Should I let my kids watch this crap?.....

[emandbri]

My husband put a bunch of shows in that the kids wanted and now they keep watching crap like ghost hunters, weird travels (last one was all about bigfoot), show about vampires in the modern world, etc. I do make sure they don't watch too much TV a day but should I also tell them what watch? It isn't as if the shows are inappropriate I just don't see any good in them. There have been some good shows too, they watched a fascinating show about the hunt and capture of John Wilks Booth and the history of toys was really cool. They are 8 and 11.

[EchoBravo]

Emily, that's a very personal decision. You'll hear from both extremes here, of course. I come from the "my parents didn't really monitor what I watched and I came out alright" camp. Still, my wife and I try to be careful about what's on TV when our son is in the room.

+1 on the "it isn't as if the shows are inappropriate I just don't see any good in them." A lot of my son's Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows fit into that camp. Bottom line: More educational stuff like Sesame Street doesn't hold his attention the way computer animated stuff like Jimmy Neutron does... Even at 3.

You just gotta do what's right for your family and take everything we all say here with a grain of salt.

[marksman]

There are probably a lot worse things they could watch. Having a diversity of knowledge and understanding certainly never hurt anyone.

If you don't see anything wrong with the shows other than you don't get them, I am not sure they are going to be terribly harmful. Are you afraid them watching a show about ghost hunting might make them believe in ghosts?

I think the 11 year old should be fine and the 8 year old is probably close to fine. Before I saw the ages, i thought 10 plus would be good for this stuff. Just think how much smarter some of us would have been if we had all this stuff on tv growing up.

[cheesesteak]

When you were a kid you probably watched a lot of crap, too. They're kids. Crap is great to kids.

[JLucPicard]

If there is any of it that you don't want them to see, I would delete it (I'm assuming it's on a TiVo?). There will be those that will try to tell you to embrace all cultures, etc., but you are still the best filter they can have right now. This "village raising the child" thing isn't necessarily working all that great, and especially in the wasteland that can be TV. If you don't want them watching a show about tarot cards, for example, there's nothing wrong with deleting it, and I would see deleting it as more responsible than letting them watch it to "expand their horizons".

As a previous poster has mentioned, it's a personal choice that you have to make based on your value system and what you want them taking in. I'm not for heavy handed censorship, per se, but I would put myself in the "parents are the best v-chip" camp.

[midas]

Hey, at least they aren't watching American Idol.

[MasterOfPuppets]

Why not let them watch it?
It's good to not shelter kids completely.

Plus, as mentioned...it's not anywhere near the level of craptitude that is American Idol.

[wmcbrine]

I think it's probably OK. I watched a lot of woo when I was a kid, but I still grew up to be a rationalist. :)

Just try to stick some better material in there to balance/cancel it out. I don't think you'd go wrong with Cosmos. (I saw it when I was ten, and it's stuck with me my whole life.) Star Trek (the original series) I also consider a positive influence, and something I found engaging even when I was very young. Of course, my parents didn't tell me to watch these... I guess you'd have to be subtle about that.

[Supfreak26]

Sounds better than the disney crap my kids watch.

Like mentioned earlier, it really depends on your value system.

[JLucPicard]

I'm betting there are a lot of us on here who watched an awful lot of different things when we were kids, and aside from being TiVo addicts, I think we probably turned out OK. That being said, TV back when I was a kid wasn't the pitfall-laden, almost-wasteland that it is today. The "crap" factor today is a lot higher than when I was a kid and a lot of that stuff either didn't exist, or broadcasters didn't air a lot of it if it did exist.

A pitch-black filter is certainly not in order, but I think I would be a little scared to not at least make an effort to weed out some of the more questionable programming from my kids viewing. (This coming from someone who doesn't have kids so what would I know :). I do have nieces and nephews, though, and have heard them recounting the happenings of the movie "Leprachaun" when they were 6 years old - not a comfortable feeling!)

[MickeS]

I'm betting there are a lot of us on here who watched an awful lot of different things when we were kids, and aside from being TiVo addicts, I think we probably turned out OK. That being said, TV back when I was a kid wasn't the pitfall-laden, almost-wasteland that it is today.

I think most of us here watched a lot of OTHER stuff too (and maybe watched less TV overall).

My son is almost 4, and while that is young, it's interesting to observe how he completely absorbs everything he watches. I let him watch some stuff for "big boys", but am very selective of it. You can tell right away at his gameplay later if he's been watching something action-oriented, or something more sedate.

So I think the things you mentioned IMO are definitely OK in for an 11 year old, but for the 8-year old I'd do it in rather small doses...

[nachonaco]

I saw Titanic when I was 7, so I'm not really the best judge...

I say go ahead, let 'em watch. They should understand (I hope) that it is no different than watching any other show on TV. Just because it's about ghosts doesn't make it demoralizing.

[wmcbrine]

Just because it's about ghosts doesn't make it demoralizing.No, and I didn't take that as the OP's objection to it. Though I seem to be alone in my interpretation...

[Malcontent]

My husband put a bunch of shows in that the kids wanted and now they keep watching crap like ghost hunters, weird travels (last one was all about bigfoot), show about vampires in the modern world, etc. I do make sure they don't watch too much TV a day but should I also tell them what watch? It isn't as if the shows are inappropriate I just don't see any good in them. There have been some good shows too, they watched a fascinating show about the hunt and capture of John Wilks Booth and the history of toys was really cool. They are 8 and 11.

With these types of shows, the only thing I would be concerned about is if they gave your children nightmares. Or they if they started believing there was a ghost hiding under their bed or that big foot sleeps in their closet. Or that the vampire that sleeps in the basement uses their tooth brushes and that's why they don't want to brush their teeth. Their afraid to getting vampire cooties. :)

[tem]

All that matters is what you and your husband think. It's his choices you have the problem with. Talk to your husband, not strangers.

[Sandlapper]

I'll second the I watched whatever I want and came out alright idea!

[Fl_Gulfer]

I wouldn't let any kid below 18 watch anything on TV except Nick. I'm glad my kids are in there 30's and didn't see all the crap on TV they have now. I screened there TV back then too.

[bareyb]

What are their respective ratings? I generally use the parental control guidelines that we've set up. If they want to watch something that is rated higher than the limits we have set, it has to be something I've seen myself (or my wife) and feel it's okay to watch.

[busyba]

With these types of shows, the only thing I would be concerned about is if they gave your children nightmares.
I'd be more concerned that they might give your children the idea that any of that stuff is real.

In any case, more valuable than controlling what your kids watch is talking to them about the things they watch. Help them learn the differences amongst fact and fiction and fiction presented as fact. Once you do that, what they watch becomes less of a problem.

[sieglinde]

I think you could use the crap on TV as a beginning for a discussion on discerning what is valid information and what is not. Watch one of the programs, maybe it is about where vampire legends come from. Some of the Big Foot stuff shows the footage from the guys who had admitted faking it. I think there is a good lesson in there somewhere.

[Fleegle]

I saw Titanic when I was 7...

Oh, God, I feel old!

[justapixel]

You are the mom, and if you think it's crap and ruining their view of things, then it's your decision.

I don't think it will though. I don't let my son watch violent shows, or shows with a lot of sexual content, but if he's curious about supernatural stuff, I would have no problem letting him explore that curiosity. My kids always get a dose of what I think about things and believe. :)

My youngest son, ten, loves Star Trek and those kind of shows. My oldest son, when he was about 12 or so, was interested in supernatural stuff - even said he wanted to be a paranormalist (or whatever.) I knew it was a phase and let him explore that interest - even though I believe in anything supernatural. Now,(at 21) he's a skeptical as I am. :)

[Peter000]

At least with shows like Ghost Hunters and Weird Travels they aren't being constantly marketed to with sugar cereal and toy ads. Saturday morning cartoons are the WORST for that.

[MickeS]

At least with shows like Ghost Hunters and Weird Travels they aren't being constantly marketed to with sugar cereal and toy ads. Saturday morning cartoons are the WORST for that.

Yeah, we normally only watch PBS or the Disney Channel kids stuff, and they don't really have ads. TiVo had recorded some suggestions a while back from some other channel (I think Nickelodeon or one of the networks Saturday morning cartoons) and I was really shocked by the commercials and their content. No way I'm letting my son watch that crap.

[busyba]

Or you could teach him how to 30-sec-skip past the commercials. :D

[sieglinde]

Good point about the commercials. I hate it when I tape (oops I mean record with my high tech DVR) late night TV and get the girls gone wild crap. At least Discover etc. may show the true life adventures of Big Foot but it doesn't have really bad advertisers.

[hyimted]

simply put, just because you think it's crap or a waste of time doesn't mean they'll view it the same way. if it's age inappropriate, then that's a different story.

i pretty much *hate* everything my wife watches (kimora's life in the fab lane ... shoot me now), but she cannot stand this old house. just different strokes for different folks.

again, if it's the subject matter ... that's a different story.

[busyba]

Good point about the commercials. I hate it when I tape (oops I mean record with my high tech DVR) late night TV and get the girls gone wild crap.

:confused:

GGW = Best. Commercials. Ever.


:D

[MickeS]

:confused:

GGW = Best. Commercials. Ever.


:D
Yeah, they're long and detailed enough to defeat their purpose...

[mattack]

I wouldn't let any kid below 18 watch anything on TV except Nick. I'm glad my kids are in there 30's and didn't see all the crap on TV they have now. I screened there TV back then too.

Boy, I hope you're kidding. (Your kids are in "there" 30s? Home schooled?? heh.)

[mattack]

I'm betting there are a lot of us on here who watched an awful lot of different things when we were kids, and aside from being TiVo addicts, I think we probably turned out OK. That being said, TV back when I was a kid wasn't the pitfall-laden, almost-wasteland that it is today. The "crap" factor today is a lot higher than when I was a kid and a lot of that stuff either didn't exist, or broadcasters didn't air a lot of it if it did exist.


I think even some of the shows I fondly watched in the past fit into this "pitfall-laden" category. My opinion of Leonard Nimoy has gone (very slightly) down as an adult after realizing how bad "In Search Of" is/was. A lot of those shows were on the same level as the ghost hunters crap that's on now.

Even a lot of old sitcoms like "I Dream of Jeannie" are just fluff. (To think that "South Park" is now aired in reruns on broadcast TV, but they were concerned about showing Barbara Eden's belly button on TV is amazing... No, I'm not old enough to remember "Jeannie" in first run. The cartoon version, maybe..)

[dswallow]

If you want to comprehend what real crap is and learn to be forever thankful for the artistic tastes of your kids, watch "Teletubbies."

[emandbri]

All that matters is what you and your husband think. It's his choices you have the problem with. Talk to your husband, not strangers.

He thinks the shows are fine which is why I posted, I was curious what others thought. I don't recall the ratings off hand but none were PG-14, we don't ever let them watch anything PG-14. I'm not worried about them being demoralizing I just think they are stupid and don't want them to start believing in ghosts, big foot, etc. Right now they are watching UFO files.

They don't seem scared by them at all, the 8 year old actually scares quite easily and if anything bothered him at all he would leave the room.

[bareyb]

I just watched "Monsterquest" on the Science Channel with my son. It was the "Bigfoot" one. He's only 7 but he gets it that they probably aren't real. I doubt I'd watch anything about vampires with him mainly because it might spook him. I actually found it kind of interesting to see the whole story behind all the alleged sightings and didn't feel like I'd have any problem with him seeing more things along these lines. At least it's somewhat educational. Better than Pokemon. ;)

[busyba]

Yeah, they're long and detailed enough to defeat their purpose...

I even came across a full-length GGW infomercial once. :eek:

[busyba]

(To think that "South Park" is now aired in reruns on broadcast TV, but they were concerned about showing Barbara Eden's belly button on TV is amazing...
Well, if the syndicated SP's are anything like the syndicated 'Sex And The City''s, that's not really all that amazing. :D

[bengalfreak]

When my daughter was in the 11/12 year old phase, her and I were really clashing about the music she was listening to and the television/movies she wanted to watch. At the time she was really underachieving with her grades. I knew she was very intelligent from her test scores, but she was bringing home B's with the occasional C. I told her, that if she would put the effort into her grades that I thought it deserved, I would get off her back about music and TV within reason (no ultra violence and no explicit sex). She almost immediately became a nearly straight A student and much happier. Turns out the reason she wanted to watch and listen to things that I didn't deem as necessarily appropriate for a young lady is that she is gay. Who knew. As crazy as she was about the boy bands of the time, I would have bet my mortgage against her being anything other than straight. Anyway, do what you think is best, but as long as you throw in some quality television, I really don't think the crap you have listed is much worse than the crap I was watching at that age.

[ElJay]

When I was aged 8 through 11 I was watching quality stuff like Murphy Brown, Herman's Head, and Married with Children... Despite that, I think I turned out OK. ... (?)

[busyba]

Who knew. As crazy as she was about the boy bands of the time, I would have bet my mortgage against her being anything other than straight.
I dunno... boy bands seem pretty gay to me. :D

[SoldOnTiVo]

You don't see the shows as inapropriate, so that's one part of the equation solved. How about using that opportunity to talk with the kids about a show they just watched: "what did you think of the show? what did you think of this part? ... of that part?", "what did you like? why?", "What didn't you like?, why?"...... that type of stuff.

I'd stay away from the "this is crap! why do you watch this?" comments. :)

It could be a facinating door into the way your kids think and help them learn to put together and express their opinions. (edit: added) Do it with both kids at the same time and help them learn to listen and accept someone else's opinion even if they don't agree with their own (that's a skill way too many people have forgotten or never learned, IMHO)

Have fun with the kiddies. :)

[scoot95]

I even came across a full-length GGW infomercial once. :eek:


Best.......Infomercial.......Ever :up::D:cool:

[bengalfreak]

I even came across a full-length GGW infomercial once. :eek:

There were several of those.

[Johnny Dancing]

In the 70's I grew up watching Gilligan's Island, the Three Stooges, The Brady Bunch, Lost in Space, The Flintstones, etc... I would say there is a much better selection now for kids to watch.

[bobsbizzy]

My kids, now 16 and 18 have watched a steady diet of the Simpsons and Family guy. Despite my initial apprehension due to the "bad role models" they have taught me over the years that they are both really clever, really sarcastic, programs.

Moral being, they knew more about the suitability of these programs than I did!!

[sieglinde]

Oh boy. I always wonder what happens when folks like that hit college. I even found a lid of pot in the women's bathroom at the Christian college I attended. (Don't get excited it was empty except for few bits.) You cannot keep the world out. You have to teach folks enough self-confidence and resiliance to resist the world. I wonder if some folks are just afraid that their belief system has systemic weaknesses in it that they have to be so protective.

[5thcrewman]

In the 70's I grew up watching Gilligan's Island, the Three Stooges, The Brady Bunch, Lost in Space, The Flintstones, etc... I would say there is a much better selection now for kids to watch.

add Little Rascals, Banana Splits, Nanny & the Professor, Partridge Family.
I loved Channels 38 & 56 when I was growing up in Mass.