Customer Reviews

The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a wonderful find. We were in a rut with my 3 year-old watching too much TV and I read this book to him. It was nice to read about Mama Bear thinking the kids are watching too much TV which is what I have taken to chanting lately. It is funny to realize it is a bit dated as they reference having had a black and white TV and now their current color TV has an antenna. No VCR, DVD, TV video games, cable, or satellites are mentioned here! For that matter, computers are never mentioned either (no "too much computer time"). But the main theme is true: as with these Bears, our kids should be outside more, talking to their parents more, not eating in front of the TV like a zombie, and could be reading books and newspapers more, and watching the stars at night. The Bears go without TV for one week and lo and behold are happy and enjoy each other all week long. I had to laugh when Papa Bear thought he could continue watching his sports even when the Bear Kids were banned from the TV. This is all-too-much like the scene in our home! At the end, when the Kids can watch TV, they prefer crafts and toys, and even Papa Bear tires of the TV and goes fishing instead. A note: the Bear Kids go to school and homework is seen in a negative light. Time off from school is portrayed as entertainment time rather than learning time. This is a different mindset than the homeschooling family (like us) usually has.

This book is a delightful little story told and illustrated in the quality typical of the Berenstains. It has a clear message without being preachy, and presents the need to balance different activities in our lives. I purchased to give me a starting point to talk to my six-year-old-son about watching too much television, and I will say it fulfilled this purpose admirably. I don't think it's quite as entertaining to children as some of the Berenstains' other works, however. Still, an enjoyable story.

When my children were small they loved the Berenstain books. It still is a great pleasure to see these books. One of their finest features is the appealing way the Bears are drawn. They are so bright and colorful.
The TV book is a good one, and it has an excellent lesson for the world's children. Too much sitting and watching T.V. dulls the mind and the heart. Children need more time to be outside playing, or with their parents, or reading books, or doing many other things.
This book may seem a bit dated as today the couch- potato distractions are more diverse( and perhaps Interactive) than T.V.
In any case this little book is a fine and amusing read for children and for parents alike.

I loved the illustrations in the book and how mama bear was trying to show her family there is more to life than television. BUT when I read this book I couldn't really relate cause I was addicted to tv and it was hard not to be when it was always on. You can tell the book came out in the 80's too since there is no internet and brother bear is playing with a rubik's cube.

The world lost a real gem of a writer when Stan Berenstain passed on November 29. Together, Berenstain and his wife, Jan, and eventually their two sons, created books featuring lovable but flawed characters who tackle just about every real issue that faces families.

Too Much TV is one of those issues that is becoming more and more prevalent. What's wonderful about this book is that it shows that not only the kids have trouble with TV, but Papa does also. That's a great message: kids are not the only ones who have flaws, adults have them, too! Everyone can get stuck into bad habits sometimes, and in this modern age of more and more technology, it's only getting worse. But crafts and other hobbies that don't involve a tube are just as much fun, and it's a lifelong pursuit to remind ourselves of this. This book is a wonderful place to start.

This book is good especially for this jnew generation of kids. It starts when all the family besides mama bear start wastching TV way too much. It tells the importance of limiting how much you watch TV. I think it is a good book for children ages 2-9 yrs. old.

We watch TV- videos only- and it certainly can be a nice adjunct to other activities in life. OTOH, it needs to be just that- an adjunct to life. If my children start to watch TV out of habit I get the idea that there are lots of other things that can be done- watch the stars, learn to knit- all those things the Bears do during their TV free week.

My 5 yo loves these books, and they provide a nice starting point for discussing such things as "too much tv" or other minor things that come up in our lives. They don't provide all the answers, and don't necessarily sway opinion around here, but communication needs to start somewhere. This series of books manages to make it relevent for my children.

I think there's a very good reason that this book series has spanned decades and maintained popularity. It gives children the chance to think on their own and make their own choices for behaviors that carry over into their adult lives. Many of these issues will be ones that will persist through their lives, just on different levels of course.

I know I still have times when I watch a lot of television and start to wonder if I'm becoming a couch potato. Books like these at least make me *think* about it now as an adult.

My little one really loved it, I bought the kindle version and we read it both on the kindle and the computer. The one on the computer looks really nice with color. I hope Amazon comes out soon with Kindle Color.

I had this book as a kid and I am so excited to see it on the kindle in such an easy formate. I also have the kindle app and the pictures are in color on my phone! That was a great surprise during a long doctors visit for my son.