I'm on the TV train. Yep that's right, I got off my high horse, got pregnant, got tired, got really really tired, and succumbed to letting the little guy watch TV daily.
The best part about all of this is that I had to really work hard to get the hyper little boy to sit down and watch it. First I tried kids shows that I used to enjoy as a youngster; Flinstones, Rugrats, Muppet Babies....-Teddy was having none of it and would often even go and turn the TV off. Fail! Then I tried shows with little to no violence and lots of talking that I liked to watch like Murder She Wrote, cooking shows, or Masterpiece Theater, these sometimes worked for about 5 minutes but then the gig was up and Teddy was back to turning the TV off- and of course I was really into it and all pissed that he was turning the TV off right at a super exciting point in Jessica Fletcher's investigation. Great parenting for the win! Finally I left a channel on which I had previously always skipped over for being too inane- BABYTV. It was like little Teddy crack (I recently found out that suckers are too, who knew?). His eyes quickly glazed over and he sat down on the couch to watch 20 minutes of little 3-4 minute clips of baby geared entertainment. Supposedly all the clips are created by child development specialists and have specific themes in mind; creativity, numbers, etc. Honestly I could care less and can't imagine that he is really learning anything besides a few annoying theme songs but oh my gosh on those mornings where he wakes up at 6 and the hubby and I want to pretend that the weekend is still something special and different then a weekday, we grab Teddy a snack, position him between us, turn on the TV , and both fall back asleep for another half hour while our son watches the giggling shapes and children on Babytv.
Now this would be the time for me to throw out that we still limit the TV to about 20-30 minutes a day, and some days not at all, and, and, and. But honestly I don't feel bad. We do lots of fun awesome things with Teddy every day. Watching TV is clearly not one of them, but I also don't think it is hurting him either. Is he learning anything at the time? Probably not. But is he climbing on my dresser, throwing jewelry on the ground, taking clothes out of drawers, sometimes jumping onto my head, and otherwise getting into trouble? Nope and considering this is what he used to do when we would try to sleep in just a teensy bit longer I am totally cool with the TV alternative. I've also started using it on those days where I just want 10 minutes alone in the kitchen to get dinner started without the kind of "help" that Teddy provides and it has been a great way to keep my stress and annoyance from rising to overwhelmed levels.
So I'm admitting it here and now. My not even two year old son gets to watch some TV and I think it is OK.
I think it's okay too! Like you said, you do so much other stuff with him, that 20-30 minutes a day of TV isn't going to do any harm.
ReplyDeleteI might have to look to see if we get BabyTV, because I've been looking for things that will keep Evan's attention for more than a few minutes!
Alyssa- They have a website babytv.com and I think you might be able to see if your cable provider carries it there. It comes from the UK but is owned by FOX and I think you can get it in a lot of different countries :)
ReplyDeleteAsh- I do it too! Sometimes it's just too hard to have a little guy needing your attention ALL THE TIME! Your cooking example is a good one... Sometimes you are dealing with hot stuff or sharp kives and you really don't need a toddler in the way!
ReplyDeleteDon't feel guilty! as long as it isn't all day long it is fine!
It's all good, Momma. Sometimes you just have to take care of the urgent and that means downgrading the important. Soon, you'll feel better and find a new balance!
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