We have one in the basement and one in the living room. The one in the living room used to be in our bedroom.  I loved having it in our bedroom because we could snuggle up and watch a movie together. But, I needed a tv on the main level for my son (3 years old) so he could watch a dvd while I am doing something quickly around the house. Now, he loves tv and I would love to put it back in our room so I wouldn’t have the tv argument with him. 
WHen I was growing up we watched tv as a family together too. Maybe as my son grows up it will be more like that. 
Good luck!

We used to have a TV in our bedroom and I used it just as you described (I have all boys, too): when the guys were watching the ballgame or whatever, I would run upstairs and enjoy the peace and watch cooking shows or whatever, or with sick kids. Strangely enough I can fall asleep easily during any movie we rent but when my husband would want to watch something in bed when I wanted to sleep it would keep me up! Weird but true.

So: I like the idea of the TV in the bedroom for sick kids, or cuddling and watching movies with my husband, or as a retreat for me, but would never want it on when it was time to sleep! I think that becomes a habit for some guys really quickly (some of my friend’s husbands are found on the couch at 2am with the remote clutched in their hand sound asleep). I might put it in a cabinet and keep it closed mostly so it’s not a temptation at bedtime. My two cents!

tv in your bedroom is one thing… tv in the kids room - heck no!!

By all means go for it- (if you’re really truing to justify) think of all the nice EWTN you can watch curled up in your pajamas after the kids go to bed.

Not to be a wet blanket, but I think it’s very unwise to have a tv in your room. There are just so many things to do that are way more interesting than to sit in front of a tv. Of course, as you said, you must do what is right for your family.

I’ve been struggling with the same internal debate for some time now. My husband and I had a tv in our bedroom for a few months when we where first married, but then gave it to a sibling in need. Four years later, I’m thinking of replacing it.

Mainly, it is comfort issue for me. I’m pregnant with my fourth and before this pregnancy, we replaced some old, comfy couches with smaller, more practical, but less comfortable couches in our living room. As this pregnancy goes on, I just can’t stand laying on the couch in the evening anymore. It’s been good that it encourages me to go to bed earlier and spend time reading or - gasp - actually going to sleep. But it would be nice to watch a show or movie once in a while. At the same time, I don’t want to fall in all the pitfalls of a tv in the bedroom. What to do?!?

We have a small TV in the bedroom, I rarely watch it but when i do, I really enjoy it. I have little kids, so our TV viewing in the family room is all family friendly. Sometimes, i want to watch the news, or a talk show on Fox news, or a “girle” show, but I do not want the kids to see it. Even if they are engaged in other activities, if it was on in the family room they would hear it (we have one of those open floorplans), so I use the TV in the bedroom for adult only viewing. I am by myself during the week, though, as my husband works in another state so I can’t comment on what it would do to our relationship if he were here on weeknights. We have spent some late nights watching the same shows (he enjoys the dramas) while talking on the phone and it made me feel like we were doing something together even tough we were miles away. My feeling on your post is that if there are times you might want the TV, you should get it and then remember your fears and just don’t turn it on when it would be an intrusion. Just my thoughts, you know what is best for your family.

Rachel, I’m rather new to this site, but I’m going to assume that you aren’t a television fanatic, otherwise you would have a television anywhere you could get one.  You sound like the kind of person who would be able to “control” herself.  I can’t see you sitting in the bedroom in your pj’s all day, watching the television to get away from your children.  I think life is about control and moderation.  If you think you would have the proper self-control to have a television in your bedroom, then go for it! I think television can be a wonderful retreat, depending on what you watch of course.  But again, I can’t imagine that you will abuse your television.  Go ahead, indulge yourself.  I’m sure you could use it now and again!

Well, I am a tv fanatic, so I enjoy tv and so do my children.  Having said that, I do believe in the proper usage of tv.  My children are restricted to certain things they can or can’t watch.  But our tv’s are being used.  We have discussed the role of the media, advertisers, and inappropriate viewing.  So we shouldn’t leave kids to their own devices, but guide them to sensible viewing.  I believe that we have to live in the “world”, because that is where God placed us, but we don’t have to be of the world.  We shouldn’t hide everything from our kids, because they will be confronted with it out in the “world”.  They need to know how to respond to situations.  I think when we educate our children they will take those thoughts and ideas with them.  And yes, we have a tv in our bedroom, but we don’t have to turn it on all them time (which can teach self-control).  My children have even been known to tell their friends, and teachers what is appropriate viewing material!!  Gotta love that!!

My husband and I have given up TV for Lent for the past 7 years.  It has gradually turned into us giving up TV altogether.  Our kids do watch videos from time to time on our TV/VCR we bought as a newlywed couple for $80 at a pawn shop.  It’s easy for us to not watch during the summer, winter is a bit more challenging.  We have been able to read so many books that ordinarily we would not have the time to read.  Choosing to not watch TV might seem a bit strange to our culture, but it has really forced us to live simply and use our new found time in more constructive ways.  It also saves us a bundle each month!

There is a tv in the family room for video & DVD viewing.  The only tv that had reception was in our bedroom.  That way, we could watch the news or other shows without inappropriate images reaching the children, or for some “downtime” after the little ones are in bed.  Of course, that also meant that on the occassions that our children did want to watch something, it was in our bed (I hear you with the goldfish cracker crumbs in the sheets, Rachel!).  Unfortunately (or maybe not) with the switch to digital, we now get NO tv at all.  My husband does like to watch sports (the children and I don’t) and news programs, so he is going through withdrawal.  I think I’d be fine with no tv at all, but after all, he’s the king!  We are trying to decide whether to get satellite tv for the bedroom tv only, or go ahead and get it for both tvs.  And then figure out how to limit the children’s use of the tv!  I’m curious about how parents control their teens tv usage - they now go to bed later than we do, and I hate the thought of them watching tv all night, especially without parental oversight!

Wow, this is timely.  My husband and I have been going back and forth on this one for years.  I like to unwind with a show, and he likes to surf the net, so he is all for cutting out cable on our tv.  We subscribe to Netflix, and bought the ROKU device that allows you to watch movies from Netflix instantly.  This should be enough, but I like “live TV”, the occasional football game (Steelers fans), FOX news, Food Network, etc.  Plus, we live out in the country, so there is not that much to do in the winter.  I know I could read, but with 4 kids 5 and under, and the library 30 minutes away, it isn’t easy having something to read on hand.  I wish I had the courage to cut out cable.  My days are so hard lately, that I feel like watching tv at night is my only time to relax, sometimes fold laundry, etc.  Truth be told, though, I do feel that both my husband and I and the kids watch too much tv.  It is so hard to find another activity that gives me the same amount of “instant peace” with the kids, so I can nurse the baby, make a phone call, empty the dishwasher without the toddler “helping”, etc.  I would love some advice, too!

I think (with the occasional health exception) that TVs in bedrooms are Very Bad Ideas.  I should mention that (although we watch DVDs, videos, and the occasional EWTN show via DSL on my computer) we get neither broadcast nor cable TV.  Even the more “harmless” TV shows are cotton candy for the mind, and the commercials are still usually inappropriate. 

I think they’re a bad idea *in the bedroom* for the following reasons:

a)  Most importantly:  it sets a lousy example for the kids.
b)  People are much more likely to watch things they shouldn’t when they can do it behind closed doors (closely related to reason “a”).
c)  In order to sleep well, it is commonly advised not to do anything in the bedroom other than sex and sleep (and I would add cleaning).
d)  You could probably use headphones to watch different shows in the same room together if you just can’t agree on what to watch.
e)  Setting an example of not “tuning out” just because other members of your family are “glued to the tube” might set a good enough example that they cut down on their tv time.

I will never have a TV in my bedroom. I feel very strongly about that.  There are better things to do in a bedroom than watching TV.  Reading is much more appealing to me. I would also have a big issue with the shows my husband would want to watch. We don’t like the same kinds of TV shows.

Very interesting question.

We don’t have a TV in our bedroom, and I definitely don’t want one there.  I like our room to be a “quiet” zone where I go to sleep, read, write at my writing desk, and spend couple time with my hubby.  To me, having a TV in there would just make the outside world intrude upon what is actually kind of a sanctuary for me.

But again, this isn’t a moral question, you know?  It’s about whatever suits you best.

Ha, ha we just accomplished the opposite. We only had one tv form the beginning but I finally got rid of it. We had basic cable on it so none of the other shows that might be tempting to keep a tv if you can afford it. It was mainly used for movies. Movies, movies, movies! Like someone said above, it is harder to restrict tv time in the winter. YOu just want the children to be quiet and have something to do when it is so cruddy outside! Anyway, the only show we watch as a couple is ‘24’ and we can watch it the next day on the internet…so why the tv? We have a small townhouse at the moment so it was eating up space too. We bought a program where we can put VHS on to DvD…we bought the more expensive ones you can reuse. So the move killed two birds with one stone…the kids can still watch their videos and I spend less time on the computer. We also bought a new computer when we got rid of the tv to give us the “tv like” screen. The children actually want to watch tv less now that we got rid of it. My husband also likes to watch movies a lot so it helps to have one less screen in the house. I like to watch with him but not at the expense of the house looking horrible for a movie. So, that has been a stress on our marriage to a certain degree. The whole preference to sitting in front of a screen thing…I even used to tell him that he could do it if he helped fold clothes or something but the movie would be done and maybe one article of clothing would be folded. This happened a lot. Oh well…things are better now.

We’ve had a tiny, ancient TV in our bedroom since we got married, almost four years ago.  We almost NEVER watch it.  I think the only time we really turn it on is if there’s a sporting event that my husband is mildly interested in keeping an eye on as we get ready for bed; if there’s a sporting event we truly want to see, we turn it on in the living room.

We’ve actually now decided to pull the plug on our bedroom TV altogether.  We’ll still have a TV in the living room, and one in the room we’re setting up as an office/den in the basement, and that’s it.  Honestly, if it weren’t for my husband’s passion for certain sports and his understandable desire to watch the games, I think we could cut out the television sets altogether (or at least unhook the satellite and just use the TV to watch DVDs).  I like watching certain shows, of course, but I really want to make sure we never fall into the habit of leaving the TV on incessantly.  We use a DVR to record the shows we really like, both to save time (no commercials!) and to make sure we’re sitting down to watch something specific, not just doing mindless channel surfing.

We have a TV in our bedroom and one in our family room, but we don’t get television. It is there for movies that we get from Netflix. My husband and I watch a couple of TV shows on the internet, and on one occasion we brought our laptop into our room (wireless router) to watch an episode. I can’t even remember why… the kids were doing something, I think. Oh yeah, they were having a slumber party in our family room and watching movies. We restrict movies (and sweets, and days off of school) for them to church and familial feast days (today is the feast of our son’s baptismal anniversary so they are watching one as I type).  I was actually just thinking of moving the larger TV in our room to the family room since that one is smaller. But, in a way, I do what you do, Rachel. I might watch something on the internet while the kids are watching a movie (all in the same room) and I enjoy the simple reward to myself at the end of the day to enjoy a glass of wine and watch a show or read or knit. I don’t think a TV in the bedroom is inherently wrong. I think you have thought about it a lot and you can use it as a tool to strengthen your family. Most moms need time to themselves, and if this can help you, then go for it! Furthermore, I don’t know of any kids that don’t enjoy watching a movie in a parent’s bed, maybe with everyone in pj’s. You can use it as a tool, and control it.

Wow, is that a picture of your bedroom?  I’ll be right over to take a nap on that glorious bed…..

Back when we had all little kids, one TV was enough.  They all watched the same stuff and I was too busy to watch anything.  Now with nine kids between the ages of 4-18, they can’t all watch “Tom and Jerry” over and over like the four year old.  Well, they CAN.  But we don’t make them.

We are not TV fanatics, but we do have four TVs (gasp!) - one in the great room, one in the in-law-suite, one in the finished basement, and a small one in my basement exercise room.  So when it’s movie night there are enough TVs that the older kids can watch something that I wouldn’t want the little kids to watch.(Fridays and Saturdays are usually our movie nights, and the younger ones can watch a PBS show after lunch on most days).  The TV in my exercise room is usually just used in the mornings so I can watch the news while I work up a great sweat.

Lest anyone reading is scandalized about Fridays and Saturdays always being movie nights for us, we home school so I’m with the kids all day, we read together most other nights of the week, and we do tons of physical, fun activities together. 

I don’t like a TV in our bedroom….we’ve never had one, but on vacation or in hotels it bothers me to have one there.  My husband loves watching the sports channels, and since we only have very basic cable at home (the main broadcast channels) it’s a treat for him to watch when we’re away.  I like to go to sleep earlier than him, so a TV in the room just doesn’t work for us.  But I echo what someone else said - it’s really NOT a moral issue.  Very different than letting the kids have TVs in their rooms.  For us it’s just a personal preference.  Plus it lets other people make stale jokes about how many kids we have and that we “need to get a TV in our bedroom”.....

I say go for it.  You sound like you have a lot of self control and would not abuse having a t.v. in your bedroom.  It would be there for when you want to have your “retreat.”  We have one in our bedroom and rarely have it on, but it I want to fold laundry in my room I can turn it on.  Good luck with your decision!

We only have one of those big old TV’s that don’t work anymore. (not that it bothers us we have not been hooked up to cable for 12 years.)  We live in the country and if you do not have cable you do not have TV.  Sooo we watch movies.  We have netflicks.  We also get movies from the library.  Ps if there is something awful that the kids are watching like .......  It or creature from the black lagoon ect… I can go into my room with my computer and watch an instant movie from netflicks.  There are many to choose from and my son does the same when it girls night and my daughters and I are wathing Jane Austiny.  LOL

Podcasts can be a nice, edifying alternative to t.v….and there’s lot of great faith-related stuff out there. For an efficient person who is a good time manager and doesn’t have a tendency to over-indulge in t.v., having one in every room would probably not be a problematic temptation. For people like me and my hubby (note that I’m indulging in internet usage at a late late hour and should be in bed) the less the t.v. is a temptation the better (particularly for the hubby). Hence, we just use it for limited video time.  Books are my preference and the computer (intentionally placed in the far corner of my basement) is my bigger temptation…and Faith & Family Live isn’t helping! What gives you greater peace? What most enhances the loving relationships between you and God and your family? Recreation (whether t.v., book, internet) is a good thing if it nourishes us on the path of love and sanctity, a bad thing if it stalls or sets us back. Hmmm….something to ponder and, as usual, some adjustments to be made in this house! God help us!

I hemmed and hawed over this for years as well.  For me, pregnant with number five now, I’ve found that even though I am an avid reader, there are times when I’m sick or recovering from childbirth, when I’d really just like to lay in bed and watch tv.  In the end, my husband made the decsion—he gave me a tv for our room last Christmas! At first, it was a novelty, but now I find we lay in bed together reading most nights before we go to sleep, which we never did before.  One reason why we like having the tv is because while we love to wind down in the evenings once the kids are in bed by watching tv, we hate having to get up half asleep, turn off all the lights, lock up the house, and then go upstairs.  Now we “close up shop” early, get ready for bed, watch the one or two shows, and go to sleep.  I think that if you find yourself able to control your television watching in general,  you’ll be able to control it when you have more opportunity to watch it as well.

We have two televisions but no tv reception so they are just for movie watching.  One tv stays in the living room and the other is kinda large but can be carried from room to room, sometimes it is in our room and sometimes in one of the teen’s room or a spare room for the littles to watch something upstairs while we watch a movie downstairs. It’s been 14 years since we cut the cable.  When we moved to the country we had no option for cable anyway.  We have lots of kids’ movies and we rent movies from the library or Red Box.  The kids request a lot of old sitcoms from the library.  We’ve thought off and on about getting some sort of satellite dish but dh has been pretty good about saying NO.  We’ve had enough battles with teens, limiting and monitoring dvds and computer use.  Sometimes I think how nice it would be to have EWTN or for the boys to watch sports.  But then we go on vacation and have TV and are surprised how little there is on that we’d want our kids watching and seemed I had to have remote in hand for commercials and it was more stressful than relaxing.  The cost and hassle probably keep us from doing it too though.

We had one TV for the longest time.  I never wanted one in our room. I agree that TV time is a precious family time and when we retire for the evening, that’s OUR time….not TV time.  However, as our kids grew and we now have a house full of teenagers, our oldest son bought my husband a TV for our room as a gift.  At first I was apprehensive, but what a great idea it was!  I love the fact that my kids can have friends over here (where I know they are safe) to watch movies, play video games, etc., and we can go to our room and watch something together, too.  It may sound sillty, but it is almost like a “date” time for us.  I think every family needs to weigh where their family is at.  If it benefits the family and the couple to have more than one TV, then it can be a very good thing.

We have a TV in our bedroom, and it is the primary TV in our home. It didn’t used to be, but DS’s room is adjacent to our living room via folding doors with glass panels, and he wakes up if the TV is on. So, even though I initially rolled my eyes at having a TV in the bedroom, I’m now very grateful for it. There are a couple of downsides. First, we don’t have a “media cabinet” so the first thing I see when I wake up is an ugly, black TV; I’d love it if we could hide it. Second, my husband easily gets lost in TVland and loses track of time, and that occasionally leads to going to sleep too late; but that used to happen when he watched TV in the living room, so I don’t think it’s a matter of where the TV is. Those are the big ones for us, but in our current situation, having one in the bedroom makes life much easier.

The priest that led us through marriage prep gave us some very good advice, “Don’t have a TV in the bedroom.” 

Ok, we did have one in the bedroom for a little bit - and both my husband and I agree we wouldn’t want it back.  We would watch news and surf to watch other shows - one of us would fall asleep first.  We didn’t talk as much, stayed up too late, and watched too much junk. 

We now talk at night and read books together.  This has been much better for us.

We didn’t have a tv for nine years, and boy do I miss that special time!!! It came home for a baseball game and never left…With baby #12 on the way and my oldest 19, I miss the time I had with my older kids not to mention how smart the big kids are. They used to read all the time and are so creative…now we have way to many tv’s in this crazy house. I do say that I like having all the teens hang out at our house!!!

We do not have a TV in our bedroom.  We do not have cable at all at our house, but for the occasional movie in bed we use our laptop.  It plays DVDs and Netflix and Hulu with ease and keeps the big electronic EYE out.