I'm that mom.
The one the better mommies whisper about.
The one who's kids will have ADD or weight issues.
I'm the mom who lets her kids watch TV.
They don't watch it all day or anything, but they do watch it.
And for all the studies that suggest it's bad for them, I say that my kids have learned a lot from TV.
I have, until now, really managed to keep it to mostly educational programs like Sesame Street, Dora (*cringe*) and Blue's Clues.
When Curly was 2 she got locked in a closet and I heard this tiny little voice saying "Ayudame, Mommy. Ayudame!" She is still interested in learning different languages
StinkyMan is reading. Yes we have worked with him and yes I think he is exceptionally smart and yes he goes to a good school, but Elmo taught him a lot of the basic components for sure.
Peanut knows her numbers thanks to the LeapFrog DVD series, but her favorite show is Wow Wow Wubbzy (blech!)
Even BabyGirl is fascinated by the Classical Baby Series by HBO, which blends music and art in a way that is both educational and interesting. Think Baby Einstein-ish.
But we are venturing into new territory now. A lot of those programs bore the heck out of Curly. I won't do Hannah Montana. I just want to smack that chick up the head (the character that is. Although I'm not really in love with Miley Cyrus either.) We will allow an occasional Wizards of Waverly Place, which StinkyMan mistakenly calls The Wigglers of Wiggly Place. And we're all for Phineas and Ferb (Husband has been caught watching when the children are nowhere to be seen)
It's hard though. When Curly puts on some insipid cartoon of my generation or before I just want to scream "There is no value in that! Turn it OFF!" and sometimes I do.
Sometimes I dream of just unplugging it and seeing if we could go a week without it. What would my kids do? How well would they play? What would they create, invent, draw, imagine or configure?
Then I remember something. The TV allows me my daily shower. The TV allows for my dinner prep. Some days the TV allows my sanity to stay intact. Heck, some days the TV allows me to blog.
No, we won't be getting rid of the TV. Because I am that mom.
But that's fine with me. Because at least I've showered.
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Good for you. No tv isn't the way to go either. I have friends who do that...and honestly it will come back to bite them. My adult friends that came from no tv homes still OD on it today...because they can. Better to teach them that a little is ok, proper limits. We've turned it off for a Summer before. Even some vacations we decide a no tv rule. Those times were actually great. I don't know how old your kids are. Could be interesting to have people weigh in on valuable tv options (even movies) for different age groups. We only let our kids watch what we have recorded on TIVO. New ideas would be fun. Come over for a visit. Have a great day. Holly at lifelaughlatte.blogspot.com
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