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Do you think Tv screens in cars and minivans are good for our children?

post #1 of 24
5/25/04 at 1:11am
Thread Starter 
Do you think Tv screens in cars and minivans are good for our children? Do you think they should be finding other activities to do in the car?
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post #2 of 24
5/25/04 at 8:59am
I think they are a godsend!

Anyone who has had to drive for long distances knows there is only so much you can do in the car with children.
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post #3 of 24
5/25/04 at 9:04am
I think they are great for parents! Wish I had one
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post #4 of 24
5/25/04 at 9:09am
i think there great idea for lonnnnnnnnnng journeys like Megean said only so much you can do with kids in the car
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post #5 of 24
5/25/04 at 9:36am
I wish I had one too. We drive 4-5 hour trips every few months and it gets so old having to do it in the middle of the night.
If we had one though I don't think it would be turned on for every car ride... I can't say for sure though.
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post #6 of 24
5/25/04 at 9:38am
I would love to have one. Almost everytime Elizabeth gets in her car seat....she screams.
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post #7 of 24
5/25/04 at 9:50am
I think the are awesome. We are thinking about putting one in the van!
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post #8 of 24
5/25/04 at 10:00am
THey are awesome. MIL has one and it is 45 minutes from her to me so round trip they can watch a short movie.

I so want one in my car.

There is only so much punch buggie, alphabet game, car bingo and the license plate thing a person can handle.
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post #9 of 24
5/25/04 at 10:12am
Best idea EVER.
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post #10 of 24
5/25/04 at 10:51am
In our next car we will get one. We do more short trips than anything else but I think it would be good on long trips.
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post #11 of 24
5/25/04 at 12:15pm
We have them in the head rests of our Tahoe, and Desi loves them. She's not a big TV watcher at home so in the car she will actually sit and watch the whole thing, not a choice. But I will admit if we go for a five minute or even 20 min drive she will want them on. I don't like that, just for long distances. Bad part for the driver and up front passanger is you can only hear the movie! Right now we don't have the head phones for her so that means no music for us.
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post #12 of 24
5/25/04 at 12:20pm
Don't have them but I can see where they would be a great thing to have on a long trip.
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post #13 of 24
5/25/04 at 2:32pm
Thread Starter 
I wish they would of had these a long time ago. I still like to get one for long trips or even the game console for Ali. I have to say she does a lot of reading in the car when we travel.
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post #14 of 24
5/25/04 at 3:07pm
I wish we had one. I don't like it when they are where the driver can see them though. I have seen many times, the driver watching tv while he's driving down the road. Very scary.
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post #15 of 24
5/25/04 at 3:16pm
I think it would be good for long trips, but I wouldn't want to use it all the time.
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post #16 of 24
5/26/04 at 11:58am
I think it would be fantastic for long rides.
I think it would be a pain in the butt for short distances. I know at home, if the TV is on, Kyler says "Wait until over" before we can leave. If I try to remove him earlier - it's a nightmare. Kicking, screaming, whole nine yards.
So... I can see if we were in the car, him having a fit coming OUT of the vehicle.
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post #17 of 24
5/26/04 at 1:29pm
LOVE THEM! We have one that we put in only when we are going on a long trip.
Now, we are buying the little cartridges for the gameboys that have cartoons so they can each watch what they want.
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post #18 of 24
5/26/04 at 1:40pm
i think for sure for long trips they are a godsend! we don't have one, but we do have a dvd player on dh's laptop and it sure saved us a screaming fit on our way to Calgary on the weekend....

definately only for long car rides though... nothing wrong with reading in the car.. if you can stomach it....
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post #19 of 24
5/26/04 at 1:40pm
We don't have them but if I had a van we would definatly think about it. It woul make going on the 10 hour car trip to see Den's mom SO much easier!!
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post #20 of 24
5/26/04 at 2:59pm
We have a tv/vcr in our van that is 13 in. and is inside of a console between the driver and passenger seats. I DO NOT like the ones that you flip down from the ceiling! Every van I test drove had an obstructed view from the rearview mirror due the screen.

The tv in the van has done soooo much for our family and my nerves!!! It is great on long trips, of course. Also, we live 30 miles from the next big city where we do all our errands and our families live, so the tv has been a big help there, too.

We keep a stack of movies in the van, and an added bonus, is that we take ds's playstation 2 with us on our vacations (we always drive) and the kids can play ps2, as well.

If you are responsible with it (not watching tv while driving or messing with the tv/vcr controls while driving), they are very handy to have if you have kids that tend to get bored easily.
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post #21 of 24
5/26/04 at 4:06pm
I think for parents, it is wonderful. We were going to get one put in the van for our drives to Florida, but we usually go at night so they are sleeping. If we do get one, it will be the portable one because I will not battle over every 5 minute trip and them wanting the TV on. That would be a bit much. So I think they are GREAT for long trips, and you can always have them turn it off here and there and do something else. I think it is not necessary if you are only driving around town.
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post #22 of 24
5/26/04 at 4:51pm
Our kids know that I will not turn it on (or they can't) if we are only going to be driving a short time. They don't give us attitude, get upset, or angry. They just know the rule. Plus, as far as having 3 kids and only 1 tv in the van - I have them take turns choosing what to watch. As far as our oldest dd, she knows that what she picks out has to be age appropriate for the 2 younger ones.
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post #23 of 24
6/2/04 at 10:15am

tvs or not

Well...theres a plus and minus on this subject...
yes it's good for long rides and to help with the wait and helps out with everybody wanting to ring everyones necks...but it also takes away any time the family could talk, play games, or even let your imagination have any fun...
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post #24 of 24
6/2/04 at 12:25pm
sounds like everyone feels pretty much the same as i do. great for long rides, but no need for everyday. our families live 6 hours from us and since Easter we have made 4 trips back home! with 2 toddlers. yikes. at first, we used DH's laptop but it was hard to see the screen sometimes with the sun coming in the windows. so for our memorial day trip, we broke down and bought a TV/DVD combo. It is larger and bulkier than most, b/c it is a TV too. But it has a 9 inch screen. And it only goes in the car for trips. The kids loved it, even the 18 month old that never watches TV. And now, I can have a TV in my kitchen! Everyone wins with this one. Oh, and it was a great deal. 160 bucks at walmart! can't beat that, eh?
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