For years, that has not been the question in my house. I've consistently denied my daughter a TV in her room for 12 years, and refused to even discuss it for the most part. Then she hooked me--"Dad, if I make honor roll for the whole year, can I get a TV?"
Kids are smart. They learn quickly how to push your buttons, and even when you deliberately move them around on a pretty regular basis, they still find them. And when your mother-in-law occasionally shares the room, and complains mightily that she can't watch her novelas, it's even worse. So there I was, up against the wall. They had me.
And now, not only does the kid have a TV, but hers is way better than mine, which is a relic of the stone age. Hers is an HDTV, which is pretty much the only kind you'll find nowadays, and my wife and I find ourselves sneaking in there to watch stuff. Wow, it's Bobby Flay, and he's melting that cheese on a wide screen! You can see every speck of that smoked paprika!
All my daughter's friends have their own TVs in their bedrooms. That never swayed me, as I found the notion fundamentally evil. Have I finally given into the pressures of society and weakened the moral fabric of my own daughter? Or am I just an old fuddy-duddy who's failed to get with the program?
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