"We figured out we could just park them in front of the TV. That's how I was raised and I turned out TV."
I have some Important Work to do on the computer right now that is far more critical than my daily internet regimen of blogging and trying to shoot the duck, so Ellie watched Abbie while I worked last night. Ellie was “post call” which is doctor lingo for “I just worked a 36-hour shift so don’t expect much out of me for the rest of the night and probably most of tomorrow.” While working, I noticed that Abbie had lasted an abnormally long time without screeching, and decided I had better check out the situation. I thought there’s a good chance Ellie had fallen asleep on the couch leaving Abbie to silently chew on the remote, which isn’t the worst thing she could do, provided the batteries don’t fall on the floor, but we’re pretty sure Abbie’s drool caused the “4” button to temporarily malfunction, and since both Comedy Central and VH1’s channel numbers start with 4, both of us felt the pain for a night. I peeked into the living room, and Ellie’s eyes were wide open and watching Abbie, though she was horizontal on the couch. Abbie’s eyes were also wide open, and watching television* in the glazed eyes, slack-jawed, expressionless manner of stereotypes.
I try to limit Abbie’s television exposure. During the day, I play the role of a Good Parent and never even turn on the television unless an extremely important event is being broadcast, like a Cubs game or the rare college basketball tournament game. At night I usually don’t turn the television on either, and thanks to reality television, I don’t feel tempted to do so. I never felt guilty about depriving Abbie of the television either because she never showed much interest in it before last night.
Now I fear I may succumb to letting Abbie enjoy it in moderation, much like fruit juice. Television causes so many maladies, though, like obesity, ADD, eye cancer, and general smart-aleckiness. And there’s no way I will tolerate her learning to say “Dora” before “dada.” Still, television, when used in moderation with careful parental oversight to ensure that she watches only educational, age-appropriate programming, can make a wonderful babysitter, and I do value my free time. Plus she might learn something from it.
Ellie used it properly last night. At first, Abbie marched about the room like she was trying to dance to the music, and dancing is a welcome first. When she wore out, Ellie grabbed her rocking chair and sat her in front of the TV. That’s where I found her, transfixed on the tube, although to be fair, she may have just been unable to get out of her chair. Either way, I still have Important Work to do so more experimentation with television is likely in Abbie’s future. I leave you with a cute dramatic reenactment of Abbie in her rocking chair.
* Ellie insists that I point out Abbie was watching a Sesame Street DVD, and not the countdown of America’s sexiest celebrities that Ellie was watching on VH1 earlier in the night.
I try to limit Abbie’s television exposure. During the day, I play the role of a Good Parent and never even turn on the television unless an extremely important event is being broadcast, like a Cubs game or the rare college basketball tournament game. At night I usually don’t turn the television on either, and thanks to reality television, I don’t feel tempted to do so. I never felt guilty about depriving Abbie of the television either because she never showed much interest in it before last night.
Now I fear I may succumb to letting Abbie enjoy it in moderation, much like fruit juice. Television causes so many maladies, though, like obesity, ADD, eye cancer, and general smart-aleckiness. And there’s no way I will tolerate her learning to say “Dora” before “dada.” Still, television, when used in moderation with careful parental oversight to ensure that she watches only educational, age-appropriate programming, can make a wonderful babysitter, and I do value my free time. Plus she might learn something from it.
Ellie used it properly last night. At first, Abbie marched about the room like she was trying to dance to the music, and dancing is a welcome first. When she wore out, Ellie grabbed her rocking chair and sat her in front of the TV. That’s where I found her, transfixed on the tube, although to be fair, she may have just been unable to get out of her chair. Either way, I still have Important Work to do so more experimentation with television is likely in Abbie’s future. I leave you with a cute dramatic reenactment of Abbie in her rocking chair.
* Ellie insists that I point out Abbie was watching a Sesame Street DVD, and not the countdown of America’s sexiest celebrities that Ellie was watching on VH1 earlier in the night.
posted by Matt at
9:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home