Curious: TV During the School Week for Your Children?

Leave the tv off. What she gets in after school care is enough. "Down time" can be any quiet activity. For my boys, it's reading. Or, as my 13 year old told me today, "Mom, I don't need tv...I can create an entire series in my head."

Imagination...it's a wonderful thing!

NEVER before school. WAY too much of a distraction. After school sometimes but only when we have time. It is movies for us as well too.

My tv is on in the morning to the news only, cartoons kids shows are not allowed my kids both actually pay attention to the news in the morning. The only thing i absolutely do not allow is TV at bedtime on school nights I have never been one of those "put in a movie and go to sleep" moms but they both have Tv's in thier rooms and are allowed to watch it on weekends and when they are out of school for a little while before they go to bed.

I agree with Momma L... In moderation. But when figuring out what that means to your family, you have to take your family's needs into consideration. At our house, we tried allowing TV in the morning before school for awhile. It didn't work. So now we don't have it on in the mornings. But it is fine after school ONCE their school work is done.

They need to decompress sometimes too. Don't you like to just veg sometimes?

We do, but that doesn't matter ONE iota, if that's not what works for your family.

In MY house I have a rule: the person to whom it's "important" to gets their way.

I think of it this way: If it's no big deal to ONE person, but a REALLY big deal to the other person... why on earth would the person to whom it ISN'T important "win".

It's reduced a lot of friction in our house, since both my husband and I find ourselves in both positions. When we both think something is a big deal , then we work it out / compromise, but most of the time an issue is huge to one of us and a nonissue to the other.

Yes, in fact I encourage it! I have 2 boys who blow off a ton of steam after school by running around the house and driving me nuts. After a while I 'make' them sit and watch just so I can have some peace of mind and cook dinner without commotion. But then again I am of the camp who thinks that TV is not evil.

I feel that an always no answer is never a good thing. So to me, it's all about moderation. That said, a show or two on a school day is fine, so long as homework/chores are being taken care of and that the child has been relatively good that day.

You also don't want it to backfire so that the children want to watch tv all weekend b/c they can't during the week. I feel it's teaching them about moderation, good habits and learning to set priorities, but have fun at the same time. (I much prefer pbs over disney or nickelodeon)

While my son isn't yet in grade school, he does attend a half-day preschool program four days a week; three of those days, he's with a great caregiver afterward (so I can finish my workday, closing my own preschool). I also nannied with families for a long time, so I'll just share a few observations.

I found that having the television on in the morning (as a nanny-- we never do this at home) was an enormous distraction to getting the morning jobs of dressing, eating and brushing teeth/hair completed. I have seen moms brushing their children's teeth in front of the television, which to me defeats the purpose of teaching the child to care for themselves. The tv was used to more or less subdue the children from being grumpy, but they were pretty much glued to the screen. When I would come in to work, the kids weren't eating at the table, but in the family room at a play table, so that they could watch tv. (Sticky messes, too....) They became uncooperative and uncommunicative, and then there were the threats 'if you don't do such and such, I'll have to turn the tv off"... bad situation.

Breaking even the worst of habits is difficult. When I tried to help get this part of our day back on track, coming in earlier to help, the first thing I did was to move breakfast back to the table. Whoa! "No television until everyone is dressed and ready for school." Suddenly we were in the land of whining and tears. The mother decided to go back to our previous schedule and keep the tv in the mix. She's a great mom, by the way, I just think they got started down the wrong path and she had a hard time making a U Turn.

I think you are very wise to consider the patterns you establish now. As our children get older, school often starts increasingly earlier. And when young children need their sleep and down time, despite a lot of popular thinking, parked in front of the tv isn't the most beneficial way to get either done. The light tvs emit actually stimulates the brain to be more alert, which makes it more difficult for a child to go to sleep. Downtime is more relaxing to a child when they are given a quiet place to sit and look at books or work on small fine-motor based activities, which is what we do with our son at our Quiet Book Time (mom and dad model this with him, too). Older kids just need some unstructured playtime alone, with whatever they enjoy working with, and this playtime is so important for their personal development of their self. Television does not offer this sort of quality use of time.

We do allow our son about 2 hours of tv a week at present. He's got a 30 minute Road Construction video he's been watching about 4 times a week for the last month or so. This, on weekend days, his one stay-at-home weekday and the one afternoon when he doens't have care. He's 3.5 years, by the way. We feel this is plenty for him.

Trust your instincts, I think you are making an incredibly wise choice for your daughter. When we look back at our children's childhoods, I don't think any of us are going to say "I wish my kid had watched more TV". I don't see television as evil, either, I have just been working with kids too long and have read way too much about child development to find it as helpful as the other remedies of downtime, storytime, or having him be a participant in what we're doing.

My kids are teens now, and barely have time to watch TV, but when they were younger, they used to watch a little before school, maybe 10 min. while eating cereal, then some after school. They need some down time I think. They are A students now, and then, so it didn't hurt them at all. So if you do have time, after homework, etc. I think some TV is fine.

Our kids get NO TV during the week. If they do their chores and get their homework done without a fuss, etc, then they earn video game time. They arent' that interested in TV alone, but LOVE video games. They get video games starting at 7am on Sat and Sun for 2-3 hours...IF they earn it.

If you get home at 5:15, I have no idea how there is any time for TV if you have all that to do AND connect as a family.

Our daughter is in 1st grade and she comes home after school as of right now. In the mornings there is no tv, she has no time and would just sit there glued to it. In the afternoons yes I let her watch a show when she gets off the bus to unwind. She usually watches 30 minutes and is done. Then we play, start homework etc. If there is enough time after dinner when shower, homework etc is all done then she can either play a computer game or watch another show. It all depends on the day, what activities we have had to do after school. The weekend is really no different, maybe she will watch a bit more when her sister is sleeping so we can have down time too!

My daughter has never had tv during the school week...even when she was too young for school. If she was bored, I told her to get a book. She is now 6, and reads at a 6th grade level and loves it. Help their minds get creative by limiting the tv as much as possible.

As long as my kindergartener is agreeable (right word?) in the morning, I do allow her to watch TV and we will cuddle on the couch together watching TV after she is completely ready and has eaten breakfast. I think it's a matter of opinion. Maybe a compromise with your hubby would be a good idea. Maybe some days she can and other days not. Maybe have a time limit - one show, or it can be a privilege for her as long as she gets completely ready without you having to goad her along. Good luck! :)

I allow my kids to watch tv in the morning and after school, if they have time. TV time is naturally limited as kids get older, get more homework, activities and social engagements, so it is not something I think needs to be made a big deal of.

yes i do, in the morning and at night. She mostly wants to do other stuff, our t.v. is mostly background noise. I was raised that way.

My son can watch Tv before school, if he is totally reqdy, shoes on, teeth cleaned and ready to go out the door - or he can play the computer, it is a good incentive for him to get out of bed and get ready.
he has 1 hour of screen time in the evenings, after homework is done

My kids 6 and 8, watch cartoons in the morning before school. They get up at 7:30 and we leave the house about 8:30. During that time they have cartoons on, but also have to get dressed eat breakfast etc. And yes, I do let them watch cartoons during breakfast - we have a t.v. in our kitchen. They get home by 4pm, usually play outside for awhile depending on the weather. Maybe from 5-5:30, they watch a cartoon while I'm finishing up dinner. We eat, then they do homework while I clean the kitchen. Take baths etc. Once they get their homework done, they can watch tv while the other one is taking a shower. TV completly off by 7:30pm, then brush teeth, they both read and in bed by 8:30. So yes, they watch tv during the week. Probably anywhere from 1-2hrs depending on what time they wake up, how much homework etc. But I figure, they're putting in an 8-9 hr shift at "work" and they deserve some down time if that's how they want to spend it.

No video games during the week though.

They are allowed to watch tv (in our house this means Netflix on demand, we don't have any commercial tv) after school until dinner. No tv after that. I have never allowed my school aged children to watch tv in the morning.

I did my homework growing up with the TV on and on the phone at the same time half the time... I'm exaggerating a bit but honestly did watch a lot and I actually did very well in school. So I don't see it as a huge evil and I think it depends on the child. At your daughter's age, homework really isn't an issue yet in terms of her being disciplined, not goofing off etc. She's only a little kid. If you feel TV would make your evenings rushed though, I think that is a legitimate concern. I see it as my only 45 min of "me" time all day so it's partly selfish. But my neighbors use aftercare for their kids and let them watch TV when they get home and I can see their reasoning more. Aftercare is more stimulating in a way than being home where it's quieter and there aren't structure activities offered necessarily (depending on the mom). So I wonder if kids in aftercare could almost use the "downtime" of TV more than kids who come right home... Just a thought.

There are a lot of different answers for this one. Most importantly you and your husband need to be in agreement, otherwise it won't work. My husband is like yours. He too doesn't see watching TV as a big deal. In fact my husband sleeps with the TV on all night. So this is basically what we did with our four kids (now 19, 17, 14, and 11). When they came home from school they could have a little down time which may include TV before starting homework. Then no TV when doing homework. At young ages homework is done on the kitchen table. Once the hit middle school they usually start doing homework in their rooms. Yes they have computers in their rooms by middle school. I know many don't agree, but a computer in a central place did not work with multiple kids needing the computer for school work. Once homework is done, then they can watch TV. I don't want to make TV forbidden because I think you just increase the interest (also wouldn't work because of my husband). Also you can take away TV privileges as punishment. My oldest had no TV Monday through Thursday many times for poor grades. In the morning I always have my TV on to the news/Good Morning America. When the economy starting going bad my youngest asked what those squiggly line were. My husband had to explain the stock market. They don't get to watch TV in
the morning, it's too distracting to getting ready on time. Whatever you decide you and your husband have to be in agreement. So you both are going to need to compromise a little.

yes , my oldest daughter watch tv, when she finish her homework and clean up her bedroom for at least 30 min sometimes an hour. every day before dinner. (not on the morning, will be hard to get her ready for school, and not after dinner either ).
and my 16 month old, love's to watch dora, yo gaba-gaba and barney,every day ... its doesn't mean that I let the tv babysitt our child, Im with her watching and dancing together.....and its not like the 3 programs in a row we do different things in between.

I used to sit on the floor doing my homework watching TV all the time when I was in school. I was getting As & Bs in advanced classes! TV is on and off all day in our house. We homeschool. We get plenty of quality time with the kids, we get all of our things done, we read books, we listen to music, we go outside and play.
I don't see it as evil, distracting or anything else. Healthy use of anything, including TV is all good in my book.

If a limited amount of tv fits in your schedule it is probably not a big deal. My mom never allowed us to watch tv before school on weekdays and I find that it is distracting in getting everyone ready. I also try and get the tv off for the kids at 7 pm to start bedtime routines. However I allow tv/videao when I am getting dinner ready and other times. My kids are not in full day school yet, the older one is in pre K.

I am starting to deal with this too. Since Kindergarten requires homework now...General rule is that DD comes home does homework so there are no distractions and then she can watch TV until dinner. Usually no more than an hour a day. With Christmas done and all the presents unwrapped there is more to do than just TV.

We don't do TV in the morning- that is THEY do not. I have the news on while I am getting ready, but there is no way they could have the TV on and get ready for school in time. There is never enough time in the morning.

They got to thinking that the moment we walk in the door they could turn on the TV. I have had to nip that in the bud. Since they go to daycare they have already done their homework. I require them to go in to their room for atleast 10 minutes (the clock re-sets if they leave the room) every night and clean their mess.

Oh, and are you discussing family shows or Disney & Nickelodeon? There is definetly a difference and I have started limiting exposure to "kid shows." The shows have a tendency to show kids being disobedient and disrespectful. TV and computer time are earned privelages. My girls are involved in extra curricular activities so there are nights when there simply is not time for any media indulgences. If we are home early enough we almost always watch at least a little TV and snuggle up on the couch.