Thanks everybody for the responses. As I said, we don’t see children, so we might only have one or two a day. Basically I wanted validation that I am not being unreasonable by not having the television, since I really really hate the idea. It seems that there are some e who agree with me.
Unfortunately fish are not an option because A) they are expensive and B) I can barely keep the plants alive.
There is the option of playing an aquarium video or dvd. No annoying sound. Pretty to look at. No maintenance.
I find televisions in waiting rooms very distracting. They’re often on loud, people are talking over them, and the programs being shown often increase my tension. I usually opt to wait in the hall if there’s a television.
Well, psychobunny, it doesn’t look like there’s the “overwhelming” support for the waiting-room TV idea here, but I differ. In my experience, bustling, noisy children are far more distracting than having the TV on, at least at low volume, and the presence of a TV showing tween-age kid shows or family movies tend to keep the kids more quiet than when there’s no TV. Toys can help, but not as much in my experience.
Judging by your handle, I would presume you are a psychologist of some sort. If that’s the case, I would think a TV would be much more valuable than elsewhere, since I imagine your patients might well want something distracting.
On the other hand, if the programming is unfriendly to some of your patients, you’d be better off without it. For example, here in depressingly conservative West Michigan, way too many doctor’s offices with TVs show nothing but Fox News, and if they won’t change the channel, I find another doctor. I imagine the same kind of thing would happen if they showed something ultra-liberal. So ensuring that the content wouldn’t turn people away would be important.
I can’t say for others’ practices, but my clients wouldn’t want to be distracted before therapy. They’re usually writing or looking at my reference books before their sessions.
I don’t care one way or another, I can watch or read, or twiddle my thumbs. I can usually find something in an old copy of Reader’s Digest that is of interest, and as a male it can be enlightening to read some women’s magazines, sometimes insightful, some times belly busting humorous, (but have to control it in the doc’s office). Just take it light. If a television at low or no volume gets you that wound up, ask the doc about perhaps an anxiety issue.
Maybe that’s a tiny bit over-broad? That none of your patients would appreciate a distraction from their anxiety, even if it’s just an anxiety about seeing a therapist for the first time?
But assuming that your clients would not want to be distracted, then it seems likely that they’d rather have the other patients’ kids distracted by the TV rather than distracting them with the kid’s noise. YMMV, of course.
Maybe. On a first visit, though, they’re filling out paperwork and reading pages and pages of required HIPAA documents.
My primary-care dr. usually has the local Fox station on, so I tend to watch a lot of “I Love Lucy” when I go to the dr. Same thing with the dentist. I usually bring a book anyway. The Princess’ pediatrician has no TV, but he does have the latest Highlights and newsmagazines, which is kind of moot as he rarely keeps us waiting long.
I had surgery earlier this year, which required an overnight hospital stay. The hospital had a cable channel that showed nature scenes (rivers, deer, ducks swimming) set to classical music, 24/7. Since I was the only patient in my semi-private room, I was allowed to keep it on all night, with the sound down, which helped distract me from the post-op pain almost as much as the morphine drip. (aahhh, morphine!) 
That sounds like a nice channel. Something relaxing. The morphine drip is, of course, heavenly relief from pain.
I would prefer a TV with no sound and the captions on. When I used to eat lunch at college, it was often too low to hear if anyone was speaking nearby but I could catch the news at a glance or whatever (bastards had two TVs on ESPN, one on CNN, none on Cartoon network). For some reason, some ass turned off the captions one day and my choice was between staring at the lower third and the anchor, or the floor.
I think with the sound low or off and the captions on, it would not bother anyone who wishes to sit and read or wait quietly. At the local hospital, all the televisions were quite audible and tuned to Fox News, so I chose to wait in the hallway for my S.O. I can understand why some folks might not want to watch (or hear) certain programs.
I asked several other psychologists, and they states that a television in the waiting room would be an unwelcome distraction for clients preparing for their counseling sessions. YMMV.
As a client, I’d agree. Also, every psychologist I know is really good at running on schedule, so there’s no need for the client to sit around in the waiting room unless he arrives early.
My vet’s office has a TV with Animal Planet always playing, which I find amusing.
My orthodontist’s office has two of the free-play video games, which is kind of nice for siblings of the kids who are there for visits. Not that they have to wait to be seen, but sometimes the orthodontist visits can take awhile.
A physical therapy rehab center for which I do maintenance and repair work had me install three ceiling-suspended TV sets-one in the waiting room, and two in the gym. The folks using various exercise machines are usually watching something like CNN or the local NPR television affiliate.
My allergy doctor has a TV, and I can understand why they do. The protocol with allergy shots is you need to wait 20-30 minutes after getting the shot. So even though they are prompt there is built-in wait time, and there are plenty of kids. Only the soaps absolutely grate on my nerves. I have a feeling it is just me and a few other nuts, but the horrible spelling on closed caption would send my blood pressure right up. I love the idea of the nature scenes with classical music. If I ever have to go to the hospital I hope they have that.