Q:
What should I do if my parents have a TV and my children want to go to their house to visit?
A:
The answer is, tell your children that they should not go to the grandparents’ house for TV. And if they go to visit, they should make sure to go into a different room than where the television is. And tell your children that when the grandparents say, “Come in here and watch TV,” they should say, “I don’t care for TV. I’m not interested in TV.” That’s all. Don’t criticize the grandparents. Just that the child should say, “I don’t care for TV.”
Train your child to despise TV. Tell him that it’s going to poison his eyes and his mind by hearing the words and seeing the acts of clowns and fools. “You don’t need clowns and fools,” tell him. “Your mind is the most precious possession you have.” Teach the child that. Teach him that he can’t afford to endanger his mind by putting it at the mercy of these fools, these degenerates. Especially today. And so you could teach your child to avoid TV; it’s possible.
And so he visits the grandparents. He goes in the kitchen or sits in the dining room where there’s no TV. They’re in the living room and he sits in the dining room. And if he wishes he could open a Chumash or Nach. Let him kick his feet against the chair until the time comes to go home.
TAPE # E-17 (July 1995)
Q:
Should I visit my in-laws if they have a TV in their house?
A:
Are they shomer Shabbos people?
Q:
Yes.
A:
Visit them on Shabbos.
TAPE # 60 (April 1973)