Bad mom......

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  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    Unusual? Yes. Bad? No, not necessarily. I do think it is bad to completely shelter your children from the world, but that goes further than just not having a TV.
  • va_va_voom
    va_va_voom Posts: 467 Member
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    Haha! Just had a coworker tell me that I was neglecting my kids because I don't have a TV in the house. Apparently she thinks that in order for my children to be well informed they HAVE to watch TV.

    I was speechless.

    Is it really that unusual to not have a tv?

    Did you tell her that it's a good thing her opinion of you doesn't matter? Good grief! We had a TV, but no cable until 2007 (from about 2001). The only reason I finally got satellite in 2007 was b/c my dad - the couch potato - threatened to stop visiting me if I didn't get him some TV to watch.

    My older kids are 10 and 7 and they get 30 mins of electronics (TV or video games) per day (if we have time to include it) only after they have compeleted at least 30 mins of reading or journaling. TV is not even close to a necessity and you're def not neglecting your kids if they don't have one to watch.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Yes, in this day and age, it's unusual. But in all honesty, I wish I didn't have one so I applaud you!

    Other people need to keep their opinions to themselves about how people choose to raise their children unless there is actual harm being done.
  • _Stampede_
    _Stampede_ Posts: 66
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    I like watching TV. It keeps my mind preoccupied when I'm shat-faced drunk and neglecting my kids.
  • mtaylor33557
    mtaylor33557 Posts: 542 Member
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    When I stayed at home, we used the TV quite a bit.. but it was for MY convienence. It helped me have a little time to cook lunch, fold the laundry, or even just brush my teeth! He got to a point for a while where he seemed "addicted" to the TV so we completely got rid of it for two weeks. When we brought it back, he didn't care for it much and he began to watch only a small amount.

    Now that I work a full 40 hour week, We don't use it hardly at all. A little on the weekends. Maybe a little Mickey Mouse while he eats breakfast and I run around and get everything ready for the day.

    But, no, I see no reason you "have" to have a TV. We enjoy some of the shows that teach preschool type skills, but you can do that with books and toys, and he probably gets that all day at daycare!
  • jen88ve
    jen88ve Posts: 153
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    I think it's your own personal preference! If you are living life just fine without one, than that's great! I can't believe she would say that too you! Very rude if you ask me!
  • Koshkaxo
    Koshkaxo Posts: 332 Member
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    I had a tv growing up. But once school was out for the summer, my parents would cancel the satellite and hide the cables for our snes. My sisters and I would protest a bit at first but then would enjoy the rest of our summer with fresh air.

    Even now, I do own a tv but dont have cable. The comercials are so redundant and an insult to my percieved intelligence. They dont even try to be clever anymore! We occasionaly hook our laptops up to it if we want to view anything on a larger screen.

    I commend you for not having one, being a hands on parent is never a bad thing.
  • snoopytwins
    snoopytwins Posts: 1,759 Member
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    I think it's great! I really don't watch much, and I do have a tv in the house. My children can watch some (mainly nickjr) on the weekends (maybe about 6 hours total over the weekend). People think I'm strange because my 5 year olds and 3 year old don't have a tv in their rooms or a gaming system. People just like making inane comments.
  • littlepinkhearts
    littlepinkhearts Posts: 1,055 Member
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    I would have been more then happy to raise my child without TV (at least the cable part) I loved watching movies that I chose and purchased. We had a lot of good times putting in a Disney movie or whatever. My spouse on the other hand, could not seem to live without cable. I do not like the way it seemed to be the "go to" when we should have or could have been doing more constructive things. I don't have cable now, however I do have internet and my computer hooked up to my TV. Which means that anything I can see on my computer, I can in turn see on TV. I'm more then happy with that set-up. Kids will not miss a TV if they've never had one. Even now, when my daughter visits, we sit down to a purchased movie. Eventually they will get older and be watching it at their friends house or their own house anyways...so they'll get to see all the crap they've missed. So more power to you and your kids haha
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
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    Haha! Just had a coworker tell me that I was neglecting my kids because I don't have a TV in the house. Apparently she thinks that in order for my children to be well informed they HAVE to watch TV.

    I was speechless.

    Is it really that unusual to not have a tv?

    Wow, you're horrible.........absolutely horrible. ;-)
  • ANB22
    ANB22 Posts: 64
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    I don't have cable or internet in the house, the kids get to have a movie night on friday or saturday and they get one new movie. I think my kids are better for it
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    While it's unusual these days, it def doesn't make you a bad mom lol...that's just dumb!

    But not gonna lie, I'd go crazy without a tv, catching up on the DVR is like a Friday night ritual at our house! Plus we often have people over for UFC fights, big football/basketball/baseball games, etc so a TV is kinda crucial to that.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    So, yes, unusual to not have a tv, but not a bad mom for not letting them watch it. We have several (want one?). I frequently give the kids a day where no tv is allowed. Especially now that it is summer, I am finding many days the tv just sits there all alone because I am a bad momma that makes the kids go outside...for long periods of time! Good for you for not having one.
  • Medtech2004
    Medtech2004 Posts: 55 Member
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    My cousin doesn't have a TV either. Bravo for you! I know I couldn't do it but I think it would be better in a lot of ways.
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,780 Member
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    Not having a TV doesn't make someone a "hands on" parent any more than having one makes someone a "hands off" parent.
  • lauries3
    lauries3 Posts: 68 Member
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    I have heard alot of things but being a bad mom for not haveing a tv. I think that is great. I don't have a tv but my room mate has 3 and has put them all over the house. We watch movies and use netflix but as long as I go to school, and my son is in school no tv too much of a distraction. Netflix will get taken out once the school year begins again. Anyway, tell your co-worker to worry about her family and not yours. She probably was told the same thing for a different reason. Remember Misery LOVES Company.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    We have a TV...it isn't even plugged in and we don't watch it.

    I think it's the other way around that if you used the TV as a babysitter you are a bad mom. Without a TV our kids develop an imagination, are involved with what goes on around the house and develop better social skills. We all have our own way of raising kids and it won't be the same as someone else's.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
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    It is unusual but I think they benefit from it, they get to play outside, read books and do all the things childreb who sit infront of the tv do not do. The cartoons today is so violent anyway so I think they are better off, don´t listen to your coworker
  • AmadaLynn
    AmadaLynn Posts: 116
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    she is just lazy and/or jealous becuase she does not know how to entertain her kids, while you actually do, or they actually know how to have fun.

    kudos to you.
  • kikokateyy
    kikokateyy Posts: 136 Member
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    Not a bad mom at all!! Every summer my parents would cut the cable so we couldnt watch it haha

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