Should I Get a TV for Our Bedroom?

Before we got married, my FIL gave us some great advice...there are only 2 things you do in the bedroom and watching TV isn't one of them. It's a personal choice, but we've been married 10 years and still don't have a TV in the bedroom. But, we don't really watch TV much anyways.

If you ever want to have sex again don't do it.

I'm kidding, but research says that you're not supposed to have a tv in your bedroom because it interferes with sleep and sex. And since I have a tv in my room and I am sleep- and sex-deprived, they may just be right.

;0)

No no no no no no no.

So much research has been done on tv's having a negative impact on family life. Even for those who think they have it under control, how many of them could have more improved quality of life without it?

I know so many people whose hubby gets home from work and goes in the bedroom and watches tv all night, or people whose love life goes into shambles b/c they get in ruts and just watch tv in bed, or fall asleep watching the tv (which creates poor sleeping habits and an energy bill up the wazoo), or they watch shows in separate rooms during times when they could be cuddling on the couch or hanging out with family compromising on a show to watch together. It's a depressing rut that separates family time and people have a hard time breaking it. I'm even considering getting rid of the computer for this very reason. Why chance any of those things happening?

Save the non-kid friendly movies for after kids bedtime, that's what we do.

we don't have one in our bedroom. there is so many negatives about it and very few positives. I do see your point about the movies though. My husband will sometimes watch movies that I think are inappropriate for our almost 3 yr old son. He has learned that our son now soaks up everything and has limited what we watch while our son is awake. But moving dad into a closed bedroom while you stay in the living room with your son does not sound like a very healthy family relationship. Can Dad not watch his movies after your son's gone to bed? Sometimes we pull a late night together just so we can watch those kind of violent/language rated R movies. Your son being in a separate room from Dad while Dad is home will scream to him "Dad would rather go watch his movie than play with me." which I don't think is healthy in the least.

That's what a DVR or Tivo is for! We record what we want to see and watch it when the boys are in bed, napping, playing, at preschool, wherever...or on the weekends when people are "out". If you're watching a show that your child can't see during the hours your child is up....yeah, you're letting them know you've made a choice and the choice is to close your door and ignore the family for awhile. We put the boys to bed, grab some M&Ms or nachos, and cuddle up to watch our shows when we can, and hooray for that convenience! It's also a chance to cuddle or trade massages, or play scrabble at the same time. Something to hang out together, after the kids are engaged or asleep. If you "must", especially if your children are old enough for video games, I suppose...I would suggest a TV in a den, office, guest room, something else.....but NOT your bedrooms! Our bedroom is for sleeping or loving...or sometimes talking with no interruption. It's our "sacred place" where there are no children, TVs, or a phone with a ringer on, no toys on the floor, etc. We love our room...but are rarely in it!
I've written about this before, but my family DID drift apart and finally dissolved b/c of TVs everywhere, and everyone was separate. It didn't happen immediately, but it snuck up on us all; by the time people started realizing it the habit was there and it was too late. It was in my "deal breaker" talk we had before getting married, lol, and he's fine with it.

I do have one but we rarely use it.

Now think about this...... in your case would your husband withdraw from the family and end up in the bedroom watching t.v. to the point it upsets you? If so......don't do it. After all, when the kiddos are awake it's good to try to be with them and not sneaking around behind closed doors.

However, if you think it would be nice on occasion and won't get abused.....we enjoy watching t.v. in bed on occasion.

My husband and I decided when we got married that we would never put a TV in our bedroom. We both feel our bedroom has only two purposes - sleeping and, you know, the other one. :) We're afraid that a TV will take away from our relationship.

We have one and hardly watch it, but it is nice. My hubby travels alot for work. When he is not home, I'll just watch tv in bed in the evenings after kids are in bed.

We had one in our bedroom years ago (lived in an apartment, just the two of us), but since we bought our house, we do not have one in there now. We have one in the living room only, and prefer it that way for many reasons: first, we spend more time in the living room together as a family and can finish our movie/shows before going to bed. Second, once we DO go to bed, we can zonk out, no problem, since we're not spending a long time in bed watching tv before sleeping. Third, and I stress this, SEX IS BETTER WITHOUT A TV. That way, if one or both of you can't sleep, you can just roll over and have playtime. :)

I have a tv in our bedroom and love it. Since me and my husband like to watch different things and if hes in the living room and i want to watch my show i go to my room and lay on my bed and watch it.

We not only have a TV in our bedrooms but each of us have a computer as well, and we love it.
We always sit and watch a TV show together, read something on the computer or watch a movie and talk about it, share opinions, laugh about it.
Maybe it works for us because we like many of the same things, or we just like to talk and play around and that happens with or without tv.
For some it doesn't work, for others it does and if it doesn't work for you, you can always take the tv out.
EDIT: We have being married for 10 years, and have a 3 year old baby (so yes, we sill have sex, no as much as before but that is because he baby no the tv) and to be honest, tv has never stop my husband for get in the mood.

I have plenty of sex and I get enough sleep AND I have a TV in my room. I love having one in our room- watching TV together in the evenings is our guaranteed time together every day, so it is actually good for my husband and me. I obviously can't speak for those that say their sex life is affected by TV, but for my hubby, it doesn't matter what is on- if the choice is sex or TV, sex ALWAYS wins!;)

I have a TV in my bedroom - I should say 'our' but my husband DOES NOT watch TV in bed or in a bedroom - just not comfortable with that. He did a WONDERFUL job installing mine on an arm - so I can watch my movies, soaps, or TVs on MY time - without interruption!!

i say GO FOR IT!!!

I would not start that habit. I don't like TV's in bedrooms. It takes away from intimate times and conversation. He is a man and if he loves his movies, he will become addicted to the idea and then there will be problems. If you both didn't mind TV then it might be ok, but once you are not 100% with it, I wouldn't encourage it.

I don't have a TV in my bedroom and I would never introduce one either. Like you, we have one television in the whole house. IF we watch shows that are otherwise inappropriate for young viewers (which is hardly ever, my husband likes those "cops/robbers" movies but not me) hubby will turn them on after the kiddos go to bed...or try to catch it online at a later time. The TV, for our family is our family time (sometimes) and, this is my opinion, but for me when members of the family go off to do something different (hubby watches TV in bedroom, you watch TV in the living room), where is the quality family time? Everyone is somewhere different. I know people that allow their children to have a TV in their own bedrooms so now everyone is separate, doing their own thing and nobody is spending that time together. Nope, I would never get another TV...one is plenty for my family. AND when we can't compromise on a show, then the TV goes off and we find something else to do.

We have a TV in our bedroom and basically watch two separate TVs more than half the time. Sometimes I fall asleep watching the one in the living room and don't make it to bed.
I probably could but don't want to live without one in the bedroom but if you are younger and don't want it to turn out like my story... My advice would be if you need another place to watch TV.... don't put it in the bedroom.

I love having a TV in our bedroom! There is nothing cozier on a cold winter night than snuggling up and watching TV in bed together.

It's handy in the morning, too, we can get our Local on the 8's while we are getting ready for work. And when I want to watch HGTV and he's all over ESPN, I have my own little get away place.

We have been married nearly 15 years and have had a TV in our room the entire time. Hasn't affected 'anything', wink wink. And we get plenty of sleep, too!

I wouldn't stress over it. Get a TV and worry about more pressing things : )

We used to have a TV in the bedroom for years, then when we moved to a new place we set up an aquarium instead. Not having a TV in the bedroom really saves your mattress from getting flattened from all the extra laying about. I find I get more sleep as well. When we used to have the TV in the bedroom, at least a few nights a week I wouldn't get to sleep until around two am watching TV with headphones on and they required us to purchase earplugs and eye-masks, should one person want to watch while the other slept.

Six years with a TV in the bedroom and I find I don't miss it now that it's gone. The only time I was sad we didn't have one in there was after I had surgery and stayed in bed for a few days. I caught up on a lot of reading though, so I was still entertained.

I love to watch shows like Dexter or House, that would be inappropriate for my four year old to see. I just save them to watch until after her bedtime.

We had a similar situation a few years back when the kids were younger. Not even movies the kids shouldn't see but having the TV in general on in the main living area. I surprised my husband with a TV for the bedroom. You'd of thought I bought him a nice car! I think he was just so appreciative that I was willing to get something I knew he would like that I could care less about. Right up front, I asked for the stipulation that if I wanted to go to sleep, that I could ask for the TV off. It really has been nice to have a tv in our bedroom for the kids, too when they want to watch something on our bed ( a big treat!)

I guess it depends on what you do when you don't watch tv on the weekends. If you do family things together or he is playing with your child, do you really want to give those times up for him to sit in the bedroom alone and watch tv? If you aren't doing family things and he isn't interacting with the family then perhaps you should invest in something you all can do together instead. They say it is not good to have TVs in the bedroom so if you have gotten by without it this long, then perhaps you won't want to change that. If you really want one to watch, not just to put in the cabnet, then you should go ahead and get one to see if you like it.. but if it is just because you have a great cabnet for it, then it probably isn't worth it.

We have one in each bedroom. Hubby won't watch tv in our bedroom because he doesn't want to lay down to watch tv. The viewing angle is wrong, but the kids and I don't mind. So if we really don't want to watch what is on in the living room we have other options.

We each have a TV in our bedrooms. Each child has one plus a DVD player. I am not going to have kiddo TV on all the time in the living room. Plus, the kids are different ages and some shows she can watch but he doesn't need to. For example, the new Karate Kid movie. It was a good movie but not for our 4 year old. Our 7 year old enjoyed it though.

I love crime shows like The Closer, Bones, Criminal Minds, CSI's, Grey's Anatomy, etc...which are violent shows or material I don't feel is proper for children. I really really am just not going to explain why two women are naked in the shower making out on TV...not that I am anti gay or anything like that. If it were two men or a man and woman I would still not allow it.

So, I agree a private TV does have it's uses. My friend has one in the office. Her husband works a rotating shift and is often in bed asleep odd hours. We turn the TV off when one person is ready for bed, by that time the kiddos are asleep and I can watch TV in the living room.

As long as you can both be respectful and turn off the TV when it interferes with rest of the other person then it can work.

nope. if you ever want to have sex again. :P:P

your husband should just not watch those kinds of shows anyway. they are definatly more than just entertainment.

We have a tv in our room, but it's because I cant sleep without it. In my opinion, if it's just so he can watch things the kiddo cant, he can wait until he goes to bed. I dont go in my room to watch True Blood or Dexter, I wait until my daughter goes to bed. But she is 4 and still goes to bed about 7:30, so if your kid is older and goes to bed later, maybe he wouldnt have enough time to watch.

We do have a tv in our bdrm. We don't watch it often but it has come in handy on several occasions. When I am sick and in bed, I like having a tv so I am not just stuck in the bdrm reading or sleeping. When one child wants to watch something on one tv and the other wants to watch something else, they can go in our room. When my husband is watching a late night football game and wants to know the score but we are ready to get in bed, he can mute it and watch the score while we read or I go to sleep. And lastly, and the most important....we like to watch "movies" for our own personal eyes and the bedroom is the best place for those! :O)
I think that would be a nice surprise for him and I do think it will be watched more than just his movies. As your child gets older they will want to see tv more and your son can maybe lay on your bed and watch. Saturday morning cartoons are sometimes fun in mommy and daddy's bed too. You can pick tvs up pretty cheap now too.
It can be a Father's Day gift!

Yep, DVR all the way if you can afford it!!! TV is addicting!!!

We have a nice TV in our bedroom! We have 3 kids and by the end of the week we all want to do something special. So every Friday night we have movie night. We get to eat supper in the bedroom and bring fun snacks in. We watch a movie and have tons of fun and sometimes we even let the kids bring there sleeping bags and sleep on the floor. They think it so cool to stay up later and fall asleep to the movie. We do not have cable either. I do not want my oldest watching TV when he has school work to do. Good luck!

We have a TV in our bedroom. We do not have cable, so although we get our networks and PBS in the living room, the bedroom TV is not hooked up for television. It is, however, hooked up for about six gaming systems, a DVD, and a VCR. If my older daughter wants to watch a movie while she eats her lunch, I'll sometimes let her, because we always have breakfast and dinner together. If she's sick, instead of laying in her bed all day, I'll let her lay in ours and watch movies.

Also, I have never been able to sleep as an adult without having a TV on. I go to bed watching cartoons or movies or DVD episodes of shows, and my husband comes in after I fall asleep and turns it off.

I love my TV in my own bedroom, but hypocritically, I would never let my children have a TV in their room. Oh well, earned reward as an adult, I'd say!