My TV is dying. I need advice

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

In 1986 my parents decided I needed a TV. I had moved away and didn't have one or want one, but for X-mas one year they decided I absolutely MUST have a TV and one day it showed up via UPS.

FAST FORWARD 20 YEARS: The TV (Zenith 19 inch) is on its last legs and I'm debating whether to get a new one upon its inevitable demise - or go cold turkey and go without.

It doesn't matter to me as I don't watch much (PBS and occasional VHS/DVDs - cable thankfully not available out our way). My 6 y.o. daughter, however, loves nature shows, Globe Trekker, Reading Rainbow, etc... She gets very limited viewing time - and we don't let her watch "cartoons" like Lil'Slutz/Bratz/whatever or their ilk. She's already decided we need a new "bigger" one like her friend down the road...

SO: I'm curious to see how the current DU Zeitgeist is running. Is it better to go without - knowing we can't insulate her forever and she'll probably watch stuff elsewhere, or bite the bullet and get one and use it to infuse our values into her.

[LynneSin]

1. I think you have a good control on her viewing habits

so why deprive her of something where she could get some educational value (and yes sometimes it's nice to plop the kid in front of the TV so you can have 30 minutes of silence).

There is nothing wrong with getting a nice normal TV (none of this big screem plazma crazed stuff). When I bought my last TV it came with a built in DVD and VCR so I didn't have to worry about hooking up that extra equipment and I only paid about $350 for the set. But without those devices you can get much cheaper!

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

3. Thanks. I already

have "those other devices" - which were a real bitch to hook up to the prehistoric TV...

[azmouse]

2. I'd say get a new one.

But monitor the use carefully as you have been and be sure to put books into your daughter's hands. The gift of a love of reading will last a lifetime.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

5. Her mother was a librarian so

- nuff said on the books. We got her her first library card on Saturday. You'd have thought we got her a drivers license she was so excited :7

[Chemical Bill]

4. I'm happy to not have one.

I read, go for walks, bike ride in the warm weather, basically I don't arrange my life around a TV. And nothing beats missing the corporate news.

Bill

[TheBaldyMan]

6. go without, after a short break you will sit down to watch TV at ....

a friend's place and think, "Did I really watch that brainless pap?"

[Dora]

11. amen to that

but brainless pap tastes so gooooood.

[Bridget Burke]

7. You can get a pretty good TV for a couple hundred dollars.

PBS is still worthwhile. And occasionally there's REAL news. I sure enjoyed watching other Houstonians fleeing in terror from Hurricane Rita! (Many of them did NOT live in dangerous areas.)

Netflix is good for DVD's. They've got a great assortment at a good price. Expose your kid to some fine old movies!

[tjwmason]

8. In your case I would get one.

I do have one, but it rarely goes on - I happily lived for a few years without one as well.

But your daughter obviously enjoys programmes which can be valuable. I find nature shows boring as anything, but they are of incredibly value (if one likes them) for showing the world around us.

It's not like she's watching trash, so I'd let her.

[mikeytherat]

9. A TV is a tool. It can be used for good things, or bad things -

the choice is up to you. There are many good documentary and educational programs on TV. Unfortunately, they are overshadowed by the mindless piffle being shown as "entertainment" these days; however, that doesn't mean all television is bad. For example: I use my radio most often for weather reports. Just because the radio is capable of tuning in Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage, doesn't mean I'd get rid of it.

Analog tube TVs are dirt cheap right now (the rollover for digital TV is 2009, and you should be able to get a very inexpensive digital tuner for your TV by then). I'd keep a TV around, even if you don't use it much.

mikey_the_rat

[Dora]

10. Go without.

Your daughter can watch dvds on your computer. If she loves nature shows, then she'll love nature just as much.

If she's already "comparison shopping" then that just demonstrates tv's insidious marketing effects are already working their toll on her... despite limits and educational programming.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Buy one, but plain and not too big.

Your daughter needs the tools to identify intelligent TV programming versus crap and the best way to learn that is at home.
A smaller TV emphasizes its lack of importance as an entertainment source. As an extra bonus a new TV may use less electricity than that sturdy old Zenith.

[petronius]

13. If it's going to break anyway, then wait for the SOFU speech

and then smash in the screen with a baseball bat! It seems like it'd be fun to put something through a TV while something annoying was on...