Did any of you have a television in your bedroom while growing up as a kid? I didn’t, and in general, wasn’t too interested in having one in my room. Recently, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health published their research finding and discovered, to no surprise, ” Study ties bedroom TV to unhealthy habits in teens:”
“Girls with a bedroom television reported getting less vigorous exercise — 1.8 hours per week compared to 2.5 hours for girls without a TV. They also ate fewer vegetables, drank more sweetened beverages and ate meals with their family less often, the researchers said. Boys with a bedroom TV reported having a lower grade point average than boys without one, as well as eating less fruit and having fewer family meals, the researchers said… Among black teens, 82 percent reported having a bedroom TV, compared to 66 percent of Hispanics, 60 percent of whites and 39 percent of Asian Americans.”
Well, that is not too surprising. When I was growing up, we only had one television, and that was in the family room. And of course, my parents were always complaining to my brother and I that we watched too much television. My brother and I did share a computer in his bedroom (but we didn’t have the Internet back then where kids today do). Did you grow up with a TV or computer in your room? Were your parents strict about the amount of television they let you watch?
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Ben wrote:
I didn’t have a TV in my room growing up, but I had free access to the family tube in the living room most weekends. Other than my dad storming in to turn it off and exhort us to head outside for fresh air — which was BO-ring compared to the newfound glory of Cable TV in those days, let me tell you — I watched probably waaaaay too much TV as a grade schooler from perhaps 1978-1985.
The ironic postscript to this is that I have completely come around to my dad’s view that too much TV is probably not good for the kids — now that I have two of my own. So while my kids are allowed to catch about 1/2 hour of TV after daycare each day, the standard is that only Mommy and Daddy can turn it on, and only we can choose what to watch. (Alternately, we let them choose between two acceptable options.) This isn’t based on research saying TV is bad (most of which is just bad science, IMHO), just a gut feeling that I’d rather see the kids doing creative, active play than staring at the tube.
All that being said, the demonization of parents who allow their young children to watch any TV at all continues apace. It seems like I can’t go even a few months without reading some news article, credulously reported, on how TV (or daycare, or moms having jobs) is creating a cohort of ADHD-afflicted future supercriminals. All things in moderation, people!
Posted on 18-Apr-08 at 7:05 am | Permalink
ancient one wrote:
I didn’t have a TV in my room when I was growing up (yes, they actually had TV’s back then), and I definitely don’t let my kids have a TV or a computer in their room. I have a teen, and while it is highly tempting to have her stay in her room all day, it definitely isn’t healthy. I also want to keep track of what the kids are looking at, both on TV and on the Internet, so we keep TVs and Computers are in a public place. It’s hard enough to get them to do their homework in a timely manner, and a TV in their room wouldn’t help.
Posted on 18-Apr-08 at 11:50 am | Permalink
lynners wrote:
I didn’t have a tv in my room, but I also had free access to the one in the living room. TV time was also family time - the ‘rents would make me watch tv with them the night before an exam. They’re weird.
Posted on 18-Apr-08 at 2:23 pm | Permalink