Is Television still a big part of children's lives?

[ssetta]

I'm sure that when a lot of you guys were young, your parents had a lot of rules and restrictions on TV. Parents were always making rules that the kids could only watch a certain amount of TV per day, and/or they had to have their homework done before they could watch TV. I also knew that many parents restricted their kids from watching certain programs, and I think the biggest example would be "South Park." My parents were never really strict about what I watched on TV at all, and I always felt bad for all my friends who had so many more restrictions on what to watch.

Some of my friends now nanny, and this one friend of mine has told me that the family she babysits for, they're not allowed to watch much TV at all. I think the kids are 8 and 15 or something like that. But she also told me that unlike years ago, TV really isn't a very big part of children's lives anymore, possibly because all these other things have come along. I mean, if TV isn't popular anymore, what do you think has taken its place?

I know that not only were most of you once kids, but it also seems like a lot of you guys are also parents. When I was little, I was obsessed with anything TV-related, and by 8 years old, I had my entire cable channel lineup memorized. This is partially because I have Asperger's Syndrome, and I think a lot of other people here do, too. So, my main question is, as children, did any of your parents have restrictions on what you could watch? And as parents, do you have similar rules for your kids?

But also, I want to know exactly why it is that TV isn't as popular with kids anymore.

 

[BRNout]

I'm sure that when a lot of you guys were young, your parents had a lot of rules and restrictions on TV. Parents were always making rules that the kids could only watch a certain amount of TV per day, and/or they had to have their homework done before they could watch TV. I also knew that many parents restricted their kids from watching certain programs, and I think the biggest example would be "South Park." My parents were never really strict about what I watched on TV at all, and I always felt bad for all my friends who had so many more restrictions on what to watch.

Some of my friends now nanny, and this one friend of mine has told me that the family she babysits for, they're not allowed to watch much TV at all. I think the kids are 8 and 15 or something like that. But she also told me that unlike years ago, TV really isn't a very big part of children's lives anymore, possibly because all these other things have come along. I mean, if TV isn't popular anymore, what do you think has taken its place?

I know that not only were most of you once kids, but it also seems like a lot of you guys are also parents. When I was little, I was obsessed with anything TV-related, and by 8 years old, I had my entire cable channel lineup memorized. This is partially because I have Asperger's Syndrome, and I think a lot of other people here do, too. So, my main question is, as children, did any of your parents have restrictions on what you could watch? And as parents, do you have similar rules for your kids?

But also, I want to know exactly why it is that TV isn't as popular with kids anymore.

From my personal experience (anecdotal at best), it would appear that there's perhaps a little less "TV" watching than in generations past - but not that much less. However, even little kids are exposed to a lot more video via computer (You Tube, etc.) and DVD players. So added together, today's little ones probably get to see more video than even before. Let's not forget the portable DVD players that are frequently used to placate kids in minivans and on airplanes. These things sure didn't exist 20 years ago.

So, the more I think of it, the more I think that today's little ones are exposed to more video (from TV, internet and DVD) than ever before. It's everywhere, unless you're Amish.

 

[landtuna]

But also, I want to know exactly why it is that TV isn't as popular with kids anymore.

TV is not as "kid friendly" as it once was. Excepting the E/I offerings from PBS most of the other stuff on the commercial networks is crap. Prime time shows are almost exclusively not "kid friendly" either. That doesn't leave much of any reasonable quality.

When I was young we spent as much time outside as possible and that meant running to our neighborhood friends houses to play - in their house or at the park or anywhere nearby. Kids don't seem to do that as much as they used to but they have means of communication we didn't have (computer, cell phones, etc.) so maybe they just sit in their rooms and talk to their friends that way.

When I look at the old schedules posted on these boards it reminds me how many shows used to be directed at young kids (westerns, cartoons, serials and yes, even variety shows). Almost everything was appropriate at some age. Excluding some of the cable offerings such as Discovery, Animal Planet etc. - not today, and practically nothing on broadcast TV.

 

[nickelodeonfan97]

Some shows on broadcast TV are appropriate for kids, such as:

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC
America's Funniest Home Videos on ABC
School Pride on NBC
No Ordinary Family on ABC
American Idol on FOX

But video games, iPods, cell phones, etc. have largely replaced TV when it comes to kids.

 

[fybush]

TV is not as "kid friendly" as it once was. Excepting the E/I offerings from PBS most of the other stuff on the commercial networks is crap. Prime time shows are almost exclusively not "kid friendly" either. That doesn't leave much of any reasonable quality.

OTA, maybe. But on cable, there's plenty of programming out there that's a lot more clever (and arguably even more educational) than what commercial TV was dishing out to me in my childhood. My kids (2 and 7) watch Nickelodeon and Disney, as well as PBS Kids, and I'm not too worried about most of what they're seeing there.

The big difference from my childhood is that my kids watch specific shows, not specific channels. If my daughter wants to watch "iCarly," she has no need to know that it's on at 4:30 on channel 61 (or whatever time it actually shows on whatever channel Disney is.) It's on the DVR, or it's available on demand, or it's on the computer. She's screen-agnostic; if there's something she wants to see, it doesn't seem to matter to her if it's on the 13" monitor on the home-office computer or on the 46" HD flatscreen in the den. She makes no distinction between a "TV show" seen on the TV and a video on the computer, and she has little conception of a "channel" in the way we did growing up.

When I was young we spent as much time outside as possible and that meant running to our neighborhood friends houses to play - in their house or at the park or anywhere nearby. Kids don't seem to do that as much as they used to but they have means of communication we didn't have (computer, cell phones, etc.) so maybe they just sit in their rooms and talk to their friends that way.

That's not the perception I get from watching my kids. We deliberately bought a house in a walkable neighborhood full of kids, so every day after school the 7-year-old is out the door like a shot, and we round her up later in the afternoon from one of a half-dozen houses up or down the street where she might be hanging out with her friends.

Maybe that's atypical these days, but I'm not so sure.

My daughter's still too young to be phone-obsessed, so maybe that's a phase we'll get to later on, but at least for now her childhood doesn't seem to me to be all that different from mine, or even from my parents'.

 

[landtuna]

OTA, maybe. But on cable, there's plenty of programming out there that's a lot more clever (and arguably even more educational) than what commercial TV was dishing out to me in my childhood.

That's why I excluded cable largely and said "practically nothing on OTA". And I would also agree that commercial TV back in the 50's did not present much of an educational nature excepting a very few shows like "Mr. Wizard". Most kid-directed shows were simply entertainment.

That's not the perception I get from watching my kids. We deliberately bought a house in a walkable neighborhood full of kids, so every day after school the 7-year-old is out the door like a shot, and we round her up later in the afternoon from one of a half-dozen houses up or down the street where she might be hanging out with her friends.

Maybe that's atypical these days, but I'm not so sure.

It's probably not atypical but at 7-years old your daughter is still a bit young to be more impressed with electronic "friends" than real ones. After watching a dozen or so kids grow up in my immediate family it will likely change as she grows.

My daughter's still too young to be phone-obsessed, so maybe that's a phase we'll get to later on, but at least for now her childhood doesn't seem to me to be all that different from mine, or even from my parents'.

I remarked to my 22-year old daughter just the other day that when her generation reaches my age they will undoubtedly have serious carpal tunnel syndrome with the hand that is constantly holding the cell phone. ;D And I see it almost as much in males as females. Take a look at your local high school at quitting time and you will see what I mean.

 

[mleach]

Some of my friends now nanny, and this one friend of mine has told me that the family she babysits for, they're not allowed to watch much TV at all. I think the kids are 8 and 15 or something like that. But she also told me that unlike years ago, TV really isn't a very big part of children's lives anymore, possibly because all these other things have come along. I mean, if TV isn't popular anymore, what do you think has taken its place?

But also, I want to know exactly why it is that TV isn't as popular with kids anymore.

Even though many parents have always had rules in place when it comes to TV, the trend of "NO TV at all for the kids" in recent years had caught on mainly thanks to singer Madonna and her "household rules" such as the one not allowing her kids to watch TV also for the record Madonna doesn't allow her kids to listen to the radio either ( actually I am meeting more and more folks that have that rule in their households as well as in restricting the radio as much as they are with TV when it comes to their kids ). However Madonna's kids, they are from what I read not too long ago her kids are allowed to go to the movies, listen to music and have internet access but Madonna has control over all of that such as what websites they can visit, what movies they can watch and what music they can listen too.

Kids today ( as it had already been said ) have far more access to other things now such as the internet, watching movies on DVD players, and so forth....

....and of course parents today have much more and better options as to "control" when it comes to what kind of entertainment they children have access too rather than back in the "old days". True back then one could block out channels like MTV or Showtime from cable and say "NO TV"., but today I have much more power to keep my child from having access to say Lady Gaga than a parent say in 1978 who didn't want their kid to have access to Andy Gibb or the Bee Gees.

Combination of more access to other things ( for the kids )...and more total control by the parents.

 

[ansky212]

Kids today are more interested in the internet (Facebook/Myspace), and cell phones for text messaging. I think they're more engaged in these things since they're more interactive as opposed to just sitting in front of the TV. Attention spans are too low now to watch an entire tv show, and kids feel the need to be constantly in touch with their friends which TV can not provide. Case in point, I know a mother that takes away her child's computer time when she gets in trouble. TV is not even a factor.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Some shows on broadcast TV are appropriate for kids, such as:

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC
America's Funniest Home Videos on ABC
School Pride on NBC
No Ordinary Family on ABC
American Idol on FOX

Aren't all these PG rated? "Videos" used to get a G but ever since they changed it they can do more off-color humor.

"American Idol" sometimes gets a G but I'm surprised a lot of what Simon said could be included.

"No Ordinary Family" needs to clean up its language, and even then there's some violence that I just don't think kids should see.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I don't recall any restrictions on my TV watching. So even today I'm obsessed.

I do remember I only got to stay up lae to watch "Red Skelton" and then the rest of the week I didn't watch TV after a certain hour. However, after we moved when I was 8 and I stayed up until 10, I kept doing that. Ironically, my bedtime didn't change even after I started college and I missed so many good TV shows because of that. I stay up an hour to an hour and a half later now.

Today, we still have kid-friendly shows such as "Hannah Montana" on Saturday morning broadcast TV. When I was a child we had "Captain Kangaroo" instead of yet another network news program.

And when I was watching that the Internet didn't exist. Period. The first connection between two computers that led to Arpanet did happen while I was still young.

 

[landtuna]

I'm not sure I'll live to see it but it will be interesting 20-30 years from now when today's children grow into adults and ignore TV as they currently ignore radio.

 

[ssetta]

I'm a little surprised nobody here has mentioned Sesame Street. Then again, maybe I'm not, since I'M the one who is always bringing up that show. We have to realize that show has been on the air for 41 years. For many years, throughout the 70s and 80s, and into the early 90s, Sesame Street was pretty much the only children's educational show on the air. Back in its heyday, they did 130 episodes per season, which equals one new episode for each day of the year. It takes exactly 26 weeks to air 130 shows, and there are 52 weeks in the year, which is twice 26. It was on every day, with a new episode on every day. The show is still on the air, but they now only do 26 new episodes per season, and they rerun the heck out of them. I believe this is true with just about every kids show nowadays, so I wonder if maybe this is a reason. Sesame Street has obviously changed a lot, so it's practically a completely different show now than it used to be. I watched that show for many, many years, and I have to say that in a lot of ways, it has ruined my mind. I once had an English teacher who refused to expose her children to that show. Wanna know why? Because the show seemed "too happy," which it was. Whenever any kind of issue came up, they would work it out, and it would always come out nicely in the end. It's not like that in the real world, even once you get to elementary school. From what I understand, most modern kids shows (ie. on Nickelodeon and Disney) are much more realistic, and not everybody gets along with each other. It was Sesame Street that always made me think that everyone would be my friend. What's everyone's thoughts?

 

[Markxxx]

I think children today miss the idea that a TV show can be an "event." With VCRs and now DVDs, it's too easy to schedule. I can see this as both bad and good. It's good they can watch it, but in some ways it was always a bit of a thrill to look forward to December and see the Christmas specials and you had better be home or it'd be another year till they came on.

 

[mjlarochelle]

That's not the perception I get from watching my kids. We deliberately bought a house in a walkable neighborhood full of kids, so every day after school the 7-year-old is out the door like a shot, and we round her up later in the afternoon from one of a half-dozen houses up or down the street where she might be hanging out with her friends.

Maybe that's atypical these days, but I'm not so sure.

I think you're just a better-than-average father

Seriously, in my neighbourhood there are a lot of kids, and the local elementary schools are overcrowded. But except when they're going to school or coming home, you never see any kids playing outside, not even in the local park. The eerie silence of the streets during the daytime really struck me after I returned home from a month in Mexico last year, where the streets are more lively.

This year we only had 7 kids come to the door on Halloween night, and they were all in one group. We used to get over 200 back in the mid-80s.

 

[flytrap]

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would switch the channel whenever All in the Family or Maude got too racy. Today the sex talk on most sitcoms is filled with so many inuendoes etc. that It even embarrasses me and I'm a grown man. Its gotten completely out of hand. some of the sex jokes are only one step above dirty jokes in a Jr. High Bathroom. Its almost like they have run out of material and decided to work "blue" just to get a cheap laugh. it really shows how juvenile the writers are when they deliberately go for the gutter. I wish they would bring back the family hour. I thought the 70's were dirty, but this is getting ridicoulus.

 

[quadraphonic]

I think children today miss the idea that a TV show can be an "event." With VCRs and now DVDs, it's too easy to schedule. I can see this as both bad and good. It's good they can watch it, but in some ways it was always a bit of a thrill to look forward to December and see the Christmas specials and you had better be home or it'd be another year till they came on.

I think that the lack of "appointment television" has played a big part in kids' not being that big on tv as we knew it, too.
In the 70s and into the early 80s, when I was a kid, the main thing kids at school could all talk about was the tv shows they watched, because we all saw the same ones. Well we could also talk about what happened at church that week, since most of us went to the same five or six churches in the neighborhood. But for the tv: Nobody had a VCR. Nobody had time-schedulers. Nobody had three channels to see "Andy Griffith" on, if you saw it last night, then you all saw the same episode. If you missed "A Charlie Brown Christmas" you had to hope for next year there wouldn't be a Christmas party scheduled that night. But at least some of your friends could tell you about it the next time you saw them.

We used to play outside in the neighborhood, but in the 80s, "stranger danger" and all that started coming into play. Then cable came in, people started "cocooning" more and more, and neighborhoods were becoming more fractured. Then there were also more and more divorces, and lots of kids were gone half the time or there on erratic schedules, so they weren't "part of the neighborhood" as much. Then to make up for things they thought they were missing, parents started taking their kids to Scouts, and music lessons, and swim team, and twenty other activities all week, and there wasn't much time for neighborhood play, or regular-schedule tv.

I think tv is still a part of most kids' lives, but it's not a big part, and it's only a part to the extent they can control it. If they couldn't control when they watch programs, they wouldn't see that many, because they would just miss them. Which is how it works in families where the parents control the tv watching more than other families...

 

[mleach]

I'm not sure I'll live to see it but it will be interesting 20-30 years from now when today's children grow into adults and ignore TV as they currently ignore radio.

The fact that many kids ( heck even teens and young adults ) are avoiding radio today, that may not be a bad thing after all. Last week I talking to a friend of mine who is a PD of a radio station in Virginia, actually one of my former radio stations. He was telling me that the owners are putting BIG pressure on him to play that new Cee Lo Green song that is so popular right now on XM and at bars..live on the air.

Of course I would mention the name of this "hit" on here but it would never never get pass the censors. For the "curious"..go on You Tube and type in "Cee Lo Green". Close to 24,000,000 hits...and sadly I wouldn't be surprised if many of those who had checked out the video and/or downloaded the song are kids.

 

[BRNout]

I'm not sure I'll live to see it but it will be interesting 20-30 years from now when today's children grow into adults and ignore TV as they currently ignore radio.

The fact that many kids ( heck even teens and young adults ) are avoiding radio today, that may not be a bad thing after all. Last week I talking to a friend of mine who is a PD of a radio station in Virginia, actually one of my former radio stations. He was telling me that the owners are putting BIG pressure on him to play that new Cee Lo Green song that is so popular right now on XM and at bars..live on the air.

Of course I would mention the name of this "hit" on here but it would never never get pass the censors. For the "curious"..go on You Tube and type in "Cee Lo Green". Close to 24,000,000 hits...and sadly I wouldn't be surprised if many of those who had checked out the video and/or downloaded the song are kids.

Why not just go with "Forget You"? Good song, and not as apt to get you into hot water with our friends at the FCC. Then again, the way things have become, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if "F* You" wasn't the most popular download in high schools and junior high schools everywhere. Sad but true.

By the way, if you found the name of the song distasteful, watch the video with the kids singing the lyrics!

 

[FreddyE1977]

I would say from the playpen up till about age 8 it is. Many of us as tired, stressed
parents fall back into the old bad habit of using it as a virtual babysitter.

But once they learn how to surf the internet I think kids 8 -18 are now moving
away from it very, very quickly. I know a lot of college aged young adults who rarely
watch television and rarely own a set. They go to the internet and use wireless devices
to get their entertainment.

 

[mleach]

By the way, if you found the name of the song distasteful, watch the video with the kids singing the lyrics!

Interesting that I can remember back in 1977 ( I was 10 then ) and that song by Nazareth called "Hair Of The Dog" with the lyrics "..son of a bitch.." Wild then but tame today.

Now today in 2010 we have a song that is a hit complete with video of young children saying '...Fu*ck YOU"...

Whats next? A ten year old girl singing a song about a "vagina"? Hey..I consider myself liberal as the next but this is WAY too much.

Hey ya gotta draw the line somewhere.