I wonder what has happened that she has just started doing this? She may be talking with friends at school about something that comes on early, or( please don't take this the wrong way) , my ds and dd when they were young always wanted to brag a bit about something that they did, that maybe other kids didn't.. She just may be trying to fit in, then it may be something toatally off of that. I would ask her why she has startred doing this . Before I would try taking it away I would also say that if she wants to continue watching cartoons that early, maybe you need to tell her she needs to go to bed earlier. Maybe that will get her to stop. If that doesn't work, then I would then take the TV out of her room. What if she gets up and starts watching the family TV? What then??

I think your concerns are valid and you should follow your gut instinct on this....get rid of the TV!  It does not serve any purpose being in her room - it is only causing issues for you and her. 

My mom said the it was a huge mistake putting TVs in our rooms. It broke up the family unit that used to all sit in front of the TV togather, and also made it more difficult for her to keep us from watching programs she didn't think were appropriate. Once she decided to take out the TVs it was a hard fought battle that she didn't have the stamina to fight and we got our own way.

My step-daughter has a TV in her room that she watches for bed time. Her dad used to lay in bed with her until she fell asleep and I guess the TV was the lesser of the two evils. For the most part the TV isn't a problem but every time I hear her up too late, or she throws a fit because a movie stopped (because she is exhuasted) I feel like taking it out of the room. This is a battle that will eventually be fought.

In regards to her waking up earlier on a weekend I think kids are programmed that way. My wife struggles to get up our daugther most every week day at 7am, but she seems to get out of bed running at 100% steam every weekend. They know they don't have to go to school and want the fun and games to begin.

If you are ok with the TV being in their room then at that age I think you should try to reason with her first, and then if she still doesn't listen take the TV away for a week. If it is a small TV you might just want to put it in there durring approved TV time and take it back out afterwards.

Papa and mimi bought my girls a tv and dvd/vcr for their room, they are always unplugged with safety tabs in the outlet-my kids are only 4 and 5 though.  Also there is no cable in their room, so the only thing they can watch are movies, that are kept in another room-

I think I will try the negotiating idea, she won't like the thought of going to bed earlier at all.  That may make her think that if she doesn't be smart about it and use it consevatively, she'll have to pay the price.  Then if she continues, I will try the short term removal; you know.... Progressive Discipline.

I've had it both ways for my kids. They have had a tv in their room in the past, but I would only it to be on during the weekend. No sun-thurs. I know the whole tv warden thing all to well. It's frustrating and annoying. My experience has been that this turning on she does most likely will continue because they know you are not there in the middle of the night and can get it away with it. My 11 yo does it now and I tell him to turn it off and leave it off and whenever I wake up, whether it's the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, that stupid tv is on. I say at 7 there is no reason for a tv to be in their room. I know sometimes it helps with getting kids to bed, but in the long run I don't think they are getting enough rest. 7 yo's should be getting 10 hours of sleep. I think tv interferes with that. Yes, initially removing it will be difficult, probably on both, but instead lay with them and read and then lights out. That is exactly what I did about 4 yrs ago and I have no regrets. One less thing to worry about actually. 

Now I'm trying to figure out how to deal with my 11 yo who knows better!! His tv is coming out too!!  

A-Always
U-Unique
T-Totally
I-Interesting
S-Sometimes
M-Mysterious

corinab.ca@gmail.com

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take the tv out of their room PERMANENTLY! 

It serves NO useful purpose! It is a distraction to getting up, it is a MAJOR distraction (as already proven) to going to bed on time and getting enough sleep. It is a distraction to getting homework done!

You've already stated that your DD is one of the smartest children in her class and you don't want her to squander her time/intellect. TV offers NOTHING USEFUL for her education. I'm not saying you should  cut off ALL of her tv, but YOU should be in charge of it...in the family room where YOU can control how much she is watching, what she is watching, etc. Encourage her intellect (tv surely won't do that.)

Encourage her to draw, read good books, play a musical instrument, sing, play outside, ANYTHING but that stupid, mind-controlling, waste of time...TV. It's only going to get worse if she gets tv-addicted. The shows become more plentiful, are on around the clock, and show inappropriate behaviors as the kids move into the "tween" years.

My 10 yo DD USED to ask about 2x a year for a tv in her room, but was repeatedly told, "You will NEVER have a tv in your room while you live under our roof. If you want one in your dorm room when you go away to college, that is YOUR business." She doesn't even ASK anymore. She already knows the answer. She will also NEVER own a video game (unless she wants to pony-up her own money when she's in college.) She currently thinks they're a "stupid waste of time."

She spends her free time reading (a TON of books), singing along with her CDs, and is currently learning to sew and play guitar (both HER ideas). She still LOVES her tv shows, but is limited to THREE 30-minute shows per day MAXIMUM. (Bad behavior causes them to disappear!) If she doesn't get up for school on time (downstairs and ready for breakfast at 7:40am), then she has to go to bed at 7:40pm that evening.

It's all in what YOU teach them. If you teach her to stand up against peer pressure NOW over stupid things like tv shows that MUST be seen, designer clothes that MUST be worn, etc. you will be preparing her so much better to resist peer pressure in Jr. High & Sr. High over important issues like smoking, drinking, drugs, sex, etc.

By the way, you should have NO PROBLEM telling indulgent grandparents and aunts/uncles that certain gifts are OFF LIMITS. Whatever YOU decide. (Ours was no video games, no Bratz dolls or Barbie dolls). If you tell them BEFORE birthdays/holidays then they insist on giving them anyway, you can politely but firmly tell them, "I'm sorry, but you know we don't allow our children to have these." They can take them back or you can return them for something appropriate. You don't have to keep them just because someone else wants to usurp your authority.

Good luck!

I agree with most of your post but there are several educational programs on that kids do benefit from watching.

Two nights ago we decided to take the TV out of our 4 year old daugther's room. She actually lost the privilage due to not listening and then the Mrs. and I got to thinking about it and decided to make it permanent. We set up her TV in the Den and explained to her that she still has TV time but it will no longer be in her room. She seemed to understand but still asks if she can have her TV privilages back. We just enforced the fact that she has her privilages but the TV is staying out of her room so she can sleep better.

The past two nights she has gone to sleep at least an hour earlier than she normally does and she didn't wake up once in the middle of the night.

Now that the TV is not in her room she hasn't watched it once. She would rather be doing arts and crafts or just running around playing.

Gets adapt to change pretty darn easy and every time we think that we are going to have a battle on our hands it turns out to be a small skirmish if that.