BOOMERS
TV-Watching Ground Rules for Baby Boomers
Sit Too Close and You’ll Go Blind! And NO “Dark Shadows!”
We Boomers were the first generation to be raised on TV, and we’re forever bonded over the fact that all of us watched Leave It to Beaver, Bewitched and Bonanza at the same time in living rooms throughout the country.
Another thing we Boomers had in common? All the crazy rules our parents had about watching the “idiot box.” At my house, for instance, Peyton Place was strictly off-limits — but it was okay to watch along when our nanny tuned into her favorite soaps. Whereas my friend Deb could watch anything she wanted — but she was forbidden to snack as she watched. When I recently asked my Boomer pals to share a few of their own childhood TV-watching rules, I got some great responses:
“I was forbidden to watch The Three Stooges because they might put bad ideas in my head.”
“I wasn’t allowed to watch The Newlywed Game. My mom thought it would give me a bad impression of adult relationships.”
“We weren’t allowed to watch Lassie or Flipper because my dad didn’t approve of any show where an animal was smarter than the people.”
“My grandmother thought The Six Million Dollar Man was too violent; we had to watch The…
