Raised by TV...

Raised by TV...

How many of you were born when Televisions were around? Im guessing its a lot of people...

Can you think back to when you were a child and were sat in front of the TV for hours on end watching your favorite programs... Whilst your parent or guardian was cooking a meal or with friends... (Multiple Scenarios)

Do you remember any of those programs to this day?

As a child you are influenced so much by anything around you!

Some things leave bigger impacts on us than others!

The same people who have grown up watching TV, I'm guessing watch on average about 3 - 4 hours a day!

Here are some interesting website articles...

Extract(s):

II CHILDREN
>Approximate number of studies examining TV's effects on children: 4,000
>Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children: 3.5
>Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680 >Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
>Percentage of parents who would like to limit their children's TV watching: 73 >Percentage of 4-6 year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, preferred television: 54
>Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
>Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500

III VIOLENCE
>Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000
>Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000
>Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence helps precipitate real life mayhem: 79

Click link for full article:
Television and Health

[edit on 24-2-2010 by Freq Of Nature]

No, I remember very few shows from when I was really young. I grew up at a time when we would be outside playing from sunup to sunset, rarely checking in with our parents.

We used to build tree houses in the woods, after taking all of our fathers extra wood, nails and hammers. Oh yeah, he used to get really ticked off when he would look for a saw we left rusting in the woods.

We babysat ourselves.

The big television day at our house was on Sunday, after church, and a big sunday brunch.

We all loved, "Flash Gordon."

reply to post by Blanca Rose


There are going to be quite a few replies like yours as most people on here are considerably older than me!

The threads mainly aims at the people born in the 90's + possibly late 80's!

reply to post by Blanca Rose




Same with me, I was born in 91. I'm not going to be one who says I didn't watch a good amount of TV as a child but I think more of my attention was focused on other things. I would often end up watching TV if I was inside or it was night time with my family. Even then I can remember building Lego houses or playing with my Star Wars action figures. I probably watched Star Wars at least two or three times more than TV. But I group up with a street full of boys, and woods and a creek behind our houses, we spent hours upon hours making forts and playing games...ahhh the good ole days! I still feel as if I learned more from spending hours in the woods than any of the shows I watched on TV.

I stopped really watching TV when I was 11 or 12. All of my friends were much older than me, so I always would rather be out with them then at home.

Some of the shows I watched: Little Bear, Franklin, Barney, Dexters Lab, Rocket Power, Hey Arnold. Those were the only ones I would try and watch new episodes of. I think they also had pretty good morals and values in them. I never got much into the anime' style cartoons, although I did have my in Pokemon trading card games

[edit on 24-2-2010 by kyle43]

reply to post by kyle43


Yeah your similar to me!

I dislike TV nowadays. But as a kid I did watch a fair bit of TV when I was bored and not playing out!

I was born in '87. I remember watching stuff like TMNT, Transformers, Street Sharks and the Power Rangers. (haha!) But I honestly didn't watch TV that much, did a lot of playing around outdoors with friends or playing SNES games with my brother (games aren't much better though).

I can't be sure I was influenced in some way by the shows I watched. At least I didn't grow up pretending I knew martial arts or believing that turtles and sharks fight crime, or that my toaster or vehicle could change into a highly dangerous mech-bot-thing at any time.

Anyway, very interesting statistics in the OP. Thanks for sharing.

reply to post by Freq Of Nature


I might still be of service!

I have 4 children, all born in the 80's. I let them watch t.v. or play video games for a limited amount of time each day. We only had 1 television, and I was the master of the remote!

They watched a lot of Nickelodeon, and Disney chanel.

The one show I liked to watch with them was, "Clarissa Explains it All." We also watched "Goosbumps," and similar shows together.

reply to post by kyle43


your thread sounds like me just i was born in 1990.

I remember rugrats, power rangers and all the **** but i used to watch tv whilst waiting to get to the time we agreed to meet you know before the time of mobiles

you cant beat going to the woods playing tracker or playing 1 man football

Even building dirt ramps for my bike.

Good times, is bad i still do that ?? hell i enjoy it

[edit on 24-2-2010 by thecrow001]

I had three parents, mam, dad and tv!

I was born in 85' some of my first memories are cartoons I loved! I watched it literally from getting up to going to bed! though I watched it less as a teen but still a hell of a lot still!

reply to post by valiant


These are the kind of posts I was hoping for!

Lets see how much it has influenced you...

If you could change the past would you go back and do something productive rather than stay in and watching a screen?

If not you could of wasted a precious moment in your childhood or even now, or an opertunity of a lifetime!

Instead of blaming it on tv blame it on what it is. Society. The US is an isolationist society. We insist that everyone live seperate and by themselves. We also require high incomes that have both parents working. IN most societies, the families live together. They are not harrassed at 21 to leave the nest. They are not persecuted for living together. All the sisters and cousins and aunts raise the children, not thrown in an institution like some daycares. Mom gets plenty of breaks because there is always someone around to help. not only that, neighbors are involved. Here in America and some other countries, mom and dad live by themselves, both work very long hours, both are exhausted, and trying to do it all themselves, often hundreds or thousands of miles from any family or friends who can help. Push comes to shove, exhausted parents needing downtime use the remaining babysitter: tv.

Everything about our lifestyle is absolutely about isolation. We insist on babies sleeping by themselves in cribs in the other room. We are told when to wean, when to do this, when to do that. Many countries cosleep till the kids are 4 years old. And no one expects a baby to sleep by itself, through the night, for 13 hours at a time. How many people say not to pick up a baby if it is crying? It might get to attached. Why wouldn't I want my child attached to me? BAbies don't even know they are a seperate person from you till 1.5. Then we expect them to sleep through the night in another room. And then we wonder why the US has the highest levels of sleep disturbances.

The other thing is we let media dictate our lifestyle. We have let it isolate ourselves from our neighbors. I have talked to many people from all sorts of countries about child rearing. This is an important subject for me. There is a running theme: kids are actually more independant, get out a lot more. Because the neighbor 3 blocks away knows who you are, and if you goof off they tell your parents. Adults and seniors automatically have a right to correct you. The result, your kid could go ten blocks away and live a life and do child things and activities, and you know they will be watched.

See, I didn't watch a lot of tv either. Because my parents, at only 4, could let me out the door and up the street the entire day without having to check on me. Because all the neighbors watched. We were in the neighbors houses. And yes, it was safe. I remember a time when I stepped on a nail in the street, I was only crying for about 30 seconds when one of the older neighbors scooped me up and carried me home.

reply to post by nixie_nox


Oh so true!

However this is just a thread and I didn't know how general to be so I narrowed it down to this title...

What you say is perfect for this thread though! Might kick start off some more discussion and keep it alive!

reply to post by Freq Of Nature


I dunno in all honesty, I liked being on my own with the tv as a kid, but a little part of me, maybe yeah it would have been good to run around a little more, but I did in my teens so I would say I never missed out on much!

reply to post by Blanca Rose


TV when I was a kid? We got our first set when I was 9 years old. That was in 1962. And I remember a whole lot of shows from even before then, because whenever I got to visit with a friend who had a TV, I enjoyed the experience so much that I can remember the shows, even though having seen them only once or twice. Even after we had our TV, I still did not watch very often. Yeh! Because being outdoors away from the all seeing eyes of the adults was just plain, well, sweet relief and a wonderful freedom.

Wow, Blanca Rose, you got to watch TV on Sunday afternoons. Not my sisters and me. We had to take a nap whether we were tired or not, that lasted until it was time to go back to church that evening. Yuck!

My grandson is 8 and he is addicted to TV. He comes home from school and wants to sit down in front of the television. Nope, not in my house. Either do some studying, reading, er, yes, some chores, something creative or just plain get yer butt outside and find something to do that doesn't involve destroying something or hurting anyone or yourself. Climb a tree, walk in the woods, run across the many fields around here, play outside with the neighbor's grandkids if they are here, whatever, get off yer butt and leave the TV off.

reply to post by kyred


Thats good about your grandson!

You can't let kids sit and watch TV, or play video games... It gives them a false sense of reality!

Good on you!

Hmmm. Funny you should mention this...The first thing I remember watching on TV is the Watergate hearings. (They must have pre-empted the Laff-Olympics!) I must have really been paying attention because I tend to be suspicious and I sure don't trust the gubbint!

Maybe those hearings should go into syndication.

reply to post by Freq Of Nature


I do not remember much of what i watched, as a young girl my mom tried to get me to watch tv, but I was never interested. I always wanted to read and play barbies or dolls by myself.

As an adult I cannot stand TV at all. We do not have cable and we do not watch TV programs. We stopped watching TV a couple of years ago. Now we watch movies occasionally, or go on the internet.

We realized how much TV influences people and decided we didn't want our kids influenced or brainwashed by shows that mean absolutely nothing to us or them. I cannot tell you what is currently the popular show to watch today, as i am way behind in it. I don't need TV to enjoy myself, i am still bookworm and so are my children. My two girls love playing in their rooms, or outside with their dolls and my son does play computer games, and reads, and plays outside.

There is more to life then TV.

reply to post by mysticalzoe


There is indeed more to life than media!

The world is a playground, I don't see why people feel the need to stay in one place when there is so much to experience!

Originally posted by Freq Of Nature

Do you remember any of those programs to this day?

As a child you are influenced so much by anything around you!

Some things leave bigger impacts on us than others!

The same people who have grown up watching TV, I'm guessing watch on average about 3 - 4 hours a day!

I think there are people who watch more than that in a day. I have some people that I know that disregard their schoolwork and continue to watch "John and Edward," and stalk some weird people.

However, the only to date programs that I can remember are:

1.Barney (Yes...I love the big purple dinosaur)
2. Tweenies (Fizz was my fav)
3. Blue's Clues

Oh and Disney.

Don't really think they've influenced me a great deal, but yeah...they play a big part in my life as a fond childhood memory which I would still rush to watch.

Originally posted by Freq Of Nature

III VIOLENCE
>Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000
>Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000
>Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence helps precipitate real life mayhem: 79

That is quite shocking. Children are quite innocent and therefore pick up things from the norm in their life; parents, TV. It's like role models for them.

Seeing murders could definitely, in my opinion, cause thoughts even actions on this matter. 79% believe that TV is a cause of violence. Wow. That's a large amount.

The question is, why are they not acting on this?

It's probably to due with another grand masterplan. Oh joy.

Nice thread.

I was born in 1984- and I have never been interested much in TV.
But I did watch a few cartoons ohhh THE GUMMI BEARS!. That was one of my fav.

But my parents were conscious about the harms of the television, so they would never leave me there for hours.
Plus I was a kid that loved being on the outdoors more than anything not inside watching tv.

So television has never been a problem in my house.
We barely used it.

And I've always thought Disney IS horrible.
There's a certain pattern in every dinsey movie for little kids.....how convinent. uh

I think nowadays, cartoons and other programms for children are way MORE messed up.
The best thing is to keep the children away from it. But of course it's easier said than done.