abilities to monitor it, so only you and your family would really know for sure. I *know* me, and I am worse than my kids when it comes to TV. I have *no* self-control when it comes to TV, so we choose not to have it. We miss it sometimes (like during football season), but not enough to sign-up again. The only way we would ever consider it again is if the cable company went to an a la carte system and allowed you to hand pick exactly which channels you could get and only charge you for those.

[Danestress]

with cable, and no one watches it that much. We do watch all the major grand slam tennis tournaments (that's five a year) and a little Carolina basketball.

 

Other than that, it isn't on that much. My 11 year old boys just aren't interested in the available programming. Seriously, maybe twice a month someone will ask to watch it. My DH and I go through phases when we do watch more. In the winter I sometimes knit and watch, and I might flip it on when there is a big news day. Most of the time, my boys are busy with sports and they would rather play outside then watch tv on a free day.

 

But you have a large family and I would be cautious. Are you going to end up using it to keep the kids entertained? Do you have potential tv addicts? It doesn't have to be a big deal, but it can be. If I had to monitor and supervise and set timers, I wouldn't like that.

[Georgiana Daniels]

**Wicked Homeschooler Alert**

 

Yep, we have TV, but we watch less and less and the years go by. Mostly I find myself listening to the news, and the kidlets are fine as long as it doesn't get turned on in the first place. HOWEVER, my dd17 is addicted, and I directly attribute it to her early years when I was a single mom and needed the "peace" TV afforded when I was too exhausted from work to spend quality time together.

 

Here's the scary part:

 

Even though I hardly watch, when I want to watch, I WANT TO WATCH. So yesterday when I'd normally get my 15 min fix in the middle of the day, I swiched it on and the cable was out. OUT!

 

Frantically, I called the cable co. and asked for someone to come out. I watched out the window, peeked through the blinds, lit up with excitement every time a car drove by. Anxiety crept in when time for my news program came....and went. FINALLY someone came to the rescue and fixed whatever was wrong in the box outside.

 

I considered giving him chocolate.

 

Anyhoo, you can see that installing cable television can ultimately lead to no good:tongue_smilie:

[Pretty in Pink]

I would not do it. The people I know who has gone T.V. free for a long period of time and then gone back with the intent of monitoring usage closely and allowing only X number of minutes per day have not stuck to their guns. Both they and their children are wasting more time with the television than they ever intended to.

 

I cannot really think of many ways that having cable enriched my life or the lives of my children. JMHO.

[ChristusG]

I have not read all the other posts.....but I see it like this....everything in moderation. I know some families whose TV's stay on ALL DAY LONG. That is sooooo not us. We only turn our TV on when there is something specific that we want to watch. We never "surf."

 

My kids are allowed two 30 minutes shows per day. And ocassionally, they will watch one more in the evenings while I'm cooking dinner. And I monitor their shows closely. They are only 5 and 2 now, but I will continue to monitor even when they are older.

 

DH and I watch our favorite shows together after the kids go to bed. We DVR them so that we can watch them at a convenient time and we are not a slave to the programming times. It's our time to relax together.

[ChristusG]

Oh, and I wanted to add....

 

The computer is MUCH more of a time waster for my husband and I than the TV is. I will sit at the computer and just "surf." I need to cut down on my computer time. I'm fine with the TV LOL. There are many days when my husband and I watch no TV whatsoever. The kids still like their shows in the morning right when they wake up though.

[Tree House Academy]

We went TV free for a year. It has been "fun" (read...lonely and I missed American Idol this past season!), but we are getting cable back on Wednesday. ;)

[Tree House Academy]

I would not do it. The people I know who has gone T.V. free for a long period of time and then gone back with the intent of monitoring usage closely and allowing only X number of minutes per day have not stuck to their guns. Both they and their children are wasting more time with the television than they ever intended to.

 

I cannot really think of many ways that having cable enriched my life or the lives of my children. JMHO.

 

Are you telling me that if I had seen American Idol last season, that would NOT have enriched my life. Puhleeze. :lol:

[KrissiK]

We have a tv, but no cable. The kids (granted they're young) watch 1/2 hour of PBS Kids a day and DH & I will occasionally watch network tv. I'm just amazed at how much trash is on. Last night DH and I were veggin' and just had to keep changing the channel because everything on was either incredibly stupid or had some reference to something... you know. Even some of my favorite murder/detective shows (CSI, Law & Order, etc.) are just getting nasty. I mean, why can't people kill each other over something normal, like jealousy or money or something? Why is it always torture and perversion and all that? Ugh!

[Dianne-TX]

I've been struggling with this same thing. I find that having TV anymore is just a waste of money. Most of the shows I get sucked into are just trash and do nothing to uplift or enlighten or educate. Just mindless trash and I hate that I get sucked into it.

 

So, while categorically, I don't think TV is wrong, for ME, it's a hindrance.

 

:iagree:

[Jumping In Puddles]

I have no problem with TV for my kids in moderation (I don't watch any tv at all). It doesn't always have to be educational either. My kids watch Avatar:The last Airbender on DVD sometimes and it is not educational but it is fantasy and it is entertainment. But they are not BIG tv watchers anyway and days and weeks can go by where the tv is not even turned on around here.

 

I would lose tv in the house if it were causing fights and if I thought my kids were watching way too much or if they were caught watching something inappropriate.

 

For me, the computer is my big time waster. I may as well be sitting in front of the tv half the day. :001_unsure: Why can't I give this up?

[Amy in NH]

We have been TV free for two years, now. It has been wonderful! I don't know how we had time before to watch all those meaningless shows! Oh, yes I do, we rushed through dinnertime, or didn't spend time together doing something else, or stayed up too late at night. Now, when we visit family and watch TV with them I am struck by the horrible commercials playing even during great educational programming, and especially during sports games. And the programming choices just aren't worth it. I can get video about most topics, and many specific TV programs, from Netflix at much less cost and hassle. We barely have time anymore to even watch our Netflix. I'm SO happy we don't have TV!