am i wrong for limiting my ten year old's t.v time?

Question

she is allowed to watch an hour and 1/2 a day. she gets mad because i block out alot of channels. instead i make her read a book, go outside, or find something that makes her creativity run. am i wrong for doing this?

i'm not looking for any kind of thanks from this. i only ask because i am tired of going through countless arguements with her. she thinks she will not be "in the know" at school and during other activties. i tell her it doesn't matter. so in return she tells me i am a bad parent. and for the comment about no more kids i have a eight month old.

as far as blocked t.v she wants me to give her the acess codes to BET, MTV. VH1. HBO, Cartoon Network after 8p.m. there is nothing and i repeat nothing on these channels for aten year old. especially adult swim.how can i make her understand that she is 10 and her firends shouldn't be wtahcing boondocks, college hill, rap music videos and so on.

Answer 1

Id say that if any that was too much tv. I also have a ten year old and she watches maybe 30 minutes of PBS (if that) in the mornings while getting ready for school. When she comes home she has homework and piano practice then its dinner and eat and bed time. It does help that we live in the country and dont have good reception and we only have one satellite in the house and my grandpa spends about 99.8% of the time watching it so basically she watches TV maybe a few hours on the weekend and usually its the Disney channel. I dont know what a ten year old would have to be in the know about anyhow. LOL. So you keep it up because it will only get harder. But dont allow her to make you feel bad and to think that you are a mean bad parent. We need more parents like that and maybe more of our children would actually be smart and skinny instead of fat and dumb.

Answer 2

I think instead of blocking certain channels, it might be better to block certain ratings like TV 14 and TV MA that you don't feel she's ready for.

I remember my friends watching stuff on MTV like TRL and some of the award shows when I was 10, and I started watching them myself when I was 12 or so. I really don't know if MTV has gotten progressively worse over the past 10 years or so though, but there wasn't anything really bad on then. Vh1 is more tame than MTV, so that was allowed when I was younger as well. I don't really know why a 10 year old would watch some of that stuff though, seems like a lot of the jokes would go over their heads.

There is really no reason for her to watch some of the stuff on HBO though, because they do not block out scenes or bad words on their movies and their TV shows are pretty adult. Adult Swim, I have never personally watched so I can't say for sure whether it would be allowed or not.

Personally, I can't really see how she would have time for all this tv anyways. My bedtime when I was 10 was probably like 9 or 9:30, and I always had to read 30 mins or an hour before bedtime.

I think a strict limit really doesn't do any good, but as a general guideline, an hour and a half seems reasonable, and maybe occasionally let her watch 2 hours if she has two hour long shows on that she likes on one day.

Use your best judgement and try to preview some of the things she wants to watch or say that she can watch them as long as you watch them with her. Then, you can talk about some of the issues or things that come up. The only thing you get when you shelter your child too much is a sheltered child though, eventually someone is going to teach her about some of those things you are protecting her from on TV, and I think I'd be safe for me to say that you'd prefer that you be the one to teach her about them instead of her hearing some trashy stilted view of them from her frieds..

Answer 3

I'm still kinda young, so you might think my answer is pretty biased...
I think that it's good that you're trying to keep your child from the bad stuff, but you can't totally rule her life(sorry, you can disagree if you think I'm wrong). I personally think those restrictions are a bit much. You could still block her channels, but I don't think there's anything that bad on TV, as long as it's not Rated R or anything. My mom used to limit me a LOT, and I pretty much hated her for it. I didn't really hate her; I was mad, but then I got used to it. You could work out a system, like if she does her homework, or plays for half an hour outside, she gets "TV points". It still gets your daughter out and active, but she's more encouraged to do it now that there's a reward. She could have an hour of TV every day to start with, and the more points she gets, the more TV she can get. You could also put points on doing activities, or extra credit at school, whatever you want. As long as there's a limit on the points, she can watch TV, and still do the good stuff. As far as the TV blocking, I think you should let her watch, but only if she lets you know what she'll be watching. You could even be in the same room to make sure she sticks to her show. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

NO! Some TV is relaxing and education. More than two hours a day (for adults, too!) is just a reason for vegetating -- the only exception is maybe for exercise programs or videos. One and half hours a day sounds very good -- and that way you can indulge her with a favorite movie or video on the weekends.

One thing I tried with my daughters (10 and 5) is a coupon system. They go outside and play for 15 minutes, they get a coupon good for 15 minutes of "screen time" -- this means, TV, computer or hand-held games. Anything with a screen. So, that way, I know they are getting some exercise.

It's been hard to keep on track with it, though. I get busy with stuff, and can't supervise them like I should. They want someone to play with outside. And sometimes they "sneak" TV time. But, it worked for a few weeks! It might work better for you. I think we'll try it again.

Answer 5

I think you are right to do that! I have to limit how much I watch t.v or I'd never get of the couch! And Im 26! So It is good, kids watch to much t.v thes days now. Good Job! What does she really need to know at 10? I mean come on now! T.V is very misleading to children anyway...

Answer 6

Way to go!! It is awesome that you are willing to go through all the work of making your daughter a better person. Someday she will appreciate what you're doing for her - the time she spends NOT watching tv, she can use to expand herself. Maybe get her more involved in activities/hobbies that interest her, so she has something to fill her time. You are a great mother for doing this - doing what's really in the best interest of your children - don't ever feel bad for doing that!

Answer 7

Having grown up in an era before television, and even before electricity was available on the farm, I can only commend you for your actions. You are in my opinion right on track. If your10 year olds mind is channeled in the right direction it will make growing up much easier. There are no limits to imagination, and you must try to help her see that the television set is not the answer to everything.

Answer 8

No, you aren't wrong.Good old fashion values are priceless these days. We used to play outside until after dark. Catch lightening bugs, play basketball, ride bikes. Let her watch during family TV time. Most kids these days have so much homework and so many projects that leaves little time for TV.

Answer 9

Give her a qouta and give her freedom to watch whatever she chooses so long as the content does not fall in the category of unsuitable for the consumption of children of her age. Further if u ask her to let u know the quota per day, it will work out better.

Answer 10

No this is a GREAT decision. You should continue it until she moves out of the house! Better yet, you could extend her TV restriction to include the "No TV until you finish your homework" rule. If you have DVR or Tivo, let her record shows to watch after homework, but delete them if she doesn't do her homework at all (to make it a true consequence instead of "I don't care, I'll just watch them tomorrow.") Good luck!!!