My eldest is 5, and for the most part (tonight aside) she’s pretty good at going to sleep. All of her cousins who are younger have a small TV in their room, or are allowed a tablet whilst going to bed.
I personally think she’s too young. I was 10-11 when I first got a TV in my room, and that was restricted to 4 channels that really didn’t have much to engage an 11 year old at 8pm.
So yeah. Thoughts?
Never
I’d say 16/18 when they are basically young adults.
I will never allow a TV in my kids’ rooms. They can use tablets, which have time limits, app restrictions, and automatic lock times 2 hours before bed. It’s still a bit of a struggle to keep limits but I think it provides a good balance.
Giving a 5 year old a tablet is an absolutely horrible idea
Not a dad but:
I was 10-11 when I first got a TV in my room, and that was restricted to 4 channels that really didn’t have much to engage an 11 year old at 8pm.
I’ve never had a telly in my bedroom. Granted we didn’t get one until I was 6 or 7 (and was instantly hooked) but my folks weren’t anti-TV (when my brother moved to the attic he got one) I just entertained myself in the bedroom by reading and playing with my toys, so why stop now? I have the plumbing to install one in my bedroom now I’m a proper grown-up but I don’t see the need. I quite like having a place for sleeping and getting dressed, not some confusing multifunctional space. I go.to.bed, read and fall asleep, then I wake up, get out of bed, get dressed and start the day. I wonder if there’s a Pavlov thing at work - as I don’t lie in bed watching telly, my body knows it’s time to sleep when I get in there. My main problem is staying awake long enough to get some reading in.
My brother had a fight with his kids and screens. I think they have in on tablets when they were 6-9ish just to give them something to do in the car and now my nephew is going to secondary school he has a mobile phone. He has at least three games systems in his room but I don’t think either he or his younger sister have a TV in their rooms. There’s one and it’s in the living room.