Feb 2, 2010
If I told you my kids only eat cotton candy a half-hour a day, what would you think?
Letting little kids watch TV is similar to feeding them spoonfuls of sugar: There’s nothing wrong with it, per se, but still…
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It depends on the programming, doesn’t it?
For example, homeschoolers might judiciously select educational material for the kids to watch.
But generally, yes, I am in agreement with what you’re saying. Which is why we don’t have a receiving television and feel guilty when they watch a video.
Google told him:
http://www.google.com/search?q=processed+sugar&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
This comment makes no sense here. Should have been in response to Josh S below and should have properly referred to Becky as “her” instead of “him”. Sorry for the JV commenting everyone.
An unfair comparison. A spoonful of sugar has zero benefit and is irrefutably harmful. The same is not true of all tv/dvd watching.
My kids loved watching Praise Baby dvd’s when they were older babies/toddlers. Whether the images were of educational value or not (debatable, I suppose), their minds were being filled with worship music, and they enjoyed watching the colors and shapes and pictures of children. Plus mommy could get a shower.
It’s not like cotton candy at all.
“A spoonful of sugar has zero benefit and is irrefutably harmful.”
How do you know this?
I’d wonder if you had a cotton candy machine at home.
My husband’s psych professor told his class, “If you keep the TV off from 0-5 years, you won’t pay a cent for college.” Reading and playing games with your kids is far more rewarding. :)
“Reading and playing games with your kids is far more rewarding.”
Rewarding, yes. Realistic, probably not… especially for parents who have to keep a household running and can’t play games and read with their kids for the entire day.
A lot of the no TV talk is great in theory. But is much much harder to put into practice.
Exactly! Just like no-sugar talk is great in theory and hard to put into practice.
I’d like to point out that I’ve already noted this connection
http://jamsco.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/two-truths/
“A lot of the no TV talk is great in theory. But is much much harder to put into practice.”
i completely agree. before children, my husband and i (well, mostly him ;) swore off tv for our future young children.
reality is that our two-year-old watches more dvds than we’d like.
I think momentum matters if you have a theory that you want to put into practice.
If you just don’t start a TV/DVD habit with a kid, then you won’t have to try to cut down that consumption in the future.
My parents TV broke in middle school and dad said we werent fixing it! He said we would read more. I did read more but I think my brothers just played more. It only worked to play movies which were limited to educational documentaries mostly on wars that my parents bought and my brothers liked.
5 years without TV growing up me and my brothers played together and read a lot. Your kids will find other ways to entertain themselves quickly. I read every book in the house. Keeping TV as a pet is like keeping a poisonous snake as a pet. PS Me and my husband now have a TV and my parents now have a TV again.
I agree.
Here are some other reasons why we are wise to get rid of the TV:
1. Statistically speaking, the more TV you watch, the fatter you get.
2. The more TV you watch, the more your World View is shaped by something that is fundamentally opposed to a Judeo-Christian world view … and don’t give me that “ap-cray” (writing in Pig Latin for a bit there) about Christian TV.
3. If you really want to learn stuff, you learn it better from books.
4. If you really want to hone your Reasoning Skills, Logic, Rhetoric, and see both sides of an issue, again, go to the books.
5. It is more joyful to sing than to watch someone sing.
Just some thoughts off the top of my head,
Lowell
PS: perhaps Matthew 11:12 (…take the Kingdom of Heaven by Violence) is referring to destroying your TV. :)
PPS: and yes, I was kidding in the Matthew 11:12 reference.
I love your reasons brother Lowell, but I’m having trouble with #5. Is it possible for me that I am equally joyful singing as I am watching someone else sing?
I am really blessed by witnessing some bigtime singing from time to time.
or a smalltime.
If my son watches TV, I am watching TV with him.
Because of this, we have had tons of the very best talks.
For example, he watches a lot of tween shows (which admittedly odd for a 7 year old son). But out of that, we get to talk about what it actually means to have relationships such as friends and girlfriends and how it should not be taken lightly. In talks about girlfriends, in beyond what it means to spend time, holds hands and kissing, I get to share with him the gospel of God in that how we, guys, pursue just the one girl, just one, that we want to have a friendship with is an imperfect picture yet just a taste on how God pursues us.
Are the conversations paying off? Firsthand, I have seen the way he speaks about his friends and the way he deals with his crushes and I am convinced there is fruit out of what we discussed.
If that is the case, it seems that our Almighty God can even redeem the likes of Hannah Montana and Suite Life of Zach & Cody.
Joseph, I hear ya, but I’m thinkin’ that “the Suite life…” is not the ONLY entry into these kinds of conversations…
In theory, i would agree, that not allowing your kids to watch TV is great…..but, living in Canada, in the middle of winter at -19, with 3 boys (2,4,7) in a small house, there is only so much a mommy can handle before turning to drink 8) so, TV is ok in small doses….on those long days, when everyone is fighting and you can’t leave the house because of 5ft snow drifts….don’t judge me ;)
Amen Leonie. Everyone’s situation is different. For some reason this issue really brings out the hyperbole and self-righteousness in us.
Is TV great for your kids in huge amounts? Probably not.
But is there really no value in it at all? Is it merely mind-melting, drop-out-inducing garbage coming out of that box? No. That’s not true either.
I’d think, “Thank God for Molly!”
What if I plan to let my kids eat candy WHILE watching televison? The horror!
I would think it’s really none of my business how someone else runs their home. I’m responsible for mine and doing what we believe is best for us.
well said Angie.
Honestly, my first thought, “If I told you my kids eat only cotton candy a half-hour a day.” I would think it was probably hyperbole and that your kids really like cotton candy.
Abraham,
Do you let your children watch TV? I am just curious. As I understand, you grew up without one?
There are also two kinds of tv watching: videos or network shows.
Wait, why is tv so bad? Maybe the quality of the TV here in the Netherlands is better than the quality over there (it wouldn’t surprise me, since we typically have less than 25 channels to choose from and not the three million that go around on American cable), but there’s a lot to be learned from TV. And it’s entertainment, too, which isn’t bad. It’s not likes books are so great – there’s a lot of trash out there in book form as well. I’m saying this as a voracious reader, mind you – I love books and if/when I have kids I’m making them read. What I mean is that it’s just a cultural prejudice to elevate all books above all tv. What’s that verse again from 1 Tess 5: Put everything to the test. Accept what is good and don’t have anything to do with evil. I don’t see why TV is automatically put in the evil category. Haven’t you guys ever seen a really good movie that shakes you up and makes you think about life? That’s tv too, you know…
now, if the idea was to say: kids, the kitchen’s yours for half an hour, have fun! yes, I would have a problem with that. You need to teach kids and help them understand which shows and movies are good for them, much like you teach them to eat veggies instead of junk food (I hope at least that you are doing that).
So, in other words, If you have a TV, you better watch it!
I really appreciate what my parents did with me. We watched the occasional Barney or Sesame Street, some kids’ praise videos that I have very fond memories of, classic Winnie the Pooh, etc. It was once a day or less. We rarely watched movies (like once or twice a year). Once we got into the double digit ages we watched some more movies, and in high school we watched classic TV during our lunch breaks (we were homeschooled). I think it’s really important especially for very young children not to be exposed to tons of television. My mom read with us all the time – thanks to her, I was reading at 4 and obsessed with books ever since! :P
Okay, I’m generally anti-tv for not only my children, but also myself. Not to say that we don’t watch videos at times. However, just thought it might be interesting to add that I once asked my husband how he came to know so much about home improvement (he can fix or build just about anything). His answer? TV shows such as This Old House and Hometime. Granted, he wasn’t three when he was watching those shows, but it begs the point that the TV can be a learning tool. Not the best one for every case, but…
We actually make and consume cotton candy as we watch TV in our living room…it’s a really fun activity.
I don’t know about the sugar analogy. I think sometimes it’s like that, however, I’ve found that when used carefully and in moderation it can be a nice little tool to help reinforce good values or ABC’s/123′s. It can also be a nice little tool to give mommy a few minutes of peace she needs to collect herself and be a BETTER mommy. :)
I would say, that’s too much cotton candy too often, but 30 min a day of TV for a kid…fine :) We love “How It’s Made”! We definitely consider things like that worthwhile shows.
And even pointless shows we’re OK with sometimes…I mean, sometimes we adults just like to do something to chill, wind down, relax, decompress… I don’t mind if my 5 yr old watches an old cartoon or something in the afternoon when he is too groggy (because of that outgrowing his nap phase) to do something stimulating.
I used to think–before kids–we probably would never turn the TV on for our young children. But now, realistically speaking, I do NOT expect my toddlers to be able to–or need to–do educational, stimulating, active activiites 100% of their spare time.
And actually, I do think there are good benefits for kids from some cartoons, even! Especially old cartoons that have just music and no words, but I won’t go into all those reasons.
Are you going to share what your “but still…” is?
Are you familiar with Mommy-guilt? We get it from statements like “Letting little kids watch tv is similar to letting them eat spoonfuls of sugar…”
I get what you’re saying, but don’t think the analogy fits. TV isn’t always cotton candy. I grew up without TV, too. But in some ways that made me want it even more. I think moderation–not abstinence–is best.
Do you have kids? We never let our first watch TV. We were dead set against it. Now we have 3 under 5 and they get 1/2 hour a day each morning so I can take a shower. If you don’t have kids, you will laugh at your questions when you do.
It goes beyond the programming. Even if the programming is faultless, what about the commercials? Which are purposefully geared at getting people to think a specific way about a specific product/service/idea? The problem is parents feel hypocritical if they tell their kids they should not watch something. I say, don’t feel hypocritical, just live to the same standard you enforce on your kids. Make that standard one that encourages growth as a Christian. If you see something as a family that is against the morality we uphold as a Christian, discuss it. Our minds are impressionable too. Time shift everything, minimize your own intake of TV, and when you sit there, ask yourself if you would still watch it if Jesus was sitting there with you. Then remember, He is. Here is a blog I posted about using TV as a tool in a faith affirming way for the family.
http://www.firstcyberchurch.org/blog/post/2010/02/02/Missionary-Mondays.aspx
I never watched TV before I was 7. Sometimes I am now addicted to it. Never had sweets either. Now I miss cotton candy too.