"Then we figured out we could park them in front of the TV. That's how I was raised, and I turned out TV."
I used to be so protective of Abbie and the television. When she was younger I would never turn the television on in her presence unless I wanted to watch a sporting event with national championship implications or at least upper division finish implications.
Now I’m a little more forgiving of TV time. I still protect them, ushering them from the room when Ellie wants to watch her doctor show “House,” her other doctor show “Grey’s Anatomy,” her guilty pleasure doctor show “Nip/Tuck,” or anything else featuring adult situations that I feel I’m not old enough to watch yet. I never watch reality programming in their presence because it’s beneath their intellect. I keep the sound off while watching sporting events so they don’t pick up any misogynistic messages from the beer and pharmaceutical commercials, just the objectifying imagery.
I now encourage Abbie to watch some age-appropriate programming. She watches a tape of “Dora the Explorer” almost every day. She doesn’t watch too much, just one episode a day. Sometimes she gets to watch that one episode several times a day, but it’s still just one episode. I turn it on for her while the boys nap, and I get a break. I know I should watch it with her, help her understand the images she’s seeing, quiz her to ensure she understands the plot, and make sure “Nip/Tuck” doesn’t inadvertently pop up halfway through the episode. By the time the boys hit naptime, though, I need a break, and the newspaper needs read.
I chose “Dora the Explorer” because it encourages interaction. It’s not one of those shows where the viewer sits passively and watch bright colors move in seemingly random directions that may have been choreographed with the aid of a powerful hallucinogen. The characters ask/demand that the viewer “help” them. I love watching and hear Abbie plays along. When the characters dance, she dances. When the characters clap, she claps. When the characters ask you to say a word, she utters something unintelligible.
The boys nap for about an hour, and anyone who’s ever watched an episode knows that an episode of “Dora the Explorer” lasts for about 23 minutes and 19 seconds. Sometimes I make up the difference by rewinding the tape and letting her watch the episode again, but that requires me to look up from my paper. I always record an episode of “Sesame Street” after “Dora the Explorer,” and I encourage her to watch that. She usually watches it long enough to determine that Dora won’t appear, and finds something else to do. That something else often involves changing the channel to find Dora again. After failing to find her, she’ll leave the television channel wherever it was, generally something like Telemundo, and find something else to do, such as coloring on the television screen.
The boys’ naptime is the only time she gets to watch television. Sometimes she’ll turn the television on without my knowledge, but that doesn’t count as TV time since I didn’t turn it on. If I’m busy I’ll let her watch TV for a little while before turning it off. Abbie has gotten good at flipping through the channels until she finds a suitable kids show. Usually she finds cartoons like “The Backyardigans.” Sometimes she finds something live-action like “Barney.” Sometimes she finds “South Park.” At that point I put down my newspaper and unplug the television.
Now I’m a little more forgiving of TV time. I still protect them, ushering them from the room when Ellie wants to watch her doctor show “House,” her other doctor show “Grey’s Anatomy,” her guilty pleasure doctor show “Nip/Tuck,” or anything else featuring adult situations that I feel I’m not old enough to watch yet. I never watch reality programming in their presence because it’s beneath their intellect. I keep the sound off while watching sporting events so they don’t pick up any misogynistic messages from the beer and pharmaceutical commercials, just the objectifying imagery.
I now encourage Abbie to watch some age-appropriate programming. She watches a tape of “Dora the Explorer” almost every day. She doesn’t watch too much, just one episode a day. Sometimes she gets to watch that one episode several times a day, but it’s still just one episode. I turn it on for her while the boys nap, and I get a break. I know I should watch it with her, help her understand the images she’s seeing, quiz her to ensure she understands the plot, and make sure “Nip/Tuck” doesn’t inadvertently pop up halfway through the episode. By the time the boys hit naptime, though, I need a break, and the newspaper needs read.
I chose “Dora the Explorer” because it encourages interaction. It’s not one of those shows where the viewer sits passively and watch bright colors move in seemingly random directions that may have been choreographed with the aid of a powerful hallucinogen. The characters ask/demand that the viewer “help” them. I love watching and hear Abbie plays along. When the characters dance, she dances. When the characters clap, she claps. When the characters ask you to say a word, she utters something unintelligible.
The boys nap for about an hour, and anyone who’s ever watched an episode knows that an episode of “Dora the Explorer” lasts for about 23 minutes and 19 seconds. Sometimes I make up the difference by rewinding the tape and letting her watch the episode again, but that requires me to look up from my paper. I always record an episode of “Sesame Street” after “Dora the Explorer,” and I encourage her to watch that. She usually watches it long enough to determine that Dora won’t appear, and finds something else to do. That something else often involves changing the channel to find Dora again. After failing to find her, she’ll leave the television channel wherever it was, generally something like Telemundo, and find something else to do, such as coloring on the television screen.
The boys’ naptime is the only time she gets to watch television. Sometimes she’ll turn the television on without my knowledge, but that doesn’t count as TV time since I didn’t turn it on. If I’m busy I’ll let her watch TV for a little while before turning it off. Abbie has gotten good at flipping through the channels until she finds a suitable kids show. Usually she finds cartoons like “The Backyardigans.” Sometimes she finds something live-action like “Barney.” Sometimes she finds “South Park.” At that point I put down my newspaper and unplug the television.
posted by Matt at
11:23 PM
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