Children should not be allowed to watch TV!

That is why it is called the idiot box. The schools are dumbing down our kids and the television is helping that along. I don't say anything as long as things are getting done. However, when they get that glazed look on their faces and chores are needing done, then Mom goes into action and if need be it is turned off. It does not rule our life, just like the computer or video games do not rule, we decide whether to use or watch or compute. Television just does not have anything useful these days at all. We also discuss the slant that things are presented as and the tricks that commercials play. Am proud our kids enjoy our trips to the church rummage sales and thrift shops and enjoy things that they think look good on them. Nothing embarassing, thank goodness.

Too much of everything is not good. May it be watching tv or anything. I allow my kids to watch tv especially on friday nights, no school the next day. You watch tv together with your kids and orient them in knowledge channels, like Discovery channel, National Georgraphic, cartoon channels, etc.And make it as much as possible that you will be with your kids when they watch tv, so you will know what channels they visited. and you can always ask your cable provider to lock channels that are not good for your kids. disallowing them in watching tv, wont also make any good. the more you forbid a thing, the more they will look for you ways to have it. just my two cents.. ;)

tv is bad for kids if they watch regularly. there are still good educational shows and good channels on tv that are helpful for kids, that enhance their learning skills. i think that it is still on the discretion of parents on whether or not they would permit their child to watch tv even if the show is not suitable for them. i have a 3-year-old daughter and i only permit her to watch tv when the show is educational and may help her increase her speed of learning. otherwise, i do not allow her to watch and give her something to get her attention and interest into, like coloring a coloring book.

Putting someone in an artificual environment doesn't prepare people for handling life in the real world. TV and technology is a major part of the world around us. The key is to teach children how to make good decisions and to provide good supervision and guide lines.

I don't think that television should be banned. We limit what our son watches on television. He is allowed to watch PBS Kids and sometimes the Disney Channel. I don't think it is a bad thing, as long as parents limit how long they can watch it and know what they're children are watching. We are also active with our child. He goes to playgroups, playgrounds, to the zoo, to the aquarium, riding bicycles, playing outdoors. We do not allow him to sit in front of a television day in and day out. I just don't see anything wrong with letting them watch television shows, as long as they are monitored.

I think another factor in this discussion is that television is a little different now than it was, say, ten years ago. I watched tons of TV as a kid - I was the youngest of 4 and there was a huge age gap between me and my siblings, and both my parents worked so I had to entertain myself a lot as a kid. But I learned a lot from television! When I was a child I wasn't watching trashy TV, I was watching Murder, She Wrote and shows that were way beyond my age group! It expanded my vocabulary and helped expand my mind, as well. I think that if you monitor what your children watch and expose them to creative television that will help develop their vocabulary and knowledge base, watching TV is totally okay!

yeah you are right all too much thing is not good to anyone even to children so we should monitor always descipline our kids on having balance life, no need for anything like too much..

I agree with you to a point. There are some really good educational channels. It also depends on what age group you are taking about. I would not let children watch some primetime TV channels.

I think television can be harmful to children, but don't believe it should be banned. There are some excellent shows, which can help learning, but parents need to view shows before having their children view a particular show. When my daughter was young, she would watch Wheel of Fortune, which helped her learn her alphabet and Reading Rainbow, a show about reading. Some parents do use their television, as a child sitter, but I felt its a learning tool when used correctly.

Well, the beauty of this is that its each parents choice. My daughter watches an hour a day of PBS. Thats it. On the weekend she is allowed to watch one movie, other than that the tv is off completely. Our life doesn't revolve around the tv.

Well I can't say tv ruins children because I refuse to believe that 90% of all of my generation and the generations behind me are ruined. I do think letting your children watch anything is very harmful, and parents should monitoring their children. Some kids know better than to imitate something they see, and other don't, that is why God in His infinite wisdom gave everyone parents to make sure the children who can't handle certain stuff on tv don't see it. Children can learn a lot from tv, it is a visual form of story telling. I think if you forbid a child to watch tv, they will want to watch it even more. Now I don't let my daughter watch tv all the time, and I censor what she watches, based on what she picks up from certain shows. She has learned a lot from shows on Nick Jr and Disney as well as PBS. Currently she LOVES Animal Planet, and is learning many fascinating facts about animals I wasn't even aware of (and she's only 4 not even in school yet!). She can't watch everything on Animal Planet the vet shows are too graphic, but it gives me the opportunity to explain things that she does not yet understand. I think she is smarter for watching the right tv shows.

I hate to say that this sounds like it is spoken by a person who doesn't have kids. Anyone who does have children would tell you that sometimes a television can be a lifesaver. Not that TV should be used as a babysitter, but once in a while, it can provide you with a few moments of precious rest while the kids are distracted. And while no kids should sit in front of the TV for hours on end watching mindless TV, a little TV here and there I think is fine. I myself was raised watching TV and despite popular opinion about TV's effects, I became a productive member of society. I graduated from college, I'm an active healthy person, and I still read more than I watch television. And while school was very important to me as a kid, things I watched on television helped reinforce the things I learned in school. Sesame Street and the Electric Company helped me remember my alphabet and numbers, and taught me a little Spanish. And with cable, now there's the Discovery Channel and the National Geographic channel and a host of family shows. Not to mention, it's OK to give your brain a rest sometimes and just be entertained. As for children wanting to emulate everything they see, banning TV won't change that. There are still movies, billboards, magazines, etc. You can't protect them from everything. This is where good parenting is supposed to come in to teach children the difference between reality and image, decision-making skills, and self-esteem. If a child is sitting round the house watching TV 24/7, isn't that partially the parent's fault? Yes, there have been simpler times when things were perhaps more innocent. But since we can't revert back to those times, we must teach children to navigate the times they live in, in a realistic way. And I would bet the girls who are enrolled in Oprah's leadership academy thank God for television every day, since it has helped create one of today's heroes. And because so many school-age children saw her special about it, schools around the country are supporting the academy. Like anything else, TV is what you make of it. You can choose to watch things that are only destructive and harmful, or you can focus on the offerings that are powerful tools for change, enlightenment, education, and yes, mindless fun. All things in moderation is generally a good rule to live by.

I believe that too much TV can be harmful to anyone. My children have a few educational shows they watch. I would never let them just watch TV all day. I supervise everything they watch.

Well i am like everyone else, too much TV is definitely not good but i wont stop my daughter from watching certain things. I don't mind her watching things like sesame street where she can learn numbers & letters, Playschool where she can learn about time & shapes etc. Unfortunately, i guess it's an each to their own topic, i allow my daughter to watch one of her movies when she has her lunch - she usually falls asleep after lunch & never finishes the movies but when she is older, i wont be allowing her ages in front of the TV or anything. Things these days are just different to what they used to be, which is good & bad at the same time!

I couldn't agree more, If my partner had allowed me, my TV would be long gone. My kids aren't allow to watch much TV, and when they do its more history and wildlife shows which are great and very informative. They also watch the news with us as I think its important that they know whats happening in the world, but it's always the early news as the later ones are quite graphic. TV has many positive things but I think there are more negative things on it, which can be /are very disturbing. But my kids prefer art and crafts or cooking anyday over TV.

i have a personal view point which may not match with most of the parents out here.. according to me children should be allowed to view television to a certain extent. some interactive programs and eduv=actional programs would be very helpful to them. so please see to it dear parents......

hi Sawsen! i allow my kids to watch television and i give them freedom to choose for the shows they would want to watch . maybe hard to believe but somehow kids actually get information and knowledge from this "idiot box." it offers a fun & creative way of partaking knowledge to their young minds. but i understand just like any other gadget, this can be abused and misused. so thats where we as parents would come in to offer guidance and direction. prohibiting kids from watching tv for me does not make sense but limiting the time kids spend from watching tv makes a whole lot of sense. just sharing my thoughts. i do respect your opinion.

Of course children should be allowed to watch TV which are worth educative and informative for their age. But, of course there should be control over timing and kind of programs they are allowed to watch. Hence, the parents have great job to make the issue proper and productive.

hi m OSama n m 16 year old first thing is this every thing has 2 sides 1 is gud n other is bad like T.v has 2 sides also if u c it on postive way u will find it is very usefuul fst media and very very gud learning zone for children but on negative side it is 1 ov destructive media it can spoli new generation but It iz responsiblity ov parents how to control their children on tv 1 thing dun give child A TV in his room and watch what da child c on tv and teach him to watch gud channel ver informative channels nuthin is destructive but only it dependz on it use

Too much of anything can be bad for a person so it is up to parents to set reasonable time limits for television and set the parental controls on their television as well to block out inappropriate content. My parents limited us to an hour when we were younger and we had to agree on the shows. If they said a show was inappropriate, we weren't allowed to watch it. As we got older and matured, the rules relaxed but my mother would stay up and watch shows like 90210 and Melrose Place with me to ensure that I could ask her questions about the subject matter (if I had any). The best thing a parent can do, in my opinion, is to not sit their kids down with a t.v. and let it "babysit" them while they try to get stuff done but to sit down and watch with them. It allows them to control the content they see, how much, and to head off any troubles by having conversations with their kids about potentially touchy subjects.