Friday, September 25, 2009

The Boy got a TV....in his Room??

I kind of feel like the reason my child has ADHD, would be because he watched ALOT of TV as a baby. Ron and I worked opposite shifts, and opposite meaning we saw each other coming and going. He worked nights and I worked days. So he was home in the mornings with the baby, often quite sleepy. So the TV helped him babysit. Sad but true. So once we got on a regular schedule I vowed the child would never have a TV in his room. I mean seriously, theres a TV in ever other room in the house why would he need one in his room? I don't ever remember having one in my room until I was 16. He didn't really ask for one until the past few years when he started going to friends houses and saw most of his friends have TV in their rooms, and he's like um wheres mine? So he has a whole wall, painted with chalkboard paint, so he drew one, and then crafted a remote control out of cardboard. Imagination+chalk TV+cardboard remote= cheapest TV ever! The power of that TV didn't last very long. So in order for us to get him to do his summer reading this summer we bribed him with a TV in his room if he completed his book. With a little help from Geegaw, and a TV she was getting rid of his dream finally came true today.
So now heres my question, to those of you who are parents of children who are fortunate to have a TV in their room. What sort of rules do you have for that. I can see him up at all hours watching TV. Never leaving his room, ect.....I'm going to need some guidance on the rules here. This is a whole new territory for me. Dag remember when you turned 12 and got a phone in your room? Do people even do that anymore? Few people even have land lines anymore, I am considering getting rid of ours. I mean seriously, why do you even need a landline anymore? I know I've not blogged in forever. Blogging is so 2008 people, microblogging is the wave of the future, regular old fashion blogging involves way too many words.

2 comments:

Heather said...

First off, TV didn't cause his ADHD - that's just the way he was made! And - at some point - you'll see that as a blessing!

Second, Hadley has a TV in her room - but it's not hooked up to cable. It's just a DVD player and we turn off her light at 8:30 and the TV must be off at that time.

Jen said...

One option would be no rules about how late he stays up, but FORCE him to get up in the morning and go thru the day, no naps. It might make for a bad semester ... or year ... but eventually he'd learn how much sleep he needs and how to put himself to bed. A skill he will need in college.

Of course, this is not the voice of experience, as my oldest isn't even 2 yet!!

How will you control whether he watches horror, porn, etc.? Just lots of exhortation and checking up?