Kill their TVs
Posted on April 7th, 2008 – 6:36 AMBy Josephine Marcotty
Especially the ones in their rooms.
We all know teenagers watch a lot of TV.
And we know there is a well established connection between excessive TV, bad diets and obesity. But it turns out that a having a TV in the bedroom is even worse. Daheia Barr-Anderson, an adolescent health researcher at the University of Minnesota, today published a study in the journal Pediatrics on 781 students from 31 Minnesota schools. She found that 62 percent have a TV in their bedrooms.
Those with a bedroom TV were twice as likely to watch five or more hours of TV per day compared to those who didn’t have one: (16.4 percent vs 8.2 percent)
It gets worse. Girls with a TV spent less time in vigorous physical activity, ate fewer vegetables, drank more sweetened drinks, and ate fewer family meals when compared to girls without a bedroom TV.
Boys with a bedroom TV ate fewer fruits, had lower grade point averages, and ate fewer family meals.
What surprised, her she said, is that the ones with a bedroom TV did not appear to have higher body weight or rates of obesity. Or at least not yet. Studies of younger kids have shown that the bedroom TV is a strongly associated with obesity. Clearly, she said, that the kids with the bedroom TV are clearly at higher risk because of their habits.
So I’ve been the parent of a teenager. I can picture the reaction I’d get the day I walk in and take away TV. So how do you do it? DO you do it? Do you kill the TV?
18 Responses to "Kill their TVs"
This was a common recurrence in our house. Someone would get caught watching after lights out and we’d pull the TV for a week or whatever. Lots of screaming and sobbing and of course promises made to never do it again. But, we’re the parents and as such have the privilege of ruining their lives (sarcasm inserted). They also weren’t allowed to spend mealtime in their rooms or lounge around all weekend in their rooms- especially if it was a nice day. With a small house, we really didn’t have a spot for a second television and we certainly didn’t want to watch Nickelodeon or Monster Trucks all day.
Our kids do not have TVs in their rooms. Once they get out of high school, fine. I’ll even turn off the living room TV in the middle of a movie if I feel they have been watching too much.
As a parent of three teenagers I’ve got two with TVs in their rooms and one without. The one without suffers from depression and will isolate if left to his own devices for too long. The other two are active in school, eat meals with the family, have lettered in their respective sports.
Having removed the TV from my middle son’s room has probably kept him from suicide. He has to watch TV with the family or in the living room on his own. He’s forced to interact with us more than just at mealtimes (which, when he had a TV in his room he would skip). He does have a PC in his room, but there is an (enforced) open door policy and no internet when parents are not in the house.
The children with tvs in their bedrooms often wake up during the night and watch shows with women exposing their breast and sometime other body parts. Some children sleep with their tvs on and never really get good nights of sleep. These children are often tired in class and not focused on the lessons.
how about taking all TVs out of the house?
My wife and I do not have a TV in our bedroom and either do our three children - ages 8, 13, 15. In the past our kids have asked for a TV in their bedrooms because most of their friends have a TV in their bedrooms. Our policy is no TV in the bedrooms - period. We will watch TV together as family or allow the kids to watch TV on their own downstairs in the family room (we have two TVs).
Ever think that maybe instead of the TV’s in the room causing these problems, that it’s more that parents that allow TV’s in a kids bedroom are less likely to have family sitdown meals, and more likely to have sugary drinks, ect in the home. There may be cause and effect here, we just might have it the wrong direction.
In my family we didn’t have TV’s in the bedrooms (not even the parents), in fact only one TV in the house.
As a teacher for 25 years, I didn’t have to do a a study to tell you that kids with TVs (and computers and video games and phones) in their rooms are generally more tired, less engaged in school, and perform more poorly on academic tasks. My two children will NEVER have these things in their rooms. For any reason. Period.
Our kids (12G & 14B) have asked to have TVs in their rooms in the past and our answer is simple & consistent: You can have a TV in your room when you own your own home.
It won’t be long before the government tells you that you can’t give your kids televisions in their rooms. They already are well down the line in deciding things in your own home and private property for you so this shouldn’t be far behind.
TVs and computers suck me in and I’m a grown woman. They have a magnetic pull on most of us. Having one TV and one computer in the living room is bad enough for our family. My children will not have these things in their bedrooms. No TV in the parents bedroom either. The whole idea is depressing to me.
I also have not allowed a TV in my now 14-year-old daughters room, ever. I even had to refuse a Christmas gift of a tv/vcr combo given by her grandmother (my ex-mom-in-law!). It was not a popular decision and I believe it shocked grandma, but I stuck to my guns and have not regretted it. I also do not have a TV in my bedroom - it’s my sanctuary and I don’t want the outside world infiltrating my sacred spot.
I can’t imagine letting my kids have a TV in their bedroom. I know it would disrupt their sleep patterns and get in the way of other things they like to do. We don’t even have cable. Amazing what they’ll find to entertain themselves when there is nothing on TV——they PLAY together and make up games and stories.
When we built our house the floor plan was much more open, from the kitchen/dining area into the family room. I insisted on adding a wall between them so we wouldn’t be tempted to watch TV during dinner. Now it’s a special thing on the rare occasions we eat in the family room.
People are worried about their kids playing outside, threats from strangers, etc. Get out there and play WITH them! You’ll feel a whole lot better too! 
Television is simply a medium for people to sell you things, whether that’s a product or an idea. If you feel comfortable letting a car salesman or news anchor pitch to your kids 5 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year long (without you around) then go ahead and plop a TV in your kids room. Just don’t get upset when she asks for the $2000 Hanna Montana tickets, or is freaked about the charred body of a US soldier she saw hanging over a bridge on the Euphrates river, or has to eat MacDonald’s fries because “she’s lovin it”….if you put the TV in her room (and allow it to stay) then you should be comfortable with the consequences of the big bad world entering and influencing her….remember, it’s not the TV set that will make the impact, it’s the message coming from it.
My 11 year old son has a TV, Playstation,DVD player and an electric guitar in his room. He has all A’s and B’s in school. If your kids spend too much time watching TV. What are you doing during that time? Don’t blame the TV or Video games for your lack of being a parent. Sit and play a game with them, if you don’t want them watching tv then do something with them. My son can watch as much tv as he wants as long as he reads for the same amount of time first. No video games on school days, and no tv at bedtime (8:30pm). If your kids are over weight or depressed, it’s not because of the tv it’s because parents don’t spend enough time doing things with their kids. Taking them with you to the store doesn’t count, do things with them that THEY want to do. It works! And if your worried about your kid and suicide THEN GET THEM SOME HELP!!!! Taking the tv away and making them watch tv with you IS NOT HELP!!! Attention people…this is not the 60’s anymore!!! Believe it or not there are a lot of educational programs on that can help your kids.
Of the many, many decisions parents make along the way, I am grateful that my spouse and I agreed when our eldest was an infant that none of our kids would have a TV in their bedrooms. Nor would we put a TV in our bedroom.
We have a television in the family room, which is off most of the time - I’m right there w/ Fred at 8:35 a.m. in that I’d love to remove TV from our house altogether. My husband and kids would be unhappy with absolutely no TV so we’ll keep it, but I only watch about thirty minutes a week & no regular shows. The kids watch sporadically - parts of ballgames, an occasional show, though they don’t watch any shows regularly either. We have it mainly to run DVDs and catch the final four etc.
My kids are not yet teenagers so I’ve not heard much griping, though they have mentioned to me which of their friends have TVs in their rooms (lots), but have not begged or whined or even asked for the same.
I don’t credit our no-TV in the bedroom policy with my kids’ health and happiness, but I will be honest is saying I can’t see how a TV in their room would enhance their health or happiness… so why do it?
OK, I have a lot to say about all if this…
First off, I think people need to stop blaming television for everything and put more emphasis on poor parenting. The TV promotes unhealthy eating? No. The foods that parents buy promote unhealthy eating. If parents buy junk food, the kids WILL eat it. If parents want their kids to eat healthier, then they need to buy them food that is healthy. Don’t eat fast food. Stop buying pre-processed meals and cook some home-cooked meals. This is a parent’s responsibility to make healthy foods available and media should not be blamed for this.
As far as the amount of time a child spends in front of the TV, again, this is a PARENTING issue. In moderation, television can be beneficial and educational. But if your child watches too much TV, it is because you ALLOW them to. If your child seems to be obsessed with watching TV and playing video games, then perhaps you need to introduce them to some new activities. Bring them up to a driving range and teach them how to swing a golf club. Ask them to accompany you on a bike ride to a local park. Let your child plant some seeds in a garden and give them the responsibility of watering it, taking care of it, etc… There are so many other activities other than TV and video games. Parents need to be PROACTIVE and seek them out. Often, kids will not pry themselves away from the TV on their own. If they refuse to participate in other activities, then you may have to exercise your authority and say sorry buddy, no choice. Family trip! They may fuss at first, but in the end, they will likely enjoy it.
If your child is consistently not getting their homework done, I think that is an issue a little deeper than ‘watching too much TV.’ Parents need to teach their kids early on how to prioritize, take responsibility for their choices, etc… If your child is not completing their homework, perhaps that are having some difficulties in school and it is easier to ignore it? Maybe your child is having problems socializing, so they resort to vegging out in front of the TV instead of playing outside with neighborhood friends? Talk with your kids and problem-solve with them!! The more you help them now when they are younger, the more it will help them on later on if life. Don’t let your kids use TV to escape any problems they may be having. I can say, from experience, that I have done this in my youth. But luckily, my parents were assertive and helped me out.
As a 21 year old who had a TV in her room when she was in high school, I can definitely agree that I watch(ed) more TV because of it. But I was an A/B student, participated in 7 different activities throughout high school, and consistently volunteered. Even now as a senior in college, I still workout at the gym 3-4 times a week, eat well, and get good grades and I still watch the TV frequently. But I am OK because MY PARENTS TAUGHT ME at an early age the importance of being productive, getting homework done on time, getting fresh air and not staying cooped up in my room, socializing with others, and staying healthy (physically, mentally, and emotionally).
PARENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE for their children and how they interact with media. The media will only be beneficial if parents do their job. If they don’t, then of course, the media will make a bad problem worse.
My parents never allowed us to have televisions in our room, except on special occasions when we got to bring the tv into our room (such as when we were home sick from school or if I wanted to play video games in my room or something.)
Now, my boyfriend and I have discussed not having a television in our bedroom when we get married. At first I was a little shocked, but I really like the idea too.
When I had roommates, we all had televisions in our bedrooms, along with one in the living room. I spent a LOT of time in my bedroom by myself–usually because we wanted to watch different shows, but I remember a few times when we’d be watching the same shows in echo in the house. Strange stuff.
My brother, who lives at home but is 21, now has a tv in his bedroom (along with two computers, a keyboard, etc. for school) but my parents barely see him and don’t like that very much. It’s awkward cause, yeah, he is old enough to make his own decisions but he also still under my parents’ roof.
