Parents and TV watching

Easy Mac · 03-21-2005, 09:27 PM

To piggyback on the Nickelodeon thread, how strict were your parents when it came to TV watching when you were a kid (obviously this excludes those like Buccaneer and Skydog who are too old to have grown up with TV's... perhaps we can substitute cave drawings or something).

Anyway, my girlfriend's parents wouldn't let her watch cartoons when she was growing up. She could only watch Sesame Street, Mr. Rodgers, and things like that. Whenever I reference like Tiny Toons or Bugs Bunny, she has no idea what I'm talking about. She still doesn't like me watching The Simpsons or Family Guy, she thinks they're stupid. Obviously the whole cartoon thing will be a problem once kids roll around, since she doesn't want them watching them (over my dead body).

A previous girlfriend was not allowed to watch MTV growing up. I really didn't have any restrictions on what I could watch. My parents didn't lord over me. My dad watched the Simpsons with me... I think the only thing they ever had a problem with me watching was Married... with Children. I guess my parents were just lax or something, I dunno.

How strict were your parents when it came to your TV viewing?

McSweeny · 03-21-2005, 09:31 PM

i had pretty much the same experience with my parents and tv as you did. No real restrictions. Though i do remember being terrified of the silence whenever there was some sexual inuendo in a sitcom i was watching with my dad.

Easy Mac · 03-21-2005, 09:32 PM

Sexual situations may be the most uncomfortable thing to watch on tv when your parents are in the room... doubly so when its on tv and your at your in-laws...

Eaglesfan27 · 03-21-2005, 09:35 PM

My mom let me watch just about anything on regular TV which was all we had until I was about 13 when we got cable.

On the other hand, my wife's parents were very strict and wouldn't let her watch anything that had any violence or even a hint of a sexual situation. She never saw an episode of Three's Company until we were married. That was one of my favorite comedies when I was a kid.

McSweeny · 03-21-2005, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Sexual situations may be the most uncomfortable thing to watch on tv when your parents are in the room... doubly so when its on tv and your at your in-laws...

well now that i'm older it's not bad at all. Of course my dad always likes to make cracks about 4 hour erections and i never know quite how to react

MikeVic · 03-21-2005, 09:44 PM

I had few channels (around 13) for a large part of my childhood, so I didn't get to watch MTV and some other channels here in Canada. I remmeber watching Three's Company, Dallas, Dynasty, Knotts Landing, Ninja Turtles, The Muppet Show, and some other shows like that.

I don't think I had restrictions, just based on what I could find on TV. :P

sooner333 · 03-21-2005, 09:50 PM

My dad and I watched South Park together when I was in the 7th grade...good times.

Neuqua · 03-21-2005, 09:53 PM

My parents really did not care at all what I watched on TV. Actually, my father and I watched Married With Children everyday at 6 when it would come on. We just kind of "ignored" any of the sexual jokes that would come across.

BrianD · 03-21-2005, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McSweeny

well now that i'm older it's not bad at all. Of course my dad always likes to make cracks about 4 hour erections and i never know quite how to react

Wait for the part talking about 4-hour erections requiring immediate medical attention, and make a crack about seeking immediate medical attention and grabbing every nurse you can find.

samifan24 · 03-21-2005, 10:12 PM

I was never allowed to watch MTV growing up, and that has evolved into never really watching MTV anyway. In fact, I never watched much TV besides from sports when I was younger, and I don't watch a whole lot of TV now.

lcjjdnh · 03-21-2005, 10:14 PM

There were only two shows off limits as a child that I can remember, Married with Children and You Can't Do That on Television

Draft Dodger · 03-21-2005, 10:19 PM

until I was 7, we only got one TV channel (sometimes a 2nd one if the weather was good), so it wasn't like there was a lot of choice. I can remember watching some Brady Bunch and Grizzly Adams...and trying to wait up for some Pooh episodes, but other than that there usually wasn't anything on that I wanted to watch (Lawrence Welk, for example, was shown a lot). Never even really saw Sesame Street growing up.

then we moved to LA and got a zillion channels, and it never really was an issue - I don't really remember not being able to watch what I wanted. I think it was usually more an issue of how late I wanted to stay up watching TV.

take it fwiw, but nowadays I rarely watch TV, while my wife - who was heavily restricted in the things she could watch - is like a TV addict.

21C · 03-21-2005, 10:51 PM

Is there some sort of gender divide when it comes to watching TV?

I'm like a lot of you guys that my parents let me watch anything and everything. I'm also hearing that parents with girls are more selective with their viewing habits. I have two girls ( 14 and 11 ) and I'm happy enough to let them watch most shows but my wife was dead against letting them watch The Simpsons for years. Occasionally I would sneak a show in with them when my wife was at work since I never saw the harm in it.

Is there something about parents being happy that boys are at least quiet and not tearing up the house while they're watching the tube? Do parents with girls want them doing something more intellectual like reading - something I admit to not doing much as a kid ( apart from Mad magazine )?

SackAttack · 03-21-2005, 10:54 PM

My parents never really restricted our TV viewing, although they certainly "encouraged' other activities. My mom used to drive us down to the local libraries, even though she almost certainly knew that if she did that, I was coming home with two dozen books to read over the next two weeks.

I think she probably figured it was better for me to bury my nose in a stack of hardback books than to stare dumbly at the TV, or worse, go cause trouble in the neighborhood.

The only entertainment activity we had that ever really bothered her was when we'd spend lazy summer afternoons playing Sega instead of getting the hell out of the house so she could have some peace and quiet. If she knew some of the things we did when she kicked us out in Santa Barbara, I think she'd probably have had a change of opinion.

Easy Mac · 03-21-2005, 10:57 PM

My dad hated me playing video games, he just never understood it. Thinking about it, I crammed a lot of stuff into an afternoon as a kid. I'd often watch 2-3 hours of TV, find 2-3 hours to play sports, read various sports books, and still do my homework each day... I barely have time to sleep now adays.

JeeberD · 03-22-2005, 12:21 AM

I'm the baby of the family so I pretty much had free reign over the TV set...

sabotai · 03-22-2005, 12:35 AM

I didn't have any restrictions. In fact, I watched R-rated horror movies with them growing up, including gore-fested B movies. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on the floor of my living room with my brother in our PJs, my parents on the couch, and a horror movie being played. (Of course, the only thing was we were supposed to cover out eyes when the nudity came on. You can see a lot through barely open eyes through barely open fingers.

) I can't remember a time when I wasn't allowed to watch R-Rated movies, let alone whatever I wanted to on TV.

BigJohn&TheLions · 03-22-2005, 12:35 AM

Am I right to be concerned that my 12 year-old daughter is allowed by her mother to watch "Desperate Housewives?" I mean, it's not like I actually have any say in the matter... And if she turns out to be a whore, it will still be my fault somehow.

JonInMiddleGA · 03-22-2005, 12:42 AM

About the only show I can recall specifically being off-limits was Soap which they just hated for some of the raunch factor (of its day). Remember though, we're talking about an age range that had a 9pm or 10pm bedtime too, so some of the stuff that might have been an issue really wasn't coming up for discussion, I was already in bed before it started.

ntndeacon · 03-22-2005, 01:21 AM

I wasn't allowed to watch the Dukes of Hazzard. Mom was more strict that Dad. I think it had to do with the flaunting of authority in the show. I can't think of many other limitations the folks put on me in that regard. Dad would watch the Friday Night Horror flick with us as kids.

oliegirl · 03-22-2005, 07:23 AM

I always watched tv with my parents after dinner, and we would watch the sitcoms of the day, Dallas, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing, etc....I always watched Sat. morning cartoons without any restriction from my parents. As for the more controversial shows...Married...With Children, The Simpsons, stuff like that, I was never interested in those shows so it was never an issue.

Cringer · 03-22-2005, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeeberD

I'm the baby of the family so I pretty much had free reign over the TV set...

Same here. By the time I was watching T.V. my parents weren't around much and my sister was watching me most of the time. And overall my parents didn't care much what I was watching anyways. I was a big fan of the Friday the 13th movies as a kid.

The one thing I remember actually sitting down and watching with my Mom almost every week was The Cosby Show, that was basically must see T.V. to my Mom.

Radii · 03-22-2005, 08:46 AM

In my younger years we had ABC/NBC/CBS/PBS, and it was not really an issue what I watched. Cartoons on Saturday morning were a ritual, as was Sesame Street I believe.

I became a sports fan very early, and on rare special occasion was allowed to stay up and watch Monday Night Football or a late UNC game.

We first got cable in 1984(I remember the year b/c that was when I was first introduced to the Chicago Cubs). I don't ever remember any restrictions on TV, but that is probably because I spent all of my daylight hours outside, and enjoyed the Atari 800 computer a lot more than I did the TV.

The only show that was ever forbidden was the Simpsons when it first came out. Looking back on it now that seems incredibly silly that I was allowed to watch the sexual innuendo every week on Night Court but couldn't watch Bart say "Don't have a cow man" :shrug:

SFL Cat · 03-22-2005, 09:21 AM

No restrictions that I recall. Of course, since my mom and dad both worked, it wasn't unusual for me to walk my little sister home from school, do my homework, and then spend the rest of the afternoon watching cartoons (ones I remember - Hanna Barbara & Looney Tunes, Speed Racer, Ultraman).

Coder · 03-22-2005, 09:23 AM

I've never had any kind of "limits" on what I could watch..

then again.. I turned out to be a drug-using alcoholic with violent tendencies and zero respect towards women.. mhm..

oops..

Joe · 03-22-2005, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neuqua

My parents really did not care at all what I watched on TV. Actually, my father and I watched Married With Children everyday at 6 when it would come on. We just kind of "ignored" any of the sexual jokes that would come across.

that's a lot of ignoring.

MacroGuru · 03-22-2005, 11:26 AM

No limits here....

Saturday was Cartoon day until noon, then I was outside....this occured all the time. I in fact was a lot like sabotai, in what I watched with the parents.

The in-laws wouldn't allow their kids (Wife, bro in laws and sis in laws) to watch MTV or a lot of cartoons. It was mainly Nick and that was it.

Ajaxab · 03-22-2005, 11:32 AM

We were restricted to one hour of cartoons on Saturdays and I was only allowed one football game per Sunday until junior high. I now see it as a good thing because it forced me to learn to love to read. I don't know what I'm going to do about sports on tv when I have kids though. How can I limit how much sports they will watch when I'll want to watch about as much as I can?

MacroGuru · 03-22-2005, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

We were restricted to one hour of cartoons on Saturdays and I was only allowed one football game per Sunday until junior high. I now see it as a good thing because it forced me to learn to love to read. I don't know what I'm going to do about sports on tv when I have kids though. How can I limit how much sports they will watch when I'll want to watch about as much as I can?

Well, as it turns out...my daughter watches soccer. My son, Baseball.

Neither of them show interest in Football (Daddy's Sport) unless it's our poor college team, BYU Cougars or my Semi-Pro team. Then they only go cause they want to see their "cousins".

Anthony · 03-22-2005, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SackAttack

My parents never really restricted our TV viewing, although they certainly "encouraged' other activities. My mom used to drive us down to the local libraries, even though she almost certainly knew that if she did that, I was coming home with two dozen books to read over the next two weeks.

NERD!!!!!

Anthony · 03-22-2005, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coder

I've never had any kind of "limits" on what I could watch..

then again.. I turned out to be a drug-using alcoholic with violent tendencies and zero respect towards women.. mhm..

oops..

i love you.

03-21-2005, 09:35 PM	#4
Eaglesfan27 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: New Jersey	My mom let me watch just about anything on regular TV which was all we had until I was about 13 when we got cable. On the other hand, my wife's parents were very strict and wouldn't let her watch anything that had any violence or even a hint of a sexual situation. She never saw an episode of Three's Company until we were married. That was one of my favorite comedies when I was a kid. __________________ Retired GM of the eNFL 2007 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles (19-0 record.) GM of the WOOF 2006 Doggie Bowl Champion Atlantic City Gamblers. GM of the IHOF 2019 and 2022 IHOF Bowl Champion Asheville Axemen.

03-21-2005, 09:53 PM	#8
Neuqua Pro Rookie Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Chicago, Ill	My parents really did not care at all what I watched on TV. Actually, my father and I watched Married With Children everyday at 6 when it would come on. We just kind of "ignored" any of the sexual jokes that would come across. __________________ Our Deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?

03-21-2005, 10:12 PM	#10
samifan24 Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: NC	I was never allowed to watch MTV growing up, and that has evolved into never really watching MTV anyway. In fact, I never watched much TV besides from sports when I was younger, and I don't watch a whole lot of TV now. __________________ "You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton

03-21-2005, 10:19 PM	#12
Draft Dodger Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Keene, NH	until I was 7, we only got one TV channel (sometimes a 2nd one if the weather was good), so it wasn't like there was a lot of choice. I can remember watching some Brady Bunch and Grizzly Adams...and trying to wait up for some Pooh episodes, but other than that there usually wasn't anything on that I wanted to watch (Lawrence Welk, for example, was shown a lot). Never even really saw Sesame Street growing up. then we moved to LA and got a zillion channels, and it never really was an issue - I don't really remember not being able to watch what I wanted. I think it was usually more an issue of how late I wanted to stay up watching TV. take it fwiw, but nowadays I rarely watch TV, while my wife - who was heavily restricted in the things she could watch - is like a TV addict. __________________ Mile High Hockey Last edited by Draft Dodger : 03-21-2005 at 10:19 PM.

03-22-2005, 12:21 AM	#16
JeeberD General Manager Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Town of Flower Mound	I'm the baby of the family so I pretty much had free reign over the TV set... __________________ UTEP Miners!!! I solemnly swear to never cheer for TO

03-21-2005, 09:31 PM	#2
McSweeny College Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somerville, MA	i had pretty much the same experience with my parents and tv as you did. No real restrictions. Though i do remember being terrified of the silence whenever there was some sexual inuendo in a sitcom i was watching with my dad.

03-21-2005, 09:32 PM	#3
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	Sexual situations may be the most uncomfortable thing to watch on tv when your parents are in the room... doubly so when its on tv and your at your in-laws...

03-21-2005, 09:44 PM	#6
MikeVic Head Coach Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hometown of Canada	I had few channels (around 13) for a large part of my childhood, so I didn't get to watch MTV and some other channels here in Canada. I remmeber watching Three's Company, Dallas, Dynasty, Knotts Landing, Ninja Turtles, The Muppet Show, and some other shows like that. I don't think I had restrictions, just based on what I could find on TV. :P

03-21-2005, 09:50 PM	#7
sooner333 College Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Norman, OK	My dad and I watched South Park together when I was in the 7th grade...good times.

03-21-2005, 10:14 PM	#11
lcjjdnh College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: NJ	There were only two shows off limits as a child that I can remember, Married with Children and You Can't Do That on Television

03-21-2005, 10:51 PM	#13
21C College Prospect Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Newcastle, Australia	Is there some sort of gender divide when it comes to watching TV? I'm like a lot of you guys that my parents let me watch anything and everything. I'm also hearing that parents with girls are more selective with their viewing habits. I have two girls ( 14 and 11 ) and I'm happy enough to let them watch most shows but my wife was dead against letting them watch The Simpsons for years. Occasionally I would sneak a show in with them when my wife was at work since I never saw the harm in it. Is there something about parents being happy that boys are at least quiet and not tearing up the house while they're watching the tube? Do parents with girls want them doing something more intellectual like reading - something I admit to not doing much as a kid ( apart from Mad magazine )?

03-21-2005, 10:54 PM	#14
SackAttack Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Green Bay, WI	My parents never really restricted our TV viewing, although they certainly "encouraged' other activities. My mom used to drive us down to the local libraries, even though she almost certainly knew that if she did that, I was coming home with two dozen books to read over the next two weeks. I think she probably figured it was better for me to bury my nose in a stack of hardback books than to stare dumbly at the TV, or worse, go cause trouble in the neighborhood. The only entertainment activity we had that ever really bothered her was when we'd spend lazy summer afternoons playing Sega instead of getting the hell out of the house so she could have some peace and quiet. If she knew some of the things we did when she kicked us out in Santa Barbara, I think she'd probably have had a change of opinion.

03-21-2005, 10:57 PM	#15
Easy Mac Registered User Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Here	My dad hated me playing video games, he just never understood it. Thinking about it, I crammed a lot of stuff into an afternoon as a kid. I'd often watch 2-3 hours of TV, find 2-3 hours to play sports, read various sports books, and still do my homework each day... I barely have time to sleep now adays.

03-22-2005, 12:35 AM	#17
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	I didn't have any restrictions. In fact, I watched R-rated horror movies with them growing up, including gore-fested B movies. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on the floor of my living room with my brother in our PJs, my parents on the couch, and a horror movie being played. (Of course, the only thing was we were supposed to cover out eyes when the nudity came on. You can see a lot through barely open eyes through barely open fingers. ) I can't remember a time when I wasn't allowed to watch R-Rated movies, let alone whatever I wanted to on TV.

03-22-2005, 12:35 AM	#18
BigJohn&TheLions College Benchwarmer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: New York	Am I right to be concerned that my 12 year-old daughter is allowed by her mother to watch "Desperate Housewives?" I mean, it's not like I actually have any say in the matter... And if she turns out to be a whore, it will still be my fault somehow. __________________ In the immortal words of a great alcoholic, "Can't we all just get along?"

03-22-2005, 12:42 AM	#19
JonInMiddleGA Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA	About the only show I can recall specifically being off-limits was Soap which they just hated for some of the raunch factor (of its day). Remember though, we're talking about an age range that had a 9pm or 10pm bedtime too, so some of the stuff that might have been an issue really wasn't coming up for discussion, I was already in bed before it started. __________________ "I lit another cigarette. Unless I specifically inform you to the contrary, I am always lighting another cigarette." - from a novel by Martin Amis

03-22-2005, 01:21 AM	#20
ntndeacon Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Alabama	I wasn't allowed to watch the Dukes of Hazzard. Mom was more strict that Dad. I think it had to do with the flaunting of authority in the show. I can't think of many other limitations the folks put on me in that regard. Dad would watch the Friday Night Horror flick with us as kids.

03-22-2005, 08:46 AM	#23
Radii Head Coach Join Date: Jul 2001	In my younger years we had ABC/NBC/CBS/PBS, and it was not really an issue what I watched. Cartoons on Saturday morning were a ritual, as was Sesame Street I believe. I became a sports fan very early, and on rare special occasion was allowed to stay up and watch Monday Night Football or a late UNC game. We first got cable in 1984(I remember the year b/c that was when I was first introduced to the Chicago Cubs). I don't ever remember any restrictions on TV, but that is probably because I spent all of my daylight hours outside, and enjoyed the Atari 800 computer a lot more than I did the TV. The only show that was ever forbidden was the Simpsons when it first came out. Looking back on it now that seems incredibly silly that I was allowed to watch the sexual innuendo every week on Night Court but couldn't watch Bart say "Don't have a cow man" :shrug:

03-22-2005, 09:21 AM	#24
SFL Cat College Starter Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: South Florida	No restrictions that I recall. Of course, since my mom and dad both worked, it wasn't unusual for me to walk my little sister home from school, do my homework, and then spend the rest of the afternoon watching cartoons (ones I remember - Hanna Barbara & Looney Tunes, Speed Racer, Ultraman).

03-22-2005, 09:23 AM	#25
Coder College Prospect Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden	I've never had any kind of "limits" on what I could watch.. then again.. I turned out to be a drug-using alcoholic with violent tendencies and zero respect towards women.. mhm.. oops.. __________________ IFL - Vermont Mountaineers ~ I am an idiot, walking a tight rope of fortunate things ~

03-22-2005, 11:26 AM	#27
MacroGuru Coordinator Join Date: May 2003 Location: Utah	No limits here.... Saturday was Cartoon day until noon, then I was outside....this occured all the time. I in fact was a lot like sabotai, in what I watched with the parents. The in-laws wouldn't allow their kids (Wife, bro in laws and sis in laws) to watch MTV or a lot of cartoons. It was mainly Nick and that was it. __________________ "forgetting what is in the past, I strive for the future"

03-22-2005, 11:32 AM	#28
Ajaxab College Benchwarmer Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Far from home	We were restricted to one hour of cartoons on Saturdays and I was only allowed one football game per Sunday until junior high. I now see it as a good thing because it forced me to learn to love to read. I don't know what I'm going to do about sports on tv when I have kids though. How can I limit how much sports they will watch when I'll want to watch about as much as I can?

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