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Commentary: On the inevitability of a second TV in the home

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Well, it happened. It was inevitable, friends tell me. It’s part of the parenting experience, or so the experts say.

We got a TV for our son’s bedroom. He can now play “Call of Duty,” yelling out bizarre yelps in the comforts of his own room.

Of course, the three-hour limit of game-playing on weekends (none during the school week) is still enforced.

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My wife and I held out for almost 14 years to make sure that our family had one television to allow for whole-family viewing opportunities and to avoid having the kids seclude themselves behind locked doors.

I know people who have a TV in every bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and even garage; I was determined not to be like them.

However, as our kids got older, especially the 14-year-old, it became clear that having one television was more of a negative than a positive.

For example, why was it that the few hours he played his PS3 on the weekends was the same time as a Lakers game I wanted to see?

Already my youngest son is jealous that his older brother has a TV in his room. However, at age 9, he will have to share the family TV for now.

At least we still have only one computer in our house. I’m sure the time will come, though, when we will face another decision: whether or not to buy our son his own computer. I intend to delay that as long as possible — or at least until he turns 15.

BRIAN CROSBY writes a regular column for Times Community News, North. He is the author of “Smart Kids, Bad Schools and The $100,000 Teacher.” He can be reached at brian-crosby.com.

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