Why TV is No Longer the Enemy...

             Hey folks! Like many of you, probably, I had lots of ideas on what I was NOT going to do when I had my own kids. It's easy to do, right? Then they finally arrive and things turn out very differently than you had imagined.

             For instance, as my 5 year old has gotten older, she seems to get bored more easily. She used to play by herself so well, too, when she was Ripley's age...Just like Ripley does (for the time being). Now, she doesn't even play with toys all that much. She'll go through phases where she will play almost obsessively with one thing or another (this week it is dragons, dinosaurs, and fairies) for a day or two, but that's about it. Myka is very much an activity and outing driven person.

             I love doing activities...within reason. Usually once we start doing things, she doesn't want to stop. “I wanna do more school stuff. Let's make another craft. What are we doing next?” And, to be honest, I'm still working on my patience game and she can be very...Trying. She throws fits over (what I believe to be, at least) stupid, little things, like a piece of construction paper moving on a craft project because she's pushing on it too hard. Or, oh my God, she has glue on her fingers and they're sticky...Even though I remind her constantly that we can wash our hands when we're done. Those are just a couple examples, but it gets exhausting quickly.

             She also wants to go somewhere all the time. Like, she literally asks me everyday if we can go somewhere. It's usually just Memaw and Papaw's house, but still. That's annoying enough. (Are we that bad?! My husband and I often wonder.) As I've mentioned before, I'm an introvert and while that doesn't mean I don't like going places, it does mean that it can stress me out or tire me out, usually the latter. Outings are draining for me most of the time.

             So by now, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with my original point. Well, TV. TV was one of those big things I was against before I had my own kids and as a new mom. We had already gotten rid of our cable by the time Myka was born, so it was easy enough. Movies were ok in my mind. (Though naturally, most of our kids' movies are Disney, which I still have some major qualms with.) But then, as I said, she got older...and more bored. And I just cannot physically and mentally commit myself to interacting with her as much as she may want some days. So...

             TV is no longer the enemy. We still don't have cable, but we do have some thing attached to the window that gets us some PBS channels. I like PBS. I'm ok with PBS. Their shows are actually educational and she enjoys them, so I don't mind. (Hell, I like watching some PBS shows! Have you seen The Vietnam War series? Amazing!)

             To be honest, she has actually learned quite a lot from her favorite PBS cartoons, especially Wild Kratts. Lately, she asks me every morning if Wild Kratts is coming on and I'm like, “Dude. Wild Kratts doesn't come on until it gets dark out! We just woke up!” lol I love that she loves nature shows, though. Heck, she even likes watching the David Attenborough shows we have on dvd. But that's a different story. We're talking about tv here. ;)

             Her other favorites are Dinosaur Train and Daniel Tiger. Thank-freaking-God, she has actually picked up some good life lessons from Daniel Tiger. I would be lying if I said my husband and I don't use it to our advantage too. “Remember what Daniel Tiger said the other day?” Our current favorite is, “You gotta try new food 'cause it might taste goo-ood!”

             With all that being said, I do still believe in moderation. Some days are better than others, of course, depending on what I need to get done for the day and what mood she and I are both in. I try to limit it to one or two shows in the morning while we eat and I do blog stuff. If we're not busy or she's not actually playing with something in the afternoon, I'll turn the tv on when Dinosaur Train and Daniel Tiger are on. (She loves Super Why too, which is great because she really needs to work on letters and reading!) I guess it boils down to a big thank you to PBS for actually having educational programs that aren't mind-numbingly stupid and I don't feel guilty about letting her watch...And, you know, saving my sanity on the not-so-good days. ;)

What is tv time like in your house? Do you have TV junkies or are you all about moderation?