Should Your Child Have a Television in His/Her Bedroom?

Major department and electronics stores like Walmart and Best Buy are now selling televisions for kids in popular designs like Hello Kitty, Sponge Bob, and Dora the Explorer. The prices are reasonable too, ranging from $40 to $60 for a unit. As a parent you may be wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to buy a television for your child's room as a birthday or Christmas present? Besides being affordable, it seems like a good way to entertain your child, particularly in the evenings. However, there are three major cons to putting a TV in your child's bedroom:

1. It takes away from family time. There is nothing wrong with watching a good television show, but why not do it together as a family on a centrally located TV? Or better yet, why not talk or participate in some other type of family activity. If your child is up in his/her room all evening after school watching TV, this is actually disrupting the family unit. Usually evenings are the one time of day (other than possibly early mornings) when the whole family can sit down and spend some time together. One of the most effective things that parents can do to be a positive influence on their children is just to be physically with them-something that might not happen if the children are up in their rooms watching television.

2. There are more profitable activities your child could be engaging in. Instead of watching TV, see if there is a book your child would like to read or that you can read together. Encourage independent play. Play that requires imagination stimulates the mind and helps to build a higher intelligence level. Get out the old deck of Uno Cards or the set of Dominos and play a game together. If the weather is nice, get up and go outside for a walk to get some fresh air and exercise.

3. Television in your child's bedroom is not easily monitored. On a central TV, it is easy to set up guidelines about what your child is/is not allowed to watch. If your child has satellite television or cable available in his/her bedroom, this is much harder to monitor. Even if you can set up controls on the TV, children these days are tech-savvy and may figure out ways around them. If you do choose to have a television set in your child's bedroom, it may be best to stick with DVD's and Videos.

In the end, it is up to each individual family or parent to decide what is right for them, and what they want to allow for their child. Parents must be sure they have seriously thought through their decision before they purchase that cute TV set for their child's bedroom.