Good topic.

DP and I watch heaps of TV. We have cable, 3 tvs in the house, and I even have a TV card on my PC. It's hardly ever on during the day, but we settle down to it every night when the kids are all sorted.

So as you can imagine, we're pretty lenient about the kids watching telly, however, we do have the following rules:

-It doesn't go on before school unless they have had breaky, brushed their teeth, are fully dressed including hair, school bag packed, room tidy. Consequently it's rarely on before school

-It doesn't go on after school unless they've got changed, unpacked their school bag, done their homework and their room is tidy. This one needs more strict enforcement.

-After many many reminders not to make a mess and to clear their dishes, they are no longer allowed to eat/drink in front of the telly.

-Telly goes off by 8.30 unless not a school night and special permission sought/viewing choice approved of

-Baby boy has ABC on in the morning & sometimes Nick Jnr, but really only likes the music so far.

BTW, 2nd ex husband (8 year old's father) doesn't have a telly and thinks they are evil. Also my lovely cousin (who's into Steiner education and organic milk) doesn't watch telly and rarely lets her kids do so. I think they're missing out. Sure there's lots of rubbish, but there's also lots of opportunities to see how other people live, things they wouldn't normally see, educational stuff. And even rubbishy drama can be worthwhile. Kids learn to recognize good & bad, discretion, personal taste, choices. You can talk to them about the concept of advertising, which is a reality in life. :soapbox:

My attitude is no restriction other than rating/type of shows (another big topic for discussion) and as above. I actually think they get a lot of good from watching tv, it's good chill out time for them, and I'm proud to say my girls both love to read, and both do after school activities (another possible topic).

With little ones, I'm not ashamed to say I would plonk them in front of ABC or a video to get some peace, and I don't think it was anything but good for them. There are some really good quality shows for kids, and as long as it's not to the exclusion of other important things, I say don't stress about it. I find both younger and older kids will get bored with the tv and go looking for something else to do of their own accord anyway. And the occasional day of staying in your pjs and watching junk all day on tv never killed anyone