Here it is… My kid watches TV. And I don’t feel guilty about it. Not a bit. In fact, he’s actually watching it right now while I write this. Take that!
I know that many of you reading this right now are patting yourselves on the back and congratulating yourself for never allowing yourself to stoop to the level of the dreaded “electronic babysitter”. To that I say, hey, if my lifestyle makes you feel better about yours, then there’s my good karma for the day…
When my son was a baby I repeatedly tried those Baby Einstein videos in the hopes that he would mindlessly sit and stare at the screen (you know, like every other baby on the planet apparently does!) so I could actually catch my breath. No luck. In fact, he was about two years old before he finally cut me some slack and noticed that weird square box with all the sounds and pictures I kept trying to sit him in front of. I still remember the day he wandered by the TV with a dinky car in each hand and stopped… and stared… and watched.
Instantaneously, Max & Ruby became my heroes and finishing a hot cup of coffee once again became a reality. I couldn’t have cared less that they he wasn’t learning another language, or solving the problem of world peace… heck, I didn’t even care where their parents were (it’s a TV show, people… if you want to get all judgy, how come no one ever cares that Dora’s parents send her off on her own through mountains, jungles and rivers just to get them a gallon of milk??) All I knew was that my wonderful, amazing, beautiful, loving, hyper, high-maintenance, non-sleeping toddler was giving me the 20 minutes I needed to tidy up, start dinner…. even go to the bathroom without company. My paradise had arrived!
Fast forward about five years and my handsome little devil still watches some TV, and has added additional screen time on the computer and his DS to the mix. Have I stunted his intellectual and social well-being and essentially turned him into a screen zombie? Not a chance… He powers through books at top speed, has earned himself a brown belt in taekwondo, loves photography, hiking and “mini sticks”… and is truly the most amazing kid I know.
So let’s all take a deep breath and enjoy the lovely glass houses we all live in. And enjoy the fact that we all love our kids and want the best for them.
And enjoy that hot cup of coffee whenever we can.
