God Bless Television
I did the math yesterday, and I had just gone eleven days, only working two of those days. Meaning – I was a stay-at-home mom for NINE FREAKIN’ DAYS. I was proud of myself for lasting that long (I would not make a good full-time SAHM, my patience is too limited.) but also incredibly glad that NikkiZ has finally, after two very long years, decided she likes TV.
It started a few months ago, when she started getting into the Baby Genius DVDs. It’s one of the most played kid’s shows on Comcast On Demand and my family account probably is to blame. She would ask for it several times a day. But – some of those bits are only about 15 minutes long – so that didn’t give us much time to get anything done. Like shower. If we tried to put in a longer program (like Gone With the Wind) she would lose interest in about 45 seconds.
However, she recently decided she’d get into Barney, Blue’s Clues, and sometimes Dora. It wasn’t a consistent crutch we could lean on, but in desperate times it did the trick.
Then – for Christmas – she got her first Elmo’s World DVD and LIFE COULD NOT BE ANY BETTER. That thing gives us a solid 30 minute window to check email, do laundry, cook dinner, or sit on our ass. Those 4 or 5 days I spent at home in a row would have been a lot uglier of Mr. Noodles and Dorothy hadn’t been there to help Elmo entertain my child.
I guess I might should hide the fact that I’m so happy to finally use the television as a babysitter, but even I have to take a bath once in awhile. And if a DVD will give me that freedom? I’ll take it.
How many times a day does she watch it? The little boy I babysit for had an obsession with Cars. That I didn’t mind so much. But the monster truck dvds can just go far far away. That is usually when I agree to playing the 5th game in a row of Candyland.
OH, yeah, baby. I bought Al “Cars” last spring (OK, really it was for me–I love that movie!) thinking he would maybe like watching it for a few minutes tops, but oh my goodness he decided that he ONLY wanted to watch CARS all day long! I had to trick him into leaving the sofa to eat or take a bath, he was that obsessed. He has, I’m ashamed to say, watched the entire 1hour-40minute movie all the way through more than once while I cleaned the house or cooked or surfed the internet.
So, yeah. I can totally relate to the relief that a kid’s obsession with a particular television program or movie can be.
TV-haters be damned, I say.
I think that television has saved my life (or the life of my children, really) on more than a few occasions. My daughter is ADDICTED to Spongebob. I, however, would like to punch that little yellow sponge in the face.
I say celebrate being able to take a bath or sit on your ass.
Don’t let ANYONE make you feel guilty about this! (not that anyone has, but I know how this kind of thing brings out the meanies) Sometimes, these little things are our saving graces.
Someday, I hope to read NikkiZ’s TV blog!
I’m pretty sure that my 6 year old (when he was much younger) burned a hole in his Elmo DVD. He watched that all the time, and I was just thankful for the distraction. He was and still is not an easy child.
Good work on being home for 9 days! I’m now a SAHM and man, somedays I MISS working.
It amazes me how little kids will watch the same thing over and over and over (and over) again. Enjoy your free time, however brief it may be.
TV is my savior when I babysit my niece and nephew. Mom stays home with them, so when mom actually leaves, they don’t handle it well. And then it is Auntie to the rescue with the newest kids DVD. Thank God for TV and movies!
And you knew it was just a matter of time before one of your children loved TV.
we got the Elmo’s potty time video…it’s like 45 minutes of elmo and bathroom lessons, if you’re looking for a) more time in the shower or b) your child to be interested in the potty (not sure where NikkiZ stands on that, but oliver walks around saying “elmo! bano! elmo! bano!” although he has yet to use the potty himself…
I love Mr. Noodles!
Tyler [who's only a few months younger than NikkiZ] isn’t a big fan of Barney or Blue’s Clues, or even Dora [not that I'm complaining much on any of those, heh] – but throw on an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants and that kid won’t move for a good 30 minutes.
We haven’t checked out the Baby Genius shows, but I’ll admit I’m exhausted and could use a good lounge on the couch – so I’m about to check out Comcast on Demand this second. Hope it works!
Oh yeah! My son LOVES TV. He play trains and read books, but he’s perfectly happy in front of the TV watching any variety of things. We’re big fans of Baby Genius on ON Demand as well, as is my 4 month old. Scary, I know. The only thing the older one loves that I try to limit is The Simpsons, cause that’s no toddler cartoon.
Ah, all things in moderation, and all that
Judging from the videos you’ve show us, Nikki also gets a ton of interactive playtime.
Meghan watches too much TV. Well, its on all day but I don’t think she actually watches it. She looks at it every now and again. She loves Dora though and she will watch it all the way through.
You have proven to be a great mommy, so if the TV babysits your kid for 30 minutes, I don’t think that’s going to ruin your reputation.
Kevin loves The Wiggles. He loves music and they sing most of that show, so I’m good to go for a half hour with that. Problem is that it comes on too early and we’re usually missing it. Know anymore shows that’s mostly music?