Every Friday my syndicated column appears in a bunch of newspapers in southeastern Ontario. Here's this week's! It's inspired by a blog post from a few weeks ago:
Disciplining children is a minefield for parents today. You’re not supposed to spank. You’re not supposed to yell. So when a 13-year-old child is tormenting his 9-year-old brother, parents utter the greatest threat that’s still acceptable: “Go to your room!”
Yeah, that’ll teach him. Here’s a kid who obviously does not want to be with the family, and, in punishment, you send him to a place where, according to the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, 50% have their own television, and another 25% have a computer. “Go to your room!” is no longer sentencing a child to hours of boredom; it’s sending a child to a place where they have access to the outside world, with no parental interference, and often no parental guidance.
Traditionally, the living room was for living; the bedroom was for sleeping. Being banished to the bedroom was harsh indeed. Today, many children prefer to cocoon in their rooms, which they’re trying to turn into entertainment central. It’s not unusual for most kids’ Christmas lists to have “electronics” highlighted right at the top. The Santa in you may be tempted to oblige. The Scrooge in me is asking you to reconsider.
After all, what happens when kids have a television in their bedroom? According to a University of Haifa study, middle schoolers with TVs in their room sleep thirty minutes less a night, on average, than children without a television. The Canadian Pediatric Society calls televisions in bedrooms one of the biggest factors in childhood obesity. These children also score lower on reading and math tests. And perhaps most importantly, they're twice as likely to start smoking and get involved in other delinquent activities, even controlling for all other factors.
While the health and educational detriments of television are important, it's that last one that concerns me most. When kids have televisions and computers in their room, they are more likely to make lifestyle and moral choices that parents don’t approve of because their lives have now become more and more independent. Kids with TVs in their rooms live in their rooms, not in the kitchen or the family room, where they can hang out with their parents. And perhaps just as importantly, they tend to live solitary lives, not lives with their siblings. If you've ever wondered why kids squabble so much, perhaps it's because they aren't forced to play together or cure boredom together. Instead, they just retreat to their rooms to be entertained on their own.
I really can't think of anything much more destructive in a family than encouraging your child to cocoon. Kids need input from parents. They need conversation. They need meal times. They need to have fun! But we're letting them grow up by themselves, in their wonderfully decorated rooms with every little gadget. It's wrong.
If your lives consist mostly of gathering the children for the practical functions of life, like putting food on their plates or collecting homework or ascertaining everybody's schedules, and then you separate during your leisure times, I doubt real conversation or sharing will happen. If your children hang out in their own rooms, rather than in the family room with siblings, I doubt great friendships will develop.
Before you shop this Christmas, then, ask yourself: what values do you want your children to have? Do electronics in their bedrooms contribute to your vision? Probably not. So maybe the Santa in you should invest in board games for the whole family or comfortable furniture for the living room, rather than for bedrooms. Your kids may think you’ve turned into Scrooge, but they’ll be better people for it.
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I watched an episode of Supernanny recently where the punishment for a little boy being rowdy at bedtime was to take the video games out of his room...the threat was that the TV and computer were next. The boys age? SIX!!! Seriously? Six year olds have more in their room than I have in my house? (We have an oldschool Nintendo for DH to play with friends but our TV lives in the closet. Everything we do and watch is online)
My son's room if for 3 things: 1) to sleep 2) a place to store his toys and 3) a place for him to sit and think about his bad behavior. The only computers in the house are our laptops and he is not permitted to touch them. We run a movie thru on NetFlix for him when he has truly earned it, but any kind of TV watching for him is usually less than 2 hours a week. In return I have a child who enjoys spending his time doing things with us. He builds with his toys in the family living area and has no desire to hide in his room.
It is so sad to see all these kids turning into anti-social lumps.
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
Stumble It!
I watched an episode of Supernanny recently where the punishment for a little boy being rowdy at bedtime was to take the video games out of his room...the threat was that the TV and computer were next. The boys age? SIX!!!
Seriously? Six year olds have more in their room than I have in my house? (We have an oldschool Nintendo for DH to play with friends but our TV lives in the closet. Everything we do and watch is online)