Faith in Parenting

As parents, one of the things that we’re responsible for is the content of what goes into our kids’ brains, in terms of what they see on TV and even what they hear on the radio. This past week our family took one more step in the direction of limiting negative ideas, attitudes, and behaviors that our kids see on the TV screen. We password protected Disney, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon!

Now, that’s not to say that our 8 and 4 year olds can never watch anything on these channels. That’s not the case. But I don’t want them to be able to just waltz into the TV room and turn on whatever they want, because - frankly - I’m not thrilled with the dismissive attitude toward parental authority that I see in some of the shows that are on these networks.

I’m not talking about anything horrendous, just a general sense of disrespect…as if parents can and should be outwitted.

What we’re doing instead is taping a few shows on our digital video recorder (DVR) and then watching them together. This way, we can talk about the content and sift through any negative attitudes.  The bonus is that not only do I have a chance to mediate what my kids are exposed to, but watching the shows together is a lot of fun!

If this is an issue that’s important to you, I invite you to listen in on a Blog Talk Radio Show for moms called Mama’s Time Out, which will air live at 2:30 Mountain Time. To participate in the call live, ask questions, and share your own war stories about trying to monitor your kids’ TV time, call in to the show tomorrow afternoon at 2:30. The number is (646) 595-4516.

In addition, if you’d like help monitoring your kids’ TV time, take advantage of my free e-course, “Reduce Your Kids’ TV Time in 30 Days.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 5th, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under worry, children. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.