Our computer is out of commision so I have not posted in quite a while since I don't have any pictures to put up. But I have been thinking a lot about television watching.
We do not have any television in our home it is a choice. We do have a tv that has a DVD player that we can watch movies on but my kids get maybe an hour a week or every other week of movie watching. It is a very big treat if they get to watch a movie.
I have gotten quite hostile responses from other parents that we dont want our kids watching movies or playing computer or video games. I want them to play outside or with thier friends. My kids are happier, healthier kids because we do not have them sitting in front of the tv. I was told the stats of how much kids many hours a day kids are watching tv and it SHOCKED me!!!
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF):
two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day
kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs
kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games
It really suprised me about the 8-18 year olds, 4 hours of tv + 2 hours of computer. I think kids still spend time with friends don't they? It does make me sad when I am out and about and I see some girls hanging out and they are all on their phones texting. PUT THE PHONES AWAY AND SOCIALIZE!! Anyways phones are a whole other story.
My parents let us watch tv growning up on Saturday mornings. That's it, except if we watched a family movie Friday night. My kids don't even know what Saturday morning cartoons are. Belive me there are some mornings I think why do my kids wake me up at 7 on the weekends and then remind my self that when I was little I was busy watching tv. I don't think I turned out bad for watching maybe 3 hours a week of television. I think I am okay. So why am I so admit that my kids do not partake of the dessert of tv watching? Honestly I really think my kids are happier and I never really have to deal with my kids asking to watch a movie. I suprise them or they have to get it as a reward to watch it. It is a gift not a privledge. So yes I am a little upity about it but I hope that it will make them stronger when they are older. They will not be exposed so much to sex, violence, crude and bad language as little kids.
Again I am not saying that watching movies or tv is bad it is just something we chose to do. My husband watch tv everyday after school and I think he turned out pretty darn good. It is just something that we do.
A while ago a quote was going around on facebook,
"When I was a kid I didn't have a Nintendo DS, XBox, or Wii. I played outside and had a curfew, it was the street lights! My toys were the outside world. If I didn't eat what my mom made me, I didn't eat. I didn't dare tell my parents "no" or dare to talk back. Life wasn't hard, it was life..and I survived. Re-post if you liked the way you were raised...and drank water out of the garden hose ."
Honestly, our kids can still have this life we just have to make it more attractive than zoning out in front of a television.
4 comments:
I totally agree! We didn't even have a TV growing up, and neither did my husband's family. My kids watch a little, but usually they would rather be outside or playing with their friends. And don't even get me started on video games. Not in my house!
I wish I was better about not watching t.v. so much. Granted its only like an hour a day if that but still, I think that watching a lot of t.v. stifles the imagination and that is definitely one thing I want my kids to have! When we get sick it just gets hard to get back on track, which is what we are trying to do now! There is definitely a difference between my kids in behavior and playfulness and the other nieces and nephews here in MD though and I am so glad for that difference!
This is a post that needs a like button. Well said, very well said. I just have to add that the same applies to adults. We would all be a little more fit, a little more creative, a little more interesting if we turned off the tv and spent time reading and playing.
I totally agree. My kids watch a little more TV then yours, but over all not much. When they do watch actual TV it is PBS kids. I don't want them seeing regular program cartoons because of the content, and all the commercial. I once read how bad commercials are for kids. It gives them the "I wants". When my parents or relatives ask what they want for there birthday my kids don't really know what to say because they don't know what toys are out there. I think that is great. Stick to your guns and don't let them get addicted to the TV.
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