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<<Our son is now 9 months old, and he has yet to see a TV screen "on",
except
for one time when we did an experiment. We turned the TV on ONCE when he
was about 7 months, and even though both of us were in the room and there
were plenty of other things to do and look at -- which he was always
otherwise perfectly happy with -- once he spotted that TV picture, it was
like there was nothing else in the room. No matter what else happened
for
the next five minutes, he would not take his eyes off that screen.
Needless to say, that was all we needed to know; it was enough for us.
The
TV has stayed OFF ever since. Shortly, I am building a wall-mount
cabinet
that will cover the TV with locked doors.>>

I doubt you would come to any other conclusion based on your feelings
about TV. It makes perfect sense that your son would be entranced by
anything so new to him, we got the same reaction from my son at the same
age when we put a string of Christmas lights. Obviously, parents must
make the best choice they can for their children but I got an oppressive
feeling from reading what you had to say here. I get an image of this
"cabinet" with "locked doors" as constant reminder to your child that you
hold all the keys/control.

<<I have since noticed this in other children when at friends' houses --
the
kids barely even acknowledge that you're there, they can't take their
eyes
off the screen, and basically seem hypnotized.>>

Would you come to the same conclusion if they were engrossed in a book or
experiment and barely acknowledged you? There is a lot of propaganda out
there about TV with little to no evidence to back it up. It wouldn't
matter how much they were learning, many see kids watching TV and knee
jerk reaction is "Look at that, they're hypnotized!" I see the same look
when kids are watching someone read a story, if I had been conditioned to
think books are bad I would probably come to a negative conclusion.

<<Now this brings up a question. I know in many states that
homeschoolers
are required to adminster state-mandated tests tot heir own children.
How
do Unschoolers handle these requirements?>>

Many go underground and simply don't register. I haven't heard from even
one who has had any trouble. Some older kids can deal with regurgitating
enough stuff to pass tests but it isn't what I would want for mine.

Kris

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