[oweirdo]

I hate having a tv in my bedroom, and refuse to put one in the kids room. They have a little one, in the living/playroom and only watch that if daddy is watching sports or something on Sunday afternoons.

[jkennedy]

I guess I would have to say never. Why would my child need a tv in her room?

[ginnipher]

I was around six when there was a t.v. put in my room. I still have that same t.v. They originally put it in my room so that I could watch what I want to watch, and they could watch what they wanted to watch. It also came in handy for video games and such.

I also don't believe that t.v. lowers your IQ or anything. It actually made me smarter, and more aware of things. Mainly about animals, because I would watch the discovery channel a lot.

[Rissa812]

My daughter got a tv in her room at 4 years old. I only used it so she could watch a movie before bedtime. I monitor her tv throughout the day. I'd rather her be playing outside or doing something creative. She does have her favorite shows she likes to watch, but I keep it limited.

[Belle0305]

Actually there have been studies done to show that it's any type of t.v.--even t.v. that is 'educational' does damage to your brain. The studies say that television sends your brain information at a much slower rate than you're actually capable of processing it. Even the AAP says no t.v. before age two!! (Yep--no baby Einstein!) So any t.v. will teach your brain to work more slowly

I don't think that the point of the matter is that TV damages you brain(which it doesn't)http://www.slate.com/id/2136372/.
It's what age we deem appropriate to place a TV in your child's room. If you think that a bedroom is primarily for sleeping then you shouldn't put a TV in their room. If like in my case don't have a playroom and their bedroom is their play room then it shouldn't be a problem. BTW, my kids TV was a Christmas gift this past year from my sis so they didn't even have one before then. I think we have to use good judgment on how much they watch and what they watch etc. I'm sure the plan isn't to have it on for hours on end any way. So IMO I don't even think it really matters where the TV is, whether it be living room, playroom,bedroom as much as how much they are being allowed to watch it. They won't be any less smarter or less developed if they have a TV in their room.

[twinzplus3]

That was a really interesting read--thanks for posting. I totally disagree with them though. . . but that's okay. I still think there's a lot of data that supports what I posted earlier. There are also studies done with babies and electronic toys rather than interaction with humans that are interesting. As a former teacher I see the difference t.v. makes. BUT in fairness I should've said watching too much t.v. isn't good for you rather than just watching it. I don't think that if your kids watch a movie a day they're going to go brain numb . But I do see too many parents use a t.v. in the bedroom as a long term baby sitter. And like everything, good parents set boundaries. So just bc the t.v. is in their room doesn't mean that they will go brain dead. In that situation you're right--it doesn't really matter where it is.

[burfield1mom]

Lets think about this now. How many of us have watched TV all threw our life? Are we brain dead or ignorant? Did our parents really even worry about these things? Much less did they even think about this topic? I think you need to monitor what your kids watch and the amount of time they spend doing so. Most importantly that they aren't sitting there eating junk food and getting appropriate amounts of exercise. I have a really hard time with some of this. When I home schooled I did so on video for 4-6 hours a day. By no way am I brain dead ! This was the fashion in which I was receiving instruction. People are very quick to jump on bad wagons regarding research. I also think that each child is different. Just like different learning styles (Auditory, Visual & kinesthetic) kids absorb what they are viewing differently. My daughter (10) loves watching "How things Are Made"; my son (4) loves things that have music; my step son (10) is a TV veggie (he doesn't live with us). They all have different restrictions on TV. If we were all the same there would have been one mold made and replicated. I was made and the mold was broken! It's up to us as parent to make that decision and know whats best for your kids. I say 1-21 if you feel thats right for your family!

[pamperedpeterson]

Well said, Gina!
Our boys (4 and 2) have a TV in their bedroom because sometimes we want to watch something at the same time they want to watch something else. We didn't attach cable to it, but it does have DVD player and VCR. Their bedroom is also their playroom, and we have time limits on how much they watch there and what times of the day it's on.
Our 4yo is starting to like "older" cartoons (like Nickelodeon stuff) but I won't be buying those DVDs ever, so I'm not worried about that. They both still like younger stuff, like Thomas and Sagwa. Also, they have to tell me by name what they want to watch, they can't just point and grunt. And we didn't buy their TV...we won a 37" TV, and they got the 19" TV only after we moved to a bigger house.

[Belle0305]

Thank you Gina...that's all I've been saying
We'll all have to agree to disagree on the reasearch stuff.

[GraciesMommy]

Wasn't allowed to have a tv in our rooms growing up. Only got a 2nd tv in the house after my mom got remarried. After I left to go to college I got my own tv and had it in my bedroom and when DH and I met we had a tv in our room for the first year, but I was sick of him watching it when I wanted to sleep. So we got rid of it and haven't had a tv in our room since (about 3 yrs now). Won't get a tv for Grace's room cause I'd rather have her doing something else...reading, playing outside, or playing with us.