daijobu Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Maybe I'm the only one who has this problem, but I've had a fairly strict rule about no TV until after dinner. This has worked great for us, enabling us to be mostly media free during the day when we need to get school work done, and saving entertainment for evening family time. The trouble is, I also have a number of documentaries that I want to watch and it's becoming increasingly difficult as one child or another will have an evening theater rehearsal, so it's tough to have them home at the same time. Or they have other things they want to do that evening. (I'd like to have both present to watch these.) I must admit my kids (now in middle school) aren't nearly as enthralled by TV as I was as a kid, probably because they have other entertaining distractions in their phones and computers. But I do fear that after watching a program, we'll all end up glued to the sofa and be wholly unable to carry on with the rest of the day, lol! My question is do you have a routine for watching documentaries and educational videos? Do you find that watching TV mid-day disrupts your academics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Never had any limits on TV here. When something's on we want to watch, we watch it. TV is such a small part of their lives. Dh on the other hand... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerforest Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 None of us watch TV. If we want to watch anything for school, DD and I will often just watch it during school time or if it's a longer one, we watch it as a family in the evening or on the weekend. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Maybe I'm the only one who has this problem, but I've had a fairly strict rule about no TV until after dinner. This has worked great for us, enabling us to be mostly media free during the day when we need to get school work done, and saving entertainment for evening family time. The trouble is, I also have a number of documentaries that I want to watch and it's becoming increasingly difficult as one child or another will have an evening theater rehearsal, so it's tough to have them home at the same time. Or they have other things they want to do that evening. (I'd like to have both present to watch these.) I must admit my kids (now in middle school) aren't nearly as enthralled by TV as I was as a kid, probably because they have other entertaining distractions in their phones and computers. But I do fear that after watching a program, we'll all end up glued to the sofa and be wholly unable to carry on with the rest of the day, lol! My question is do you have a routine for watching documentaries and educational videos? Do you find that watching TV mid-day disrupts your academics? When my dc were little, the general rule of thumb was that there would be no TV in the morning until all of us were dressed and had eaten breakfast, and then it had to be off by 9, and it stayed off until after 3. Dc were usually too busy then to watch, but they were allowed. No TV during dinner. Bedtime was 7:30, which meant getting ready for bed beginning around 7 (on nights we were home), so evening TV was not a problem. If there had been educational videos that I wanted us to watch, we would have watched them altogether during the day. It would not have disrupted our academics, because it would have been part of our academics. :-) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Ds and younger dd occasionally watch a quick show in the morning...otherwise on Saturday morning for those two. Older dd only watches TV if we watch a movie or show together usually. TV shows or movies for school I have no issue watching during the day. I fact we are going to watch Kit Kittrege this afternoon as a part of our study of the Great Depression. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We aren't big TV watchers and never watch anything broadcast when it's actually being broadcasted; it's always online via Netflix or something later. If we want to watch something for school, we do so during lunch or in the afternoon after our other work is done, and then we carry on with the rest of the day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 What media are these documentaries on? VHS, DVD, digital or something else...You can certainly watch documentaries sans a TV... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We all like TV. But unless someone is sick no TV until late afternoon, only on days when there's no activities. But that's just TV for pleasure. If we want to watch something for school, we watch it during the day, almost always during lunch. Sometimes we have a semi-serious documentary going and we watch in 40 min chunks. Other times I let the kids watch something educational but fun like Horrible Histories. Depends on the day. It doesn't feel disruptive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We have a no screens before 4 pm and only if lessons are done policy. But, that is for entertainment purposes. If there is something I want them to watch, we watch it as part of our afternoon lessons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We don't have a hard and fast rule on TV. However, our TV is rarely ever on during the warm months. In fact, we are turning our Directv off from May through October and will turn it back on for November through April. We had it off all last Fall and winter but it got difficult around February, when they couldn't get outside for weeks at a stretch. When DTV is turned on, the TV itself does not get turned on for pleasure watching until EVERYBODY'S schoolwork is done. I might make an exception if I have somebody straggling and everybody else has been down. Now...for documentaries...we'd put that on whenever we need to watch one and then turn it off when it's over. I don't really consider that "TV" per se. As for screen time in general...they don't have handheld electronics and rarely use the laptop. I just really don't want them spending too much time with their faces in a screen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wehave8 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 No TV here. We don't get any service, and we won't pay for it. Even so, we wouldn't watch it. We have 'movie night' on Friday night. It is a pick of a favorite video/dvd. We will watch an educational from Netflix or the library during the school day IF one applies to something we are doing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We're not TV watchers. We don't have cable or satellite, and haven't for years, but just use our Xbox with Netflix and Amazon prime instant streaming. We have a computer set up with a TV card and Windows Media Center if we want to watch local channels. We pretty much only turn it on during the Olympics. I've never treated TV like a forbidden fruit, but I've never had to manage our TV time either. When my kids need to watch a documentary or something for school, they watch it. We don't wait until a specific time. We don't usually all watch anything together anymore. I'll watch documentaries with my youngest, but he doesn't like them and gets bored, so I don't assign them often. When my older ones were younger, we'd watch a history documentary or something over lunch. I've never had an issue with kids being stuck on the TV once something is over. I'd just get up and turn the TV off. They were all too antsy to sit and watch TV for too long anyway. Once my kids are in middle school, I transition them to weekly assignments, rather than daily ones. This year, my older ds is doing a geography course that I developed and sometimes, he'll have episodes of TV shows or a documentary or a TED talk to watch during the week in addition to his reading, notebooking and writing assignments. I post the links in the OneNote schedule we share. He watches CNN Student News each morning online. Then at some point during the week, he'll watch any assigned episodes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We don't have cable. DW and I watch no TV. DS6 and DS8 watch Wild Kratts while I get dinner ready. DS6 is going to B&M kindergarten. For DS8 any mid-day "TV", either DVD or Youtube, is academics. We watch a fair number of history and science videos. Recently we have been watching Peter Wother's Cambridge chemistry videos and Chris Zeeman's RI Christmas Lecture topology for kid's videos. I use videos to introduce advanced concepts to DS8. Previous videos have included David Attenborough videos and Liberty's Kids... Most of of our school time video usage has been very worthwhile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto4inSoCal Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We have no screen time until after school and max 2 hours. I don't count documentaries in that though. I rotate history and science and they are the last subject of the day. Usually any videos we watch will take the place of that days history or science lesson. I have them scheduled into our lesson planner. I have let them watch the movie to the books they have read ocassionally and I don't take that from their screen time. My kids would be glued to a screen all day if I allowed it that's why I had to put so many restrictions on screen time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pehp Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We don't watch television, period, but if we want to watch a movie/documentary we will just do it in the afternoon--after school and chores are done. My children understand that when it's time to turn it off, it's time. They don't get upset about that. Nothing we watch is typically longer than an hour. I don't really have articulated "rules"--I just do what makes sense to us. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 If a video is part of our lesson, we watch it during our school time (and I usually arrange for that subject to be last). Shows for entertainment are after quiet time (i.e., around 4) and before dinner (around 6), unless he is busy playing outside or doing something else. These are often "educational" (Popular Mechanics for Kids, etc.), but unless I chose it because it's relevant to a current topic, it's still in that time slot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Video as part of school work happens during our normal school time. Sometimes we watch it while eating lunch, first thing, or at the end. Doesn't matter to me. My only TV rule is no TV while doing school work. Neither of my kids are big TV watchers. I watch a lot more TV than they do! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocassie Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I consider documentaries/educational videos as part of school work. Generally I will leave it for the end if it's longer. If it's short, I will have an activity for them to do following so that it draws them back into schoolwork. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Another one who separates school TV from rec TV. School TV is usually before, after, or during lunch a couple days/week. Rec TV is in the morning on non school days or in the late afternoon on school days. Usually rec TV is for 1-2 hours. Sometimes less, sometimes more depending on the weather and outside the house commitments. I buy into the theory that TV right before bedtime interferes with sleep quality. I have no proof of that bring valid. The kids only watch TV after supper if we are having a family movie night or our favorite sports team has a late game. Go Cats!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 We don't have strict tv rules. In general it's just if we should be doing something else then the answer is no. So if they wake up early they can watch a show before we get going on our day (usually only Saturday). If they don't, then no show til later. I sometimes turn on magic school bus, liberty's kids, or a documentary during lunch time (about once a week). My toddler watches a leap frog or signing time for some down time in the afternoon (any day we're home). If all work is done and we don't have anything to get ready for then I might say yes to one show. Or I might say no, go play. Kind of depends on the day, how active they've been, if it's nice outside, if I need some quiet... They don't get any screen time after dinner unless it's a family movie night. Too close to bedtime. I wouldn't have any problem showing them something any time if I wanted them to see it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Short science videos from YouTube (10 minutes or less) are viewed during science time. Science and history DVDs (20-30 minutes long) are viewed right after school and during lunch, if they run into lunchtime. Longer DVDs are viewed right after lunch. We don't have a lot of these. Otherwise, DD only gets to watch TV in the evenings on weekdays. On weekends, she gets to watch a couple of shows in the morning too, if she wants. Absolutely no noneducational TV during the day any day. Educational videos are treated as part of school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SereneHome Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Never had any limits on TV here. When something's on we want to watch, we watch it. TV is such a small part of their lives. Dh on the other hand... I am so jealous. I had to use TV as a babysitter before and now I think my kids are totally addicted and it's hard to break them away from it :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 For a school documentary, I tend to scedual it as the last thing in the day. But I will sometimes move it earlier if I need some time to work with my other student. For recreational tv it is mostly first thing in the morning at our house - I usually spend that time doing some chores and trying to de-zombify. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 What media are these documentaries on? VHS, DVD, digital or something else...You can certainly watch documentaries sans a TV... These are DVDs that I check out from the library: NOVA, American Experience, Nature, and similar. I find I check them out, leave a stack by the TV and we end up never having time to watch them at night. I'm thinking about scheduling them in the afternoon, but it goes against my grain. Weirdly though I'm okay with watching a few science youtube videos during the day. I don't know why, maybe when we're huddled around the laptop, we just don't seem so passive. Thank you, everyone for your thoughts. On further reflection, I'm wondering how we'll ever squeeze in an educational DVD during the day because we're lucky to get through all our subjects before afternoon activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 My kids are allowed "screens" (computer/TV) after 2 o clock, as long as their chores and schoolwork are all completed and they are off by 5 o clock for dinnertime chores. Then its off for the rest of the night. Wed/Sun are totally screen free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelaNYC Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I am so jealous. I had to use TV as a babysitter before and now I think my kids are totally addicted and it's hard to break them away from it :( When my kids were your kids ages, they watched (or wanted to watch) more TV than they do now (and yep, I used it as a babysitter, too). Although I never restricted TV, I usually had other things to do with them that were more fun. It's the blatant restriction that turns it (and everything, really) into the forbidden fruit. When it's treated as a non-issue, it remains a non-issue. Could be just my experience, though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I am so jealous. I had to use TV as a babysitter before and now I think my kids are totally addicted and it's hard to break them away from it :( DS had that issue at those ages--getting so into TV that other activities were unappealing. I found that he needed a full month's break to change his habits. Spring is a great time to try it if you want to. I needed to do it every year for a few years. Now he's fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 They can watch Sat and Sunday mornings and now that I'm preggers sometimes I let them if I need an afternoon nap and all their work is done and stuff picked up. It's amazing how they will tidy the house if TV time is the carrot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea_lpz Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 OP's rule gets me the best behavior results but we don't always stick to it. In general I shot for no more than 2 hours a day total screen time. We usually try no tv until the evening when I am making dinner and maybe a bit after dinner (30-60 min). We do our chapter read alouds and Bible before bed so they don't have time for too much tv in the evenings on Mon-Thursday. On weekends we like to watch family movies together during babies nap if home. Sunday evening we've been watching AD as a family, High I would add, during the school day, only educational dvd's that relate to what we are doing. It's not daily but if I need to get ready they might be watching Magic School Bus or Reading Rainbow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceful Isle Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 My 4 year old will watch a show here and there throughout the day. ( yes, as a babysitter so I can teach the olders ;) ) He also plays outside, inside, etc.. and so on. My older kids can watch tv when I say. There is no hard, set rule about it. It is almost always after school is done, and almost never in the morning. Just sets the wrong tone for us. It is usually out in the family room, while I am cooking dinner, or it could be after dinner with cookies and ice cream. I usually watch my shows after the kids are in bed. They have about an hour of reading time each night, and that is when I chill out and watch my shows. Having a dishDVR helps alot because I can record what I want, skip the commercials, and it saves tons of time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 We have some days with very limited screen time (5 days a week), then 2 days when they can watch/play video games a lot. We don't have cable, and when I am with them (usually Tuesday-Friday and one weekend day) screen time is very limited -- to about 1/2 hr of stuff related to lessons (like xtramath and home art studio). On one weekend day and Mondays their grandparents or my husband watch them, and then they watch a lot of videos/play video games. My husband doesn't really agree that limiting screen time is worth how tired he feels if he tries. It's not a hill I'm willing to die on, so I have just decided it's better to just limited it by day of the week rather than by time of day. It does sort of make me the less fun parent though. :p 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 If you're watching the documentary with them, just commit in your mind ahead of time to turn the TV off during the closing credits--no time to get hooked on something new. You can still sit on the couch for a few minutes to discuss since you're all comfy there--but with the TV off, you won't get hooked into a new program. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShirley Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 We've gone round and round about this one. Early on, I said no TV before dinner. Later, I started incorporating TV into our school time (afternoons) when there were good documentaries to watch. Since computers have taken over our home, I have switched to "screen time." After dinner, they may have an hour of screen time -- either TV or computer games. But some nights they don't even have time for it because of sports and scouts. I'm talking about the pure entertainment stuff. Between the online classes, checking email, school-related videos/shows, etc., they get plenty of screen time during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyc78 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 *Generally* (barring sickness, travel, weeks of terrible weather, or Mama's mental health), we don't watch TV during the week. We do have what we call 'school screen time'- that is any assigned show, iPad game, brain pop, VP lesson, etc. Even that I try to keep to a minimum because my kids get so whiny and irritable when they have been in front of screens. I used to think it was the content that mattered (so as long as the characters weren't being aggressive or whiny, it was ok) but I recently read an article that regardless of the content, kids (and adults) get a steady stream of dopamine hits while they are involved in anything with a screen. It has something to do with the fact that tv shows, video games, etc response time is quicker than real life, so the dopamine hits are greater than even doing something you really enjoy, like dancing or playing a game. When you take that screen away, it's truly like taking a drug away from an addict. Dopamine levels drop = fighting, whining, etc. They are allowed to each pick a show on weekend mornings (so Mommy and Daddy can sleep in and have our coffee together :), and we have family movie nights, etc. But, sometimes there is no way around it- I have a phone conference today that requires 45 minutes of uninterrupted time and so they will watch TV while I'm on that. Not the worst thing in the world, I just have to be prepared for some grumpies this afternoon :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelmama1209 Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 when daddy is watching them. <_< 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 We don't have a TV, so no one watches it...We got rid of it a little over ten years ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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