Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
In November, 1999, when our daughter was 4 and our son 3, my wife and I ditched our TV, concluding that it was, on balance, a negative influence in our kids' lives (and ours, too). For the most part, we haven't regretted the decision: Our kids are avid readers, active in sports, good in school, and blissfully unexposed to Charlie Sheen and a lot of other garbage.
But the no-TV life comes with a price. For one, our son and daughter are vulnerable to "blind spots" when it comes to current events. So much of American kids' awareness of current events, evidently, comes from the "osmosis" of unintended and passing exposure to TV news and updates. Even the most news-ignorant TV-kid must have some basic knowledge that "something's up" in the Middle East, right? Not ours...unless we make the effort to let them know, which, being human, we sometimes fail to do--though we try. (Mention "Chilean miners" to our son, for instance, and you'll get a blank look. Guarantee it.) We give them monitored access to the Internet, of course, but exposure there is self-directed and less well-rounded.
Also, our kids can be "hip-deficient," as they're often unable to participate in basic pop-culture conversations with friends ("Justin Beaver? Beber? Huh?" Etc.). And their hip-deficiency is compounded by our lack of video games. Poor things! I worry we're unnecessarily giving them social challenges.
But the benefits have been real and many. What to do, what to do......
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May '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
My sister ditched her teevee when her children were toddlers. They're in college now and a perfectly well-adjusted.
Even having a teevee is no guarantee. I use mine as a radio to listen to Don Imus and to play Netflix of ancient movies. Until a few days ago I was utterly unaware of an apparently successful situation comedy called "Two And A Half Men."
Jul '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Well, Scott, I never owned a television until I was 47.
Now, as regards your kids' character development, take that as you will....
Edited on Mar 5, 2011 at 3:18pmMay '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
I should mention that we do have a TV monitor and DVD player to rent movies--just not the broadcast or cable stuff.
May '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Kenneth: Well, Scott, I never owned a television until I was 47.
Now, as regards your kids' character development, take that as you will.... · Mar 5 at 3:16pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 03:18 pm
So you're saying they might grow up to be Kenneths. Oh, God, what have we done?
Edited on Mar 5, 2011 at 3:52pmJun '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
I haven't watched television since 1993. I sorely miss baseball, but nothing else. I watched the Super Bowl this year in the company of friends in a raucous bar full of big screens, the game was exciting, the beer passable (they didn't have my favourite on tap so I settled for second best), and the company was great. Now, I'm not suggesting you take your kids to the bar to watch the Super Bowl, but what I am suggesting is that the Super Bowl was only a backdrop to the real fun, which was the company of my friends. If the company you keep with your children and they with you is to be sacrificed, I hope it will be sacrificed for something more than the odd timely cultural reference.
Jul '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Scott Reusser
Kenneth: Well, Scott, I never owned a television until I was 47.
Now, as regards your kids' character development, take that as you will.... · Mar 5 at 3:16pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 03:18 pm
So you're saying they might grow up to be Kenneths. Oh, God, what have we done? · Mar 5 at 3:50pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 03:52 pm
It's never too late, Buddy. I understand the Hooters in Omaha has a special intensive-immersion Jumbotron set-up for video-deprived kiddies. You can actually see the color return to their cheeks.
Wings are tasty, too.
Jun '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Kenneth
Scott Reusser
Kenneth: Well, Scott, I never owned a television until I was 47.
Now, as regards your kids' character development, take that as you will.... · Mar 5 at 3:16pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 03:18 pm
So you're saying they might grow up to be Kenneths. Oh, God, what have we done? · Mar 5 at 3:50pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 03:52 pm
It's never too late, Buddy. I understand the Hooters in Omaha has a special intensive-immersion Jumbotron set-up for video-deprived kiddies. You can actually see the color return to their cheeks.
Wings are tasty, too. · Mar 5 at 4:08pm
So it's Hooters or bust?
Jul '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Yeah, well, I'm betting Yer Kids don't have ADD either.
American pop culture ain't what it used to be.
Oct '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
We have 5 kids, aged 22 to 10. We gave up the TV when the oldest was 5 and never looked back. We live out in the country and limit the time the kids spend on the internet and watching movies. I think they are pretty well rounded What amazes me his how tuned in they are to popular culture, without TV! It must be a cultural zeitgiest.
Edited on Mar 5, 2011 at 5:21pmJul '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Good Berean: We have 5 kids, aged 22 to 10. We gave up the TV when the oldest was 5 and never looked back. We live out in the country and limit the time the kids spend on the internet and watching movies. I think they are pretty well rounded What amazes me his how tuned in they are to popular culture, without TV! It must be a cultural zeitgiest. · Mar 5 at 5:03pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 05:21 pm
Good point about zeitgeist. Though I never had a television, I somehow picked up on all the pop culture references through - through I don't know, actually. Newspaper and magazine references, billboards, radio.
Pop culture is like swimming through a pool of muck; it's everywhere around you and you can't help but become tainted. I knew more than I cared to about Dallas and Friends and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
Crap is relentless.
Jul '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Cas Balicki
Kenneth
Scott Reusser
Kenneth: Well, Scott, I never owned a television until I was 47.
Now, as regards your kids' character development, take that as you will.... · Mar 5 at 3:16pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 03:18 pm
So you're saying they might grow up to be Kenneths. Oh, God, what have we done? · Mar 5 at 3:50pm
Edited on Mar 05 at 03:52 pm
It's never too late, Buddy. I understand the Hooters in Omaha has a special intensive-immersion Jumbotron set-up for video-deprived kiddies. You can actually see the color return to their cheeks.
Wings are tasty, too. · Mar 5 at 4:08pm
So it's Hooters or bust? · Mar 5 at 4:34pm
It's for the children, Cas.
Feb '11
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
The Toad Pad has no TV and has not since we lived in an area we couldn't get TV reception. We have a DVD/VCR player and my children have spent time in homes with TV and love it, but thanks be to the Lord my husband could care less about pro sports so we don't "need" cable. My kids are not deprived -- today, after they cleanied their home, I allowed them an unheard of, never before treat -- all afternoon to watch/play to their hearts content. (continued)
Edited on Mar 5, 2011 at 7:12pmFeb '11
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
(continued) They watched Inspector Gadget, the TV series, that I used to watch on HBO with my little sister in the 1980s, played Mario and Luigi, or RollerCoaster Tycoon. It was glorious. They read big fat books. I fed them a fabulous dinner, after eating with my husband alone beforehand, and they all toddled off to bed by 10:00. They are not pop culture ignoramuses, they merely have specialized knowledge. They have Internet savvy. They could care less about Justin Bieber, but they like OK Go and the Maccabeats. They make award-winning animated films for local film festivals. It's all good. You don't need it, and they sure don't.
Dec '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
For yucks.
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn't Own A Television
Jan '11
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
And you were happy in your ignorance, weren't you? Me too. I wish the media would get onto something else so I could resume being ignorant of Charlie Sheen's doings.
Sep '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
I believe TV and cable network programming gets an undeserved bad rap.
Yes, there is a lot of crap on it, it takes some doing to find something worth watching, and it can be a big waste of time, and it largely consists of a vast, cultural wasteland, the overuse/abuse of which cannot be good for kids and their upbringing.
However, cannot the very same thing be said of the monitor at which you are staring right now and internet content? I think quite a few (non-TV using and darned proud of it) Ricochet members (half-jokingly?) would say they are "addicted" to this site...
Edited on Mar 5, 2011 at 8:21pmMay '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
I'm not really a fan of banning things. It smacks of communism. I also don't like lack of boundaries. That smacks of hippie communes.
I grew up most of the time without a TV outside of the US. Whenever we came back to the US, my brother and I were TV addicts staying glued to the tube all day long. It was an olympic style TV binge. I often wonder if we had had TV while other kids our age did, whether we would have been such binge addicts. I remember feeling like I only had a limited time to get caught up on American culture. The TV seemed the fastest way to get it in. And it was noticeable. Whenever we came to the US, I was usually the slow girl in the room having no clue what people were talking about. I understood the English words, they just made no sense.
The issue with allowing TV back in once it's been banished is where to draw the line? I'd say overall, if your kids have interesting friends and hobbies, they'll be okay when they grow up.
Nov '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Greatest invention for contemporary parenting...the DVR. We watch, and we allow to be watched, only what we want and only when we want it. What does this mean in practical terms...the TV is never on just blabbing away in the background.
Jul '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Hmm. I think that the presence of a television is less important than it was say, 25-35 years ago.
It just doesn't have the cultural impact that it did. My mom called it "cultural literacy." It was one thing to keep your kids from say, The Cosby Show, or some other program that was watched by all your neighbors. But we just don't have similar circumstances today.
I'm from a TV family, my dad sold commercial time, I remember being excited about Stingray, and Manimal, for crying out loud.
You're definitely a suspect hippie for tossing the tele, Scott. But I'd bet your kids will be fine.
Jul '10
Re: Is TV Necessary for a Well-rounded Kid? Maybe.
Can't tell you how many times I've walked out of people's homes when they kept the TV blaring away when I came expecting intelligent conversation. I'd point at the TV and say, "Look, seems like you're busy here, so I'll just take my leave."
I'm sure they thought I was a crank. And I thought they were boors.