No TVs or Computers in Kids Room

DOES YOUR CHILD REALLY NEED A TV?

IN THEIR BEDROOM

No.

WHY WE DON'T ALLOW TVs in KIDs ROOMs

When our oldest child was around five years old, my friend asked me if he had a TV and Video game in his room.

We'd thought about it and decided to make an upstairs playroom for all of our kids to go to when they wanted to play and watch TV or videogames.

As they got older, my oldest requested a TV for Christmas when he was 12 years old.

That's when we noticed that his routine was to come home, say hello, go to his room ~ for hours, without really conversing with us.

Then he would close the door and sometimes lock it. This indicated that he was doing something in his room that he wasn't supposed to be doing.

1) It alienated him from us
2) Made it hard to detect when something was wrong, or he was sad, angry, depressed or seeking things on the TV or computer that he wasn't supposed to be seeking.
3) It didn't help him grow, it divided us, made him rather territorial with his room.

Lastly, a co-worker of mine's daughter committed suicide, and one thing she said was an issue was the amount of time her kid stayed in her room alone.

WHEN IS THE RIGHT AGE FOR A TV IN THE ROOM

When they are grown, and no longer in need of oversight. My son got his TV in his room when he turned 18 yrs old. Truth is, he enjoys, even now watching TV with all of us. We 'reconditioned' his way of thinking. He and my other kids enjoy watching shows together, watching each other play video games and interacting with each other. My oldest daughter, now, 20 yrs old states that she rarely watches TV and prefers to watch with everyone else.

If they go in their room for anything other than sleeping, drawing, or reading, I know something isn't right.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTs? For or Against?