Hello! Does anyone know a website with lots of information about watching tv? There are so many things that are being said about watching tv.....and I would love to see a site where information is collected. Does anyone know? Or can you give me the information you know?? Thanks!
http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/article-faq.html http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/dangers-of-television/ http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html http://www.trashyourtv.com/addiction http://www.eruptingmind.com/effects-of-tv-on-brain/ http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Catholic_Morality/Dangers-of-Television.htm http://www.articlesbase.com/alterna...tion-as-serious-as-drug-addiction-382100.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_aspects_of_television
I don't have any sites, but wanted to comment. One of the big dangers is those darn commercials. You can be watching an appropriate program, but the commercials border on rated-R content. It is awful.
I second this. Especially if my kids are watching something on an 'adult' channel (like.. Discovery). I honestly don't even like my 6yo dd watching Animal Planet. I know the commercials for the ASPCA are for a good cause, but my tenderhearted 6yo doesn't deserve to be subjected to what they are showing. I also hate that tv makes my kids think they have to have a million different toys, and that we need a million different things (no I really don't want that giant cupcake maker. I really don't. To me a giant cupcake is.. um.. a cake LOL). It does give me an interesting moment to talk about NOT believing everything they see and hear, though. I actually think carefully selected programming teaches kids a ton about things that they would have a much harder time learning about in other mediums- I'm specifically talking about seeing people living in other cultures. A lot of what I know comes from watching 'bones' shows on pbs with my father when I was a kid- you know, those dry scientific programs. As in all things, moderation is key.
We recently got rid of our Direct tv and are just watching educational DVDs and movies we own. We have been without "normal" tv for two weeks and I can already see a huge improvement in our family. They are begging for less because they aren't seeing the commercials and they are actually finding the time to use all their wonderful toys, games, puzzles, and dress up stuff. My hubby wasn't too sure he could live without the tv, but now that he is seeing the changes he is on board and says we won't sign up again. YEAH!!!
No Tomatoes please! I personally don't mind tv at all. My kids have learned so much just by watching TV. Yesterday DS was telling me about all the ways you can identify a criminal. He didn't learn it from me he learned it from CSI . The commercials don't bother me either because I feel you can put your child in a room full of bad influences or kids who don't know how to act or what’s appreciate to say. If you instill right and wrong behaviors in your children from an early age then they will know when not to follow the crowd and walk away. They will know what’s ok to say and what’s not ok to say. When commercials come on and they aren’t appropriate either they ignore it ,turn the channel or watch and laugh, but they know it‘s meant for adults therefore they won‘t repeat it. ( the AX commercials are a perfect example) But my kids are older anyway so they know what it’s all about, we tell them all the time to “go wash their parts“. I have never been a shelter your kids type parent. Reason being I have a friend who never let her kids do anything. No Tv, no video games, picked their friends and so on. The girl can’t function. She is 23 and has no clue as to what’s going on around her. If you say something to her it goes over her head. I understand many will disagree with me and that’s fine. Most of my friends think my family is nuts but this is how I was raised.
I won't throw tomatoes, I just want to share my thought and opinions on this. I am doing this in the spirit of friendly debate and have no desire to put your opinion down, I just want to offer the other side of it. I am not speaking from the perspective of a mom who prohibits TV or even all the stuff that I sometimes think I should prohibit. That being said, I sometimes think I am doing wrong by allowing some of the programs we watch to be watched. I don't watch Desperate Housewives or things that may be more obviously wrong, but that doesn't really exuse me from what I have watched or allow to be watched. A great example is CSI- I enjoy the show and sometimes it is relatively clean. Other times they go into seedy bars and show women dancing with barely anything on and then I wonder, "Why am I watching this?" or "Would I watch this if Jesus was sitting next to me?" I don't think the answer is totally isolating our kids from life. I think there has to be some sheltering and I would be willing to bet we all have our own boundaries. We may not agree where the other's boundaries are, just like I have a friend whose children cannot spend the night anywhere. I allow my son to spend the night with many of his friends, but some I would probably not. It is a case by case basis with me. I really wish the commercials would be more family friendly. I don't think we need commercials offering help for sexual disfunction on prime time TV. I also don't think Victoria Secret commercials are appropriate. I don't want to be hypocritical, because I have modified what we watch but in my opinion I have not done enough. I feel convicted many times because of this. I think in many ways we are like the frog in the pot. We don't jump out because all this has been gradually happening and we accept it. I need to jump out and re-evaluate everything I let influence me and my son.
I just got this e-mailed to me today and it really makes sense: A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mum taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger... he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind. Sometimes, Mum would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honour them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home - not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our long time visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?.... We just call him 'TV.' (Note: This should be required reading for every household!) He has a wife now....we call her 'Computer.' Their first child is "Cell Phone." Second child "I Pod."
My boys hardly ever watch live TV. Mostly they watch DVDs, but they do enjoy watching football. The ads are pretty bad. I've had to stop them from watching sports until an adult was there with them.
Well I don't say hey go to your room and watch CSI but if we are watching it in the family room and the boys are in the room, I'm not turning it off but my kids are 10 and 12 and my family is very unscripted. Some of the things we say would shock most people. Like DH used to tell my son to stop sitting with his legs cocked open because little boys don’t do that. You see what I mean. My friend heard that and her mouth dropped, but to us that’s nothing we say stuff like that all the time. When other peoples kids are over we mind our manners, just like my DS’s do when they visit friends. They understand that they have more freedom than most kids their age. I would never tell them to go watch something inappropriate such as go to your room and watch Nip/Tuck. I will say that if the boys are uncomfortable with something on the TV they will get up and leave because they no what they are comfortable with and what they aren’t comfortable with. Like sex, nudity, they just don’t want to see it. When they wanted to watch Don’t Mess with the Zohan they asked if they could. DH said yes, I said NO, in the end it turned into a family event and we watched it together but they ended up leaving because they choose too. They didn’t like some of the content. I guess it all depends on the kids and mine are very mature for 10 and 12. OT: DH gave my oldest DS condoms and told him all about everything in detail complete with slang, he’s 12. Too young yes I think but it’s reality. DH did that because he was having sex at his age, but after he told him everything he told him to keep it in his pants or he would chop it off. He talks to them like they are young men, because he wants them to know what’s going on in case one day him or I aren’t around. They cook, wash their own clothes and catch the bus, not far but they can catch the bus if needed. They do chores and earn 20.00 a month. They can do their own shopping , I take them to the store and sit in the car, they use their own money. They can spend money on games and such but they no not to ask me to pick up anything that’s not on my list when I go shopping. Even though I will most of the time, I am trying to teach them responsibility. They even pay rent. $3.00 a month . Why! because nothing in life is free and no one is going to just give you anything. Its instilled in them already but they are still kids. Sorry I went off topic. Yes I have bounderies but they aren't strict ones.
Oh you got me in the eye Jackie! I think we're just like this due to being raised that way. It’s interesting that Dh and I were both raised in similar ways. We really aren't the model family. We are on the strange side, we’ve been known to get strange looks from people.
I personally hate the tv. I would throw it out the window if it weren't for my husband. It is loud, most everything is highly inappropriate on "kid friendly" channels like Disney, and yes, I too think that a Cialis commercial on the science or history channel at 7pm is uncalled for!
