I agree. My children do not have any electronics in their rooms--tv, dvd, ps3, cell phs etc.  They can play mozart cd or other calming relaxation music if they are having trouble falling asleep (which isn't often)  but that is it.  No night lights either.  None of their friends' parents are as strict

Oh, summer solstice, if only times had not changed from the "Leave it to Beaver" era, where we could just let kids play around the neighborhood unattended, because believe me, I am sure most parents would love to just be able to put their kids out for the day to play and not worry about them.  Being a parent is so much harder in this day, having to worry about child molesters staking out the park, etc.  Now most parents are cooped up with their kids all the time (good for neither the parent nor the child) for safety reasons, not to mention it's against the law for a child (under the age of twelve, I believe) to be unchaperoned/unsupervised.  That's one reason why so many parents stick their kids in front of the television, but it's no excuse.  Invite other children over to play or let them entertain themselves, read them stories, play games with them, let them help you out around the house, with cooking, even if it takes longer.  If you don't want to be a parent, and you just want to shove them in front of the box or shove a cookie in their mouth because you don't want to fool with them, don't have children. 

As for 4H and healthy, quality television programming does exist, though most of what I watch is in DVD form (with the exception of the news--reality TV is vapid).  A good classic movie will be on Turner Classic Movies once in awhile.  What I have noticed about most anti-television watchers is that they come across (at least to me) as feeling superior to those that do watch television (however choosy they may be with their choice of programming). 

That said, a television definitely doesn't belong in the bedroom.  The bedroom is for sleeping, and reading before bed, and, well, other things if you're married.  The family room is really the only room that's appropriate for a set.  I will say that my mother's addiction to the TV has destroyed the quality of her life...

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My oldest child is almost 30, my youngest only 7 so I have seen many 'parenting trends' over the years.  My children have NEVER been allowed to watch tv before school (not even when they're ready early) and ALWAYS read books at bedtime.  Even when tiny I would read to them at bed time.  As youngsters, I would always agree to reading 'two pages' of a book.  If my time is limited, I can escape after just two pages ... but generally I say the story is so exciting we'll simply have to read a few more.  (Sometimes a chapter, sometimes the whole book.)  The excitement is always contagious.  At reading age, they can negotiate more pages at bedtime by reading to me first.  Read me six pages and I'll read six in return.

Interestingly, each of my children have found learning very easy and have been placed in 'academic extension' programs - in different schools in different parts of the country. (We've moved a lot in 30 years.)   And because I've also had foster children I've had a chance to see the huge difference in performance at school when their morning tv habit was broken.  The children themselves have commented on it.

As they get older I make sure there's always fresh batteries in bedside torches so they won't strain their eyes while reading under the covers.  (It's one of my fondest childhood memories and because kids get a great sense of achievement when they manage to 'sneak' a few extra pages I pretend I don't notice unless they're reading for too long.)

Here's another tip for limiting your children's tv viewing.  We have a tv outdoors on an undercover deck area - where there's no danger of moisture.  If the children want to watch tv during the day, I send them to the outdoor tv.  Not sure whether it's because it's harder to view the picture in the daylight or because there's so many other distractions outdoors but invariably they're engaged in a much healthier activity within about 10 to 15 minutes.  A strategically placed skipping rope works wonders!

Everybody blames the box and not what is being broadcasted to the box. I am a TOTAL minority on this, but being one of the few who understand technology well enough to set up a complete Internet ready video system allows me to control what is "broadcasted" in my home.

I don't have kids, but if i did i would use something like a modded Xbox with XBMC to store "kid approved" content and hook that up to the TV. That way, they can only watch what i put on the hard drive.

There would be no channel surfing because the FCC can't invade my home and poison the minds therein. :)

Sounds crazy, but that is exactly what i would do i if i had a home with kids.

Most of us would be better off without television anyway.Most shows for "entertainment" are garbage(absolutely NO morals), you can't trust the news media,reality shows are designed to bring out the worst traits of humankind,and then this selfish behavior is glorified and rewarded.Watch it if you want but remember,"garbage in..garbage out" works for the mind too!!

 A friend of mine did a small project for her college course on parental supervision of electronic equipment. The results were shocking. Kids of 8 years to 15 basically watched what they wanted whenever hey wanted. Computer supervision was also an eye-opener. Parents rarely asked children who they were talking to in their chatrooms.
As a parent  of kids in that age group she swore the rules would be different in her house and goes to the bother of asking other parents to supervise her children if they are having away sleepovers. She gets great fun out of looking at the wide-eyed stares that come right back at her.

No "one eyed" invaders in any bedrooms in our home, PERIOD!!!!!

The kids bedroom is for sleeping AND ours, (we get an extra perk) is for "de-stressing" and THEN sleeping!!!!!

The TV in our family room is enough to watch a movie or cartoons with the kids as a family....