September 23, 2009

The Boob Tube

I have never wanted to be one of those parents who sets their child(ren) in front of the TV and disappears. But I have to admit, some days TV is my friend. It can be next to impossible to accomplish any chores without a distraction for the kids.
I try to limit what my daughters watch, I really do. But now and then, we spend a day camped out on the couch. We don't have cable, so we are restricted to PBS, Qubo and our own DVDs. At least I'm showing them educational things, right?
During the summer we were out and about most mornings, usually at the pool or the park. Now, with school back in session, my daughters are gone all morning. In the afternoon I'm either shuttling them to appointments or trying to do housework.
Yesterday was a good example of a "TV day." I was still cleaning up from their birthday party, doing laundry and trying to clean all three of our bathrooms, too. While they were at school I managed to do some of the laundry and steam mop the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, I then managed to shatter a glass on the kitchen floor and spent the rest of the morning cleaning up shards of glass and figuring out how to wedge a few shattered pieces out of the wood. So during the afternoon I was scrambling to clean three bathrooms and the rest of the kitchen. I did it, thanks to the distraction of TV. After lunch my daughters watched Kung Fu Panda and then a few shows on Qubo.
Nobody's perfect. The housework had been neglected long enough. Now that it's done we can get back to better activities, such as coloring and playing with their new magnetic dolls.

13 comments:

MaryAnne said...

I try to keep the TV off as much as possible, but there are definitely days when I am grateful for its existence! The open layout of our (fairly small) house makes it pretty easy for me to stay in the room when it's on, too. It was actually on a lot more when we only had Emma, because she loved watching Signing Time so it was an easy way for me to get something done. Johnny doesn't especially care for TV of any kind so far, so it's much less useful these days...

Nicole S. said...

You know what - I grew up on TV. I still love TV. My DVR is constantly recording programs. And I love movies. But I also played outside A LOT when I was young, making up games, riding bikes, playing sports, etc. And, I was a great student. Ditto for my 3 younger siblings. So, I don't really believe that you are going to do irreparable damage to your kids if they watch TV. Just make sure they do all those other things, too.

Sadia said...

Everything in moderation, right? I think I'd stress out about it more if I banned TV outright, and I don't think a couple of hours a week (which we then discuss, act out, and overanalyze) is inherently bad.

freckletree said...

So good to hear that another person (with multiples even) doesn't have cable. I was one of those people that said MY KIDS WILL NEVER WATCH TELEVISION . . . before I had them, of course.

Teething twins: playing with possibly dangerous cold carrots in front of the television with some Elmo.

It couldn't possibly hurt them to spend a few moments distracted from our manic entertainment, right??

Quadmama said...

All valid points... I try to do it in small doses. And, as Nicole S. mentioned, I grew up watching TV and had several favorite shows, but I was outside a lot, too. I spent all day riding bikes, swimming, running around, etc, but my dad still loves to remind me that if "Mr. Rogers" came on during dinner time I refused to eat until it was over.

Sandi said...

It's ok now and then. I love Kung Fu Panda!

Lani said...

I was a big TV kid too:) But I also did great in school and sports and I *think* I turned out all right (mostly):) You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes!

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice said...

OH man it;s so easy to put a show on then realize how great things are going the put it on AGAIN...GUILTY!

Quadmama said...

At least I'm not the only one who has those days!

Marilynne said...

You sound like a Mom! Don't ever regret the time you spend with them. No one else can do that but you. (Daddy time is Daddy time. It's different.)

Stephanie Barr said...

Everyone has those days.

Kim said...

Welcome to the dark side . . !

Quadmama said...

It's a fun place to be!

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