Random OT -- How many TVs do you have?

BrookeSLP

New member
We've been at friends homes a few times this week and I've noticed that there are televisions everywhere! The living room, playrooms if they have one, bedrooms (including the kids bedrooms) We have ONE in the family room. We don't have cable and the kids get 1.5 hours of screen time a day -- they may choose computer or TV (PBS only). My 4 yo will watch take her entire 1.5 hours, my nealry 3 yo watches maybe 20 minutes. After this week, I've decided we are the strange ones. Just wondering what other people have in their homes.
BTW, I also learned recently that we are the only family in our group that doesn't take their small children to movies reguarly. We've never taken them at all.
 
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Splash

New member
One in the living room that we very rarely watch (3-4 times in the past year maybe?) and one in the bedroom that, unfortunately, we watch a lot (probably 2 hours a night).
Charlie gets to watch The Wiggles for about 10 minutes a day normally, more if he is sick/hurt/wakes up wired at 3 am. We also watch The Wiggles first thing in the morning and dance and jump around to get blood moving and really WAKE UP. Whenever he watches though (minus the 3 am and sick part) I watch with him and we dance to every song.

We've been considering putting a TV in the rumpus room, but probably won't. If we did it would be more for having people over and watching movies than anything, but I don't want to get to the point where it would be sooooo easy to just put on the TV for him.

However I do keep the Spanish channel on in the living room sometimes. (Okay, so it's ON, but no one ever watches it) and Charlie sometimes turns it on and randomly turns channels and then turns it off.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
We have 2 1/2. One in the living room, one in our bedroom (mostly to watch movies) and a small one on the floor of our dining room for DS to watch videos (no stations on this one and it has a vcr) if mommy and daddy are watching tv.

We will probably be getting rid of the one in the dining room soon. It was given to us for DH to use with karaoke if he were to ever go and do it. He has a lot of DJ stuff and likes to give people the option of doing karaoke, too. I will probably have him move it to the basement in the near future.
 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Staff member
4 counting the laptop with Windows Media Center and DVR capability. One in the family room, one in the master bedroom, and one in the basement for workout videos. None will ever be in the kid's rooms, and we limit them to PBS kids and a few videos. DH and I watch shows from iTunes or the DVR after the DDs are asleep. DD1 has been to the movies a few times, and DD2 went with us once as a newborn for a "baby picture" show held weekly at a local theatre.
 

Alicia-N-2SafeBugs

Senior Community Member
We are just like you---we have one TV in our family room. I don't believe in TVs in the kid's bedrooms and we don't have one in our room either. Our new house will have a playroom and we are considering putting a small TV in there just for the kids to use instead of using the nice TV downstairs, but that TV is kind of broken, so the picture is bad anyway! They don't need a TV in the playroom.

We also don't take our kids to movies regularly. Ds has been to 1 movie (Cars) and dd has been to none. I have serious issues with people letting their children watch completely inappropriate movies for their age, but that's a whole other soapbox :p .
 

southpawboston

New member
We've been at friends homes a few times this week and I've noticed that there are televisions everywhere! The living room, playrooms if they have one, bedrooms (including the kids bedrooms).

sounds like my sis's house!!!!! :eek: oh wait! no, they also have one in their master bath!! :rolleyes:

we have ONE. it is in the living room. we have no cable. DW and i watch DVDs only, after the kids are asleep. the kids get ZERO TV time. when DD1 was 4-8 months old, she watched 1/2 hour of baby einstein videos per day (not because we think they're "educational", but because they got DD1's attention and it allowed DW to get stuff done in that 1/2 hour!). but DD2 has not ever seen anything, partly because we don't want DD1 to expect to get screen time, either.

we're in good company, too. our neighborhood friends have similar setups, and one even has no TV at all in their house. that's a little too extreme for us... netflix DVD rentals are our own little vice that we get to enjoy when the kids are sleeping.
 

mamato2

New member
One, 18 years old and still working!! We never watch tv (unless we need to watch for school closures = 3 times in 4 years!) BUT the kids do watch videos sometimes. Their limit is 30 min a weekday but they rarely watch. Both are busy with other things, reading, homework or playing. For a while we would rent a video on Saturday night and watch as a family (pizza and a movie) but quit when we realized how much we were spending on pizza a month! The kids will watch a video/dvd some weekends.
My kids have been to a few movies. My almost 9 has been to maybe 10? And my 5 probably 5. That's counting I-Max at museums.
My husband has a co-worker who has a large screen in 'each' room! Something about having different ball games on at the same time so he doesn't miss anything??
C.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
we have two, but one is supposed to be for the video games and Joyjoy's DVDs so they don't take over the main set. We are definate TV addicts here, but at the same time it's mostly background noise more than anything else.
 

southpawboston

New member
we have two, but one is supposed to be for the video games and Joyjoy's DVDs so they don't take over the main set. We are definate TV addicts here, but at the same time it's mostly background noise more than anything else.

we use white noise generators for background noise when we need it...
 

Jewels

Senior Community Member
We have 1 TV! DH and I watch TV after DS is in bed (he sometimes watches Deal or No Deal with us :D ), although it is on a little bit during the day. Sometimes to watch Thomas the Train which is on for 5 minutes and recently he has been watching Franklin on DVD. I have been having the TV on but on the music channel and the screen goes black so you don't even see anything.
 

Splash

New member
Oh, I forgot about movies. Charlie has been to one movie, Harry Potter 4 on opening night. We planned on going a few days later, until we found out it was playing at the drive in! I was totally shocked since I KNOW that was an expensive movie to get, and the drive in is cheap! (and kinda grungy)
We took him with, since my dad wasn't available to watch him and we really didn't want to leave him anyway, and we thought he would be fine in the car. I turned his seat FF (he was... 8 months old maybe? I don't know) so he could see it if he liked, but mostly he just slept in our laps. It was the best movie ever!
 

skipspin

New member
We have one TV, no cable ect. Just an antenna (5 channels, plus a few spanish ones??) and DVDs and VHS. DD watches a movie or sometimes Curious George on PBS an average of 1/2 hr a day on weekdays, probably. We watch 24 on Monday night, and Dh likes AMW on Saturday night. Every once in a while I turn on the news at 5 or we watch it at 10. Unless DD or one of us is sick, that's it. I guess maybe once a week I watch a movie while DD is sleeping or late at night, but it's usually an old "classic" movie from Netflix and I'm usually doing something else like bills, scrapbooking etc. It's my "mommy time!"
So, add us to the weird ones.

Oh, we do have a portable DVD, but it's only used on trips, or sometimes I will put it in our room to watch a late night DVD if I can't sleep. (Gotta love the pregnancy insomnia...but I have to have my mattress!)

Oh, and we go to movies every once in a while (once three months or less) for a date without DD OR sometimes with DD for a kids movie. 4/5 times it's the drive-in. It's cheap, we bring our own food and sit in the back of the truck!
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I'm a TV addict too. I have it on more often than I should. :eek:

BUT, I DO NOT have a TV in my bedroom. :)
 

Minniemouse

Senior Community Member
We have three tvs. One in the LR, one in our bedroom and a teeny tiny one w/o cable in the DR/K so I can watch the news while I'm making dinner.

We do have digital cable but 90% of the time we are watching Disney Channel, Nick Jr, Sprout, PBS or one of their sister channels.

We do watch too much tv, but as others said it is more background than anything else.

Dh and I also have agreed that there will be no tvs in the kid's bedrooms...or computers for that matter.
 

LEAW

New member
We have one. Growing up we had one in the livnig room, and it was 13" and then when it got fuzzy, my parents got a 19" and the 13" went to their bedroom.. and then when we were in middle school we either got a tv or stereo for bday one year... so I had a 13" black and white tv in my bedroom... not that anything was ever on!

We watch a lot of dvds here right now, well, not watch, but run back and forth in front of... mostly because we've moved in the last 2 months and I'm 40 week s prego.. so I need the occasional break from my 2 yr old! It was a lifesaver while unpacking, and she does fine on days where it doesn't get turned on, as well as days where it's on all day.

Movies - there was a "mommy and baby" movie at the theater every week when dd was an infant. I took her almost every week ($5 for me, free for her, only parents and kids under 3) from 3 months until she was able to navigate the steps on her hands/knees and then it was too much work to keep her occupied. Before htat she'd nurse to sleep and sleep most of the movie, it was a great way to see first run flicks.

Thought about taking her to see something recently, but we didn't. She does watch some Disney stuff now, but not much. Mostly we watch Signing Time.
 

LuvBug

New member
I have a TV in my bedroom, but we dont use it and it is mainly for other purposes lol! It is an old floor model, you know the kind in a cabinet... and I use it as a sidetable. I got it(yardsale- $5) because I want to convert it into an aquarium, but it will still be some time before I do that.

Besides that we have 2 that we use in the den and family room. Im addicted to certain nighttime drama, but now they are putting the hits on the websites to watch so I can catch them then. DS watches about 2 hours a day and I think that is way to much! lol! He doesnt really watch cable, we have a LOT of kids sing along tapes and then some shows on tape(clifford, bob, curious george, blues clues) and he gets to pick, they are all about an hour long and some were recorded from PBS so they are mix/matched. He will usually watch 1 tape twice and then get bored. That is what we consider nap time though lol! He gave up naps a year ago but he will rest while he watches a video, so its some downtime.

His new obsession is getting on the computer lol! He loves to play this mickey mouse preschool thing we found in a box lol! Its education Im sure :p

Oh and movies, DS has been to 2 movies in the theatre, chicken little and cars(for his 3rd birthday, he begged to see it every time we walked past the poster lol!). I have been to 3 in the theatre since he was born, I guess you can do the math lol! Im too cheap to go to the movies or rent from a movie store. I use to work at one and thats when we caught up on all the good ones we missed(they were free for employees), but now we are back to catching them on TV when they finally air.
 

groovymom2000

New member
We have one--no cable. We only use it for movies. I will admit that the boys have both been watching a few too many lately---they've both been sick and it's been cold outside!
We're considering cable, though...in time for college football(Dh and I are both sports addicts). Oh how I wish I could get a la carte tv.....
 

lovinwaves

New member
When DD was born I wanted a "NO TV HOUSE", but DH said no.

We have one in the living room, and one in the Master Bedroom. Our kids will NOT be allowed to have one in their bedrooms.

There is also an annual campaign, can't think of the name of it, but it is to make your home TV FREE!!!
 

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