At what age ...

crabcake

crabcake

But wait, there's more...
Do (did) you start having/making your children watch the news, if at all? I read that article about that sick bastage who grilled his girlfriend in Texas, and it got me thinking, how else will our kids know about the level of sick freaks there are in the world (cuz let's face it, they don't believe us, just like we didn't believe our parents, and so on) ... so I'm wondering at what age would you find it appropriate to basically force kids to start watching the news and to discuss the things seen/heard in hopes it'll awaken them to the reality we live in today?

Of course, there's that part of me that says "Let them be little and enjoy the innocence" ... but I'd rather DQ be aware and live smarter/safer as she gets older than naive and charbroiled. :ohwell:
 
B

bresamil

wandering aimlessly
Each of mine started getting interested in the news at age 8. That was also about the time their teachers started asking them to do a current event every week. The boys will watch the news avidly and discuss everything. My daughter (almost 10) will watch certain parts of the news, but is easily distracted.
 
Softballkid

Softballkid

No Longer the Kid
Not even 2 weeks old, and she watches some of the news with me...

Well, she stares in that direction atleast, not sure if she is watching it though :lmao:
 
MMDad

MMDad

Lem Putt
crabcake said:
Do (did) you start having/making your children watch the news, if at all? I read that article about that sick bastage who grilled his girlfriend in Texas, and it got me thinking, how else will our kids know about the level of sick freaks there are in the world (cuz let's face it, they don't believe us, just like we didn't believe our parents, and so on) ... so I'm wondering at what age would you find it appropriate to basically force kids to start watching the news and to discuss the things seen/heard in hopes it'll awaken them to the reality we live in today?

Of course, there's that part of me that says "Let them be little and enjoy the innocence" ... but I'd rather DQ be aware and live smarter/safer as she gets older than naive and charbroiled. :ohwell:
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If you "force" them to watch the news, you will get one of two things: a kid who hates watching the news because they were forced, or even worse a kid who is so much into the news that their main obsession is whether Keith Olberman wears boxers or briefs but hopes he goes commando.

The problem with watching the news is that there is so little actual news being reported. The most you could expect them to get from watching the local news is that people do nasty things to each other, everyone loves the Skins even though they suck, and the weather guessers never actually predict anything they just report what happened yesterday.

My oldest is about the same age as your kid, and I think it is too young to expose them to the full nastiness of the real world. I don't hide the truth, but the only thing some of these stories will do is scare her. As she continues to mature, I will help her to be more aware of what happens in the world, but getting spoonfed the drivel on TV news isn't likely to help in her education.
 
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BS Gal

BS Gal

Voted Nicest in 08
I remember seeing the news when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. We lived in San Mateo and it was during the time of the Zodiak killings in San Francisco. It scared me to death. Same with the Manson thing, I believe a few years later.
 
MMDad

MMDad

Lem Putt
BS Gal said:
I remember seeing the news when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. We lived in San Mateo and it was during the time of the Lizzy Borden killings in San Francisco. It scared me to death. Same with the Bonnie and Clyde thing, I believe a few years later.
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Wow, that post shows your age.
 
Softballkid

Softballkid

No Longer the Kid
I remember back in middle school (I went to Esperanza), we had to watch this news show called "Channel 1", and then we had to write stuff down after each episode about what they talked about and got graded on it, or a test at the end of the week or something..

I'm not sure if they still do this now adays though....
 
sockgirl77

sockgirl77

Well-Known Member
I can remember being in the 4th grade and having to do current event reports on the news. However, the news wasn't as scary as it is now. I wouldn't think that an 8 or 9 year old would be ready to watch the crap on the news now. Too many killings and violence. :shrug:
 
M

Makavide

Not too talkative
I was talking with about 17 ninth graders this weekend, all attend either Great Mills, Leonardtown or Ryken - not one of them was aware of the Bong Hits 4 Jesus case in front of the Supreme Court. Was a little suprised at that. My opinion is that at least by High School kids should be either watching some news, or reading the newspaper (and not just the comics).
 
sockgirl77

sockgirl77

Well-Known Member
At the age of 29, I rarely watch the news. I go online or use the interactive feature on satellite to check the weather. I get sick of all of the violence. As far as the war goes, I do not want to hear anymore about it. Just tell me when our troops come home. I'm not trying to shelter myself, just prefer to stay in a good mood. :shrug:
 
Cowgirl

Cowgirl

Well-Known Member
sockgirl77 said:
I wouldn't think that an 8 or 9 year old would be ready to watch the crap on the news now. Too many killings and violence. :shrug:
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:yeahthat: Maybe instead of forcing her to watch it, you could just have talks with her about how important it is to be careful and maybe explain (in 8 yr old terms) what happens to some people.

I can't really remember watching the news when I was young...but my parents didn't watch much of the news anyways....or maybe they watched the 10 or 11 o'clock news. Mom always said it was too depressing because of the stories they choose to cover. I, too, hate how they make everything so dramatic..."Could your pillow cases be harmful to YOUR health? :eyebrow:" :lol:
 
P

Pandora

New Member
I'm a news junkie. I could watch the news all day and turn it off when I've just had enough.

I was never forced to watch the news, but in our house, we only got 5 channels so when the news was on, I watched it as a kid. :shrug:

My oldest son watches the news which makes South Park even funnier. :whistle:
 
nachomama

nachomama

All Up In Your Grill
MMDad said:
If you "force" them to watch the news, you will get one of two things: a kid who hates watching the news because they were forced, or even worse a kid who is so much into the news that their main obsession is whether Keith Olberman wears boxers or briefs but hopes he goes commando.

The problem with watching the news is that there is so little actual news being reported. The most you could expect them to get from watching the local news is that people do nasty things to each other, everyone loves the Skins even though they suck, and the weather guessers never actually predict anything they just report what happened yesterday.

My oldest is about the same age as your kid, and I think it is too young to expose them to the full nastiness of the real world. I don't hide the truth, but the only thing some of these stories will do is scare her. As she continues to mature, I will help her to be more aware of what happens in the world, but getting spoonfed the drivel on TV news isn't likely to help in her education.
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:shocking: You mean...like ANDY?!?! :yikes:

I don't make my kids watch the news, they basically have picked up my habit, and have it on in the morning while they are getting ready for school (my son has on ESPNews:lol:) My kids have/did current events in middle school, due once a week, where they had to find a current event, bring the article or web page in, and then describe in their own words what the issue was, and what type of event it is (environmental, economic, political, etc.).
 
BlackSheep

BlackSheep

New Member
crabcake said:
Do (did) you start having/making your children watch the news, if at all? I read that article about that sick bastage who grilled his girlfriend in Texas, and it got me thinking, how else will our kids know about the level of sick freaks there are in the world (cuz let's face it, they don't believe us, just like we didn't believe our parents, and so on) ... so I'm wondering at what age would you find it appropriate to basically force kids to start watching the news and to discuss the things seen/heard in hopes it'll awaken them to the reality we live in today?

Of course, there's that part of me that says "Let them be little and enjoy the innocence" ... but I'd rather DQ be aware and live smarter/safer as she gets older than naive and charbroiled. :ohwell:
Click to expand...
Hey crabcake-here's a great website! :yay:
http://www.talkingwithkids.org/television/twk-news.html
 
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