{"id":473,"date":"2014-11-26T16:39:54","date_gmt":"2014-11-26T16:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/?p=473"},"modified":"2014-11-26T16:39:54","modified_gmt":"2014-11-26T16:39:54","slug":"are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html","title":{"rendered":"Are You Censoring Your Child’s TV Habits?"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Bigstock<\/a>
Bigstock Photos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As far back as I can remember; parents have been debating the issue of what to let their kids watch on television. Seldom does everyone agree. In our family, my brother and I wanted to watch certain TV shows and my mom wanted us to watch something different. Her criteria generally revolved around the shows not containing swear words or too much blood. She even wanted us to watch educational shows. Not just watch them but also want<\/em> to watch them, so we could learn something. It was a never-ending debate.<\/p>\n

As a parent early on, I found myself wanting the same for my own kids. Why didn\u2019t they want to watch educational television? They had plenty of reasons and were happy to inform me. These days as a parent coach I\u2019ve had the opportunity to talk to many parents regarding their own criteria and how much of an argument they are willing to endure in the war on censoring their kid\u2019s TV habits.<\/p>\n

All kids are different, and all families are different, so how do you know the best approach for your child when there isn\u2019t necessarily a standard? There are several things to consider when laying down the rules (if you do) of what is watched at home.<\/p>\n

~ Is there consistency in their playing\/watching habits? Do the video games they\u2019re playing contain the same content you aren\u2019t allowing them to watch on TV?<\/p>\n

~ What are your beliefs regarding the content they watch? Do you truly believe they will be unduly influenced by what you see as negative content?<\/p>\n

~ What is the maturity level of your child? Are they able to assimilate more mature content or are they frightened by it?<\/p>\n

~ What message are you giving your kids with your own TV habits? Do you want your kids to believe negative message TV only affects people of a certain age?<\/p>\n

~ Are you having a dialogue with your kids about how violent\/negative content makes them feel after they watch it? Are they upset by it, have no reaction, or feel agitated? This conversation helps them tap into their Internal Guidance to determine if the content serves them.<\/p>\n

~ What is your guidance saying to you as a parent? Do you forbid certain content because you feel you should or because it feels like the best thing for your child and why?<\/p>\n

~ You have no control of your children\u2019s TV habits at their friends or even on their own wireless device, (if they have one) so is it realistic to throw a blanket censorship on all objectionable content?<\/p>\n

Regardless of what the television rules you have set in your family, it\u2019s important to have an ongoing dialogue with your kids. How does the content they\u2019re watching make them feel and why are they drawn to certain shows?<\/p>\n

Encourage them to be diligent in listening to their internal selves. Share with your kids in a calm and loving way, the concerns you have regarding their TV choices and your reasons for having them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please feel free to comment.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2014. \u00a0Sharon Ballantine. \u00a0All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  As far back as I can remember; parents have been debating the issue of what to let their kids watch on television. Seldom does everyone agree. In our family, my brother and I wanted to watch certain TV shows and my mom wanted us to watch something different. Her criteria generally revolved around the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":569,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Censoring Your Child's TV Habits? - Parenting on Purpose<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are You Censoring Your Child's TV Habits? - Parenting on Purpose\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  As far back as I can remember; parents have been debating the issue of what to let their kids watch on television. Seldom does everyone agree. In our family, my brother and I wanted to watch certain TV shows and my mom wanted us to watch something different. Her criteria generally revolved around the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Parenting on Purpose\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-26T16:39:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/files\/2014\/11\/bigstock-Boy-Child-Watching-Television-71124511-300x257.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"srballantine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are You Censoring Your Child's TV Habits? - Parenting on Purpose","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are You Censoring Your Child's TV Habits? - Parenting on Purpose","og_description":"  As far back as I can remember; parents have been debating the issue of what to let their kids watch on television. Seldom does everyone agree. In our family, my brother and I wanted to watch certain TV shows and my mom wanted us to watch something different. Her criteria generally revolved around the…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html","og_site_name":"Parenting on Purpose","article_published_time":"2014-11-26T16:39:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/files\/2014\/11\/bigstock-Boy-Child-Watching-Television-71124511-300x257.jpg"}],"author":"srballantine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html","name":"Are You Censoring Your Child's TV Habits? - Parenting on Purpose","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/files\/2014\/11\/bigstock-Boy-Child-Watching-Television-71124511-300x257.jpg","datePublished":"2014-11-26T16:39:54+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-26T16:39:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/#\/schema\/person\/a85d0fac5176f3ce8e80c2b1c95e93cb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/files\/2014\/11\/bigstock-Boy-Child-Watching-Television-71124511-300x257.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/files\/2014\/11\/bigstock-Boy-Child-Watching-Television-71124511-300x257.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/2014\/11\/are-you-censoring-your-childs-tv-habits.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are You Censoring Your Child’s TV Habits?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/","name":"Parenting on Purpose","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Sharon Ballantine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/#\/schema\/person\/a85d0fac5176f3ce8e80c2b1c95e93cb","name":"srballantine","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/author\/srballantine"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/569"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":475,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions\/475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/parentingonpurpose\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}