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What do you think of......................

A 3 year old having a tv in his bedrom??!!

My brothers step son who is 3 years old has a tv in his bedroom, the reason behind it eing because otherwise he wont let anyone watch anything else on tv other than cbeebies!!

And.........he had to put a lock on his and his oh's bedroom door because he kept taking himself off to eat his food in there - they'd go to bed and find yogurt and crumbs in their bed....

And.............all he wants to play on the wii is mario kart, as soon as my brother gets home he has to play on it with him. My response was "perhaps it will accidentaly break one day" and the reply I got was "he'd be so upset we'd have to go straight out and get a new one".......And, he fell asleep playing it once and woke up in the middle of the night totally confused!

And - fair enough he's young and might not really understand christmas yet but last year he opened his presents and then just threw them behind him!

Personally, I think this child rules the house!! There are two much older girls in the house too and I think he's just totally spoilt!!!! He doesn't seem like a total brat when I've seen him but then it's alwys been at someone elses house.

What do you think? Do you think a 3 year old should have a tv in thier room, or let anyone watch anything else, play anything else on the wii. Would you let a child wander off with food??
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Replies

  • I think thats awful and the kid is only doing this stuff because hes been allowed to! I think your totally right and he obviously does totally rule the house! Jayden will definately not be having a tv in his room at 3 yrs old or wandering off with food. Good if you didnt say his age id think he was a normal teenager but 3 yrs old. Bad isnt it! x
  • I think three is a bit young for a tv in his room, it seems like hes acting like a teenager not a three year old xxx
  • I personally believe its too young and I wouldn't even consider it for either of my two til they were much older!! All the unsuitable things on TV are enough these days, but let alone a 3 year old being able to watch them when he wants!! I'd have disciplin in place and if he was naughty I would confiscate the wii for a certian amount of time, or to not watch the tele for half and hour. They need to be tougher and not let this lil boy rule the roost!!

    Each to their own though I guess!

  • See I am the opposite and my girls HAVE a tv in their room and they are 2 and 4. They will occasionally have a film on in there during the day while they have their play time and the have 1 film on at bedtime before sleep. I personally think if it is regulated and they follow by all other rules it is a treat. My girls have playtime with me during the day and they also have their time to play. They do not have it on all the time and only at set times on good behaviour! They are certainly not allowed food in their room though and will only eat their meals downstairs.

    I definately do not agree with children ruling the house but think that it can be used as a treat and is a good thing if treated in the right way.

    xxx
  • I don't think a TV is a good idea in a 3 year olds room! Some of the children in my class had TVs in their room last year and one child in particular was always tired at school. Turned out that when he went to bed he put the TV on every night and if he woke in the night he put in on too, hence one of the reasons he was so tired. He really struggled in school as it was and being tired did not help matters when I was trying to help him learn! Some days I would just sit him in the book corner with a blanket and cushions as he was so tired he just wanted to sleep! Oh, he was 5 years old.

    Each to their own tho as Garfield says.
    xxx
  • my son is five and is now allowed a tv in his room as he loves doctor who, merlin and star wars and loves playing on his playstation, it is helpful especially when i m seeing to his sister but i do believe its me being a lazy mum, and i should take him out or play games,

    Three years old is a little too young, i didnt let robbie watch much tv then, only 2 hours max a day even in holidays, it sounds like the lo is ruling and maybe some boundaries need to be set.
  • I think they need to give supernanny a call!!

    I dont agree with young children having a tv in their room. Personally my daughter will not have a tv in her room until she is at high school. I have no problem with children watching tv but i would rather have her watch tv in the living room so i can control what and how much she sees.

    Me and my sister had a tv in our room when we were younger (we were probably 8 &10). We werent allowed it on at night but we used to put headphones in so we could watch it and no one would know. Even now at 20 my sister finds it easier to fall asleep with the tv on.
  • I'm gatecrashing again! And i confess, my 3 year old does have a TV in his room! But please let me explain myself before you tell me off!!
    My son is autistic and has extremely violent tantrums. All we can do with him when this happens is put him in his bedroom where he can do no harm to himself or other (obviously i sit in there with him!!) The TV is in there, but only set up to play DVD's. We put in the night garden, shrek, or finding Nemo on for him as he finds it comforting and calms him far more quickly than holding him or speaking to him, which makes him more agitated. All the rest of the time the TV is switched off, and we have fun in other ways, books painting etc, but the TV is a godsend when we can't calm him any other way! Oh and also, if he's having a bad night, i'll pop a CD on in there for him, he has lullaby ones which he loves.
    As for the computer, i do think 3 is a little young to be allowed to play! Luca sits on our laps while we play ours, he loves watching us on wii sports, but i wouldnt let him play as i know it becomes addictive and i worry it would become an obsession. I suppose all families are different, and i guess they see no harm in letting him get away with it as it gives them an easy life! Although as you say loopy loo, if the computer or TV broke, they would be in SERIOUS trouble!!!
    OH, PS, my nearly 7 year old has been bought a tv for xmas, but his will be the same, no channels to watch (you never know what they might switch on in the night!) It'll be set up to watch DVD's only!
    Sorry, gatecrashing AND writing an essay! Oops!
  • I'm glad I'm not the only one thatthinks this is wrong - from what I can tell the tv is on all day, when they were trying to potty train him, my mum suggested giving him rewards when he used the potty - this 3 years olds mum said that he already ahs lots of treats.

    madnbella_bluebump - thats different as your girls have it as a treat!

    The thing is that my brother and his oh dont seem to be bothered by it, they thinks its funny that they found food in thier bed etc!!!!!!!!!!!
  • lynz_81 - thats a very different circumstance, tv is used to help your son and so has a very postive use.
  • Thanks Loopy Lou, but i do agree with you, just letting this little one have it on whenever he wants is surely just going to cause problems later on. And as for taking food around the house, ooooo no!! They sit at the table where i can see exactly how much mess they're making!!!
  • Ours do have tv's in their rooms BUT they are only set up for DVD's and it is a treat for them to have a film on.......the girls are 7 & 8 and we don't allow the tv on during the school week and they know if they misbehave or abuse our trust that they will not put tv on when not supposed to, then the tv will be removed for a set time as punishment! My boys also have the same set up but we don't leave the remote boxes in the room and they are allowed 1 dvd (usually Backyardigans/Dora or such like) at night but we make sure all is turned off after 1 or 2 episodes. Again, if they are naughty etc, then the tv does not go on. Oh, we also keep all the dvd's in our room so we know who's watching what and if any have been taken without us knowing!!

    Ours are not allowed to play on the computer without asking nor without good behaviour. We also don't allow eating in their rooms.
  • Wouldn't let my 3 year old have a TV in his bedroom, though I am sorely tempted some mornings at 6am lol! Completely understand why it could be useful in some situations too. He does like to play car racing on the x box with daddy though but that's in the lounge so we can watch him and only use it as a treat for good behaviour. Def no food upstairs but we do have "lounge picnics" sometimes!!
  • we bought my daughter a tv and dvd player for her 5th birthday but the tv is not tuned in so she cant wath tv on it as such...she has a film in bed before sleep on weekends only and if she wants to she can watch a film after school (not near bedtime tho), i feel it gives her her own space in the house where she can go if things get too much with Braedon downstairs. xxx
  • If I'm totally honest I dont like TVs in bedrooms at any age, even mine! It drives oh mad as he would love a tv in our room but I wont let him, As adults I think the bedroom is for 2 things, sleeping and a bit of ladies and gentlemen!!
    I wont let Lauren have one (she's 12) as I dont think we would ever see her. I like spending evenings together. We do have a portable dvd player which I let her use if she has friends over and they want to watch a film a bit late.
    I'll be the same with Nathan, he wont have a tv in his room ever either. I'm not convinced that they do help settle kids in the longer term. A bedtime story and warm milk does the trick perfectly.
    I think some parents (not meaning anyone on here, promise!) use them just to get the kids out of the way.

    xxxx
  • No child of mine will be getting a TV in their room until they are in high school at least. It makes me really sad that many of the kids I work with have such limited imagination (except re-enacting TV programmes of course). I'm convinced that this is at least partly due to the demise of creative play as a consequence of screen watching whether that be tv or consoles. Don't get me wrong, TV is not the enemy, but watching it to the exclusion of play is. It also saddens me to think of little kids being alone up in their room for a couple of hours (the length of a DVD) without any interaction with a human being. At least if the telly's in the living room, then chances are there is an adult about who can talk to the child about what's happening. I'm amazed really that so many parents think this is a good idea.
  • I'm another mean parent, mine aren't getting a tv in their rooms untill they are about 16!!! We do have a playroom downstairs though and when they are big enough to care we will put a tv in their so they don't have to always sit with us. My oh is a tv addict and I'd hate for my littlies to turn out the same!!
    xx
  • No way no how is my dd having a tv in her room untill shes at a decent age like 12!..shes only 2 now...but im a big beleiver in family time..& time spent in front of the tv is controlled to a minimum.x
  • I was 11 or so when I got a TV in my room (well, it was shared with my sister). I personally wouldn't want Gabe to have a TV in his room any younger than that.
    Me & oh have a tv in our room and we used to cuddle up in bed and watch it lots. But now with Gabe OH never uses the room as he works nights and sleeps in the spare room!xx
  • no i dont agree with it at all me and oh have said at the earliest they will be 13 before we even think about it.
    thankfully my kids aint big on the tv the dont watch it mucg at the most an hour on a sunday. up intill justin was 4 he had never watched tv when ever i turned it on he would turn it off and tell me i was lazy lol.

    We have a wii and the older ywo 6 and 3 like playing mario kart but even that is only once a week at the most for 30 mins x

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