Thread for parents who are lenient with media in some ways and very strict in others

[Sarah CB]

My four year old watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

 

My 13 year old is not allowed on FB.

 

We don't have cable.

 

They all play Wii...but not on weekdays.

 

They will never watch SpongeBob, but they all watched the newest Star Trek movie.

 

All four of them have iPods...but what goes on there is controlled by me. During the week they are SchoolPods and have special sync folders that correlate to my TOG weeks :)

 

Does anyone else horrify people at both ends of the spectrum?

[Pink Fairy]

Maybe.

 

We play Wii on weekdays, and Webkinz too.

 

We let the kids read Harry Potter and watch the movies, but their ages have to correspond to whatever age Harry is, i.e., when they are eleven, they can read the first book and watch the first movie, but they have to wait until they are 12 to read/watch the second.

 

They all have mp3 players, but I choose the audiobooks and do the loading.

 

They aren't allowed to watch much tv, and what they do watch is chosen by us (the parents).

 

We don't do FB, MySpace, or any other social networking.

 

I'm probably more conservative than a lot of people, but I'm definitely considered "loose" by others.

[Renee in NC]

Well, yes, other than the fact that you are way more tech savvy than I. There were several of us that were on both threads.:D

[Heather in OK]

I might fit in this category. :)

 

- Nothing electronic is on during the school day (tv, Wii, computer games, iPod) with the exception of watching something during lunch.

 

- When school work is done their freetime can include electronic games.

 

- HP is not allowed in our home.

 

- No tween Disney shows are allowed. Neither is SpongeBob.

 

- We LOVE Narnia.

 

- My older two girls are allowed to visit and post at Ravelry.

 

- FB is not an option (and hasn't been brought up either so it's not an issue)

 

- They may have an email address when they turn 8.

[HerdingCats]

My kids have all read and watched the HP series. We have them using ipods for school and silly app games. We have loved Spongebob :-) We play the Wii and Guitar Hero and Rock Band are allowed (depending on which songs they play). They have tokens they spend to get screen time (games or tv) which is limited to 2 hrs per week. Games we buy are selective. They are not allowed to watch most of what's on cable, and not allowed to channel surf, but we Tivo things and watch things together. I find we are conservative in some circles, but lenient around some others.

[Heather in Neverland]

Definitely. My kids have seen Harry Potter movies and LOTR and Spongebob. But I won't let them watch teeny-bopper shows like Drake and Josh or iCarly or Hannah Montana because I don't like the heavy focus on all the boy/girl stuff.

 

We do not have cable. My kids are not allowed on FB. My older ds does not have a cellphone. He just got an ipod for christmas but he only listens to christian music.

 

My kids have little to no access to the internet except for sites preapproved by me. But then I let my older ds watch 24 with me last night on DVD.

 

I am a walking paradox.

[melissel]

My four year old watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

 

My 13 year old is not allowed on FB.

 

We don't have cable.

 

They all play Wii...but not on weekdays.

 

They will never watch SpongeBob, but they all watched the newest Star Trek movie.

 

All four of them have iPods...but what goes on there is controlled by me. During the week they are SchoolPods and have special sync folders that correlate to my TOG weeks :)

 

Does anyone else horrify people at both ends of the spectrum?

 

:lol: Yes, we're in this boat with you. Our rules are all mixed up and we don't fit on either end of the spectrum.

Edited January 7, 2010 by melissel

[mrscopterdoc]

I am a walking paradox.

 

This would me too. Yes to HP and just about every thing else including horror movies such as Resident Evil but no SpongeBob ever. :lol:

 

She is on FB [me too] and we are 'friends'. She has a Zune and chooses *my* music. :D

 

TV/cable/wii/PS3 is fine, whenever school is done.

 

On the flip side, she has to be in bed by 9PM. No curse words at all of any kind and I mean not the 'normal' ones. I mean the ones that are normally okay even in G rated movies.

[6packofun]

Probably. I don't think I identify with most of these validation threads, though. LOL We just kinda do our own thing, not worry about what others are doing and try not to make God really annoyed with our stupidity. Sometimes we make Him proud. :tongue_smilie:

[abbeyej]

Lol. :) I was waiting for this thread...

 

My kids don't get screen time during the week, and limited screen time on weekends.

 

We have a PS3, xBox 360, Wii, several DSs and a DSi or two, and a number of Ataris.

 

I refused to let ds watch Transformers at a birthday party last month.

 

Both of my kids have seen the new Sherlock Holmes and all of the Harry Potter movies. They've read the books too.

 

I monitor and actually control what goes on ds' iPod.

 

I don't allow WebKinz, and the kids don't have internet access except rarely and with supervision.

 

My kids love So You Think You Can Dance (which I record for them so they can watch on weekends).

 

I have no objections to occasional Sponge Bob.

 

I hate it when kids bring handheld game devices into public places other than waiting rooms or airplanes (with headphones).

 

I let my kids watch some movies with adult themes, if they are well-made and demonstrate virtue. I'm much less likely to allow G-rated movies with endless kicks to the crotch and similar humor.

[LittleIzumi]

:lol: Yes, we're in this boat with you. Our rules are all mixed up and we don't fit on either end of the spectrum.

 

Us too. :D

[jujsky]

My kids watch a lot of stuff, but most of it is pre-screened & approved by DH & me. When they are reading independently I will not screen what they read. I was given free access to books growing up, and my mom never batted an eye at anything I brought home. I want the same for my kids. If there is a movie version of a book, we always read the book first -- it's a house rule :D With the Harry Potter movies, we let them watch up to #3, but we really debated over it beforehand. DS told me after that if the 4th movie was scarier, then he thought maybe he should wait until he is older to watch it. Self-policing. That was a proud moment for me. we are almost done reading the 4th book as a read-aloud, and will continue on with the series even though my children are only 6 & 5.

 

As far as cartoons, I don't allow anything that is stupid, obnoxious, portrays a disrespectful kid/dumb parent relationship, or has bad animation, so that rules out almost everything. I do admit that I let them watch The Flintstones even though the way the husband/wife relationships on that show are very stone-age (pun totally intended). I don't censor anything on the History Channel. The only thing I wouldn't be comfortable with them watching on that channel right now is The History of Sex and that is on so late that they wouldn't be up. My kids actually watch more movies and TV than they probably should. They don't have a set amount of time they are allowed to watch TV, but if they've been at it for awhile we'll make them do something else. I'm not one of those parents who thinks media is a bad thing. I think media is a great thing and can be an excellent educational tool if used properly.

 

I have tried to encourage the kids to play games on the Wii, but neither are interested, and only want to watch DH and me play. When and if they start using it, I'll be happy. If it starts to become a problem we would then limit the usage. I will not allow overtly violent, pointless games (none of those cop-killing, car-jacking games will be allowed).

Edited January 7, 2010 by jujsky

[Samiam]

Yep, I fit...or wait, don't fit???

 

We do allow TV, and video games during the week. We allow Harry Potter, and even Spongbob at any age. Other than it being silly, I don't get what's against Spongebob (I have heard that there is homosexual innuendo...but I think you have to look REALLY hard for it, and even know what they are "innuendoing" to get it).

 

We don't allow certain cartoons (Simpsons, or Ed, Edd, and Eddie type stuff), and no teeny-bopper/tween Nick/Disney shows. Certain PG-13 movies, based on WHY it's PG-13....basically steer clear of any sexual content.

 

We have a long list of "naughty" words, including common words like "shut up", "stupid" "sucks".....which apparently, judging by our neighborhood children, is everyday language for many children.

 

We allow most electronics, and internet, but so far DS11 has not show any interest in Facebook, or anything else online besides sports and games. He has a cell phone, rarely used, and certainly no interest in texting.

 

Although I don't think my children are sheltered to real life in 2010, I do think that they are sheltered enough that they do not know/care about certain fads/activities that are common for more exposed children.

[Starr]

We are in this middle ground as well. We don't have TV but they do watch some shows at their Aunt and Uncles. We love Harry Potter but don't watch much in the teen pop culture genre. Computer time is quite limited. (15 minutes a day for years.) It grows as they get older but only after everything else is done including music lessons. Music on I Pods is available to the parents. They are learning how to judge for themselves what is good for them. As younger kids they didn't like Sponge Bob so we didn't get to know him. Dd wants a FB acct. I'm thinking she should learn how to use these things before she leaves home. But first she has to keep up with the crazy schedule she is on. I was considered quite fussy when they were young but often they didn't like certain kinds of shows or were scared so we waited until they were older. It's great to be a kid.