Like many two year olds (that’s right folks, we now have a two year old!), our little one is head over heels in love with Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She’s also fond of, though not quite in love with, Bubble Guppies and Little Einsteins.
Those shows, and many others, have their own folder on our DVR. And by “many others,” I mean a shit ton of others. The sheer number of them has, on more than one occasion, impeded my ability to record vitally important television programming (baseball games, old horror movies and re-runs of The Office).
More stubborn men might be tempted to reclaim their DVR’s precious storage space, but not me. As I’m sure Momma on the Rocks has said on this blog in the past, these shows have the miraculous ability to put an immediate end to any tantrum or fussiness … for a few minutes at least.
And the funny thing is, our little one doesn’t seem to care if she watches the exact same episode three times in a single day, either. (Watching the same episode multiple times in a single day is usually the result of lazy and/or hasty DVR operation on my part.)
Now before anyone gets all worked up at the thought of me using the “TV as a babysitter,” I should explain something first – I don’t care. She doesn’t sit in front of the TV 14 hours a day, and I spend plenty of time reading and playing with her, so save the critiques for the parents who really deserve it. Like Snooki.
Her kid’s going to be president some day, just you wait and see. And then you’ll long for the day when our your biggest complaint was about parents like me who abuse the soothing powers of Nickelodeon.
Ah, it is a delicate balance between needing some quiet time where you can gather yourself together and using the TV too much to avoid any hard work. TV is education and and can be a nice time for them to sit quietly for a while which a lot of kids lack.
I watched the same three Diego episodes for 12 hours straight while my little guy was sick. It was painful. My DVR is no longer mine.
Our dvr is the same. Its amazing how nickelodeon has such miralculous powers!
I used to be so uptight about not letting my baby even see a TV screen turned on for the first year, I was shooting for two years, and then…. Sesame Street happened shortly after he turned one. Then I realized, I was being ridiculous for being so uptight. He’ll watch Sesame Street, and I can cook dinner, pick up the house, and do a load of laundry. Now, I get to bed earlier, therefore making me a more involved mom since I’m not stressed out and tired all the time.
Glad to see that I’m not alone in viewing the TV as “evil.”
And that’s a good point, Sarah, about TV actually helping you become a more involved (and less stressed out) mom. I really do have a lot of respect for those “no TV before two” parents, but I don’t know how they do it. My guess is that they’re Amish.
Lovelovelove your blog! Great post! I have to say that our daughter doesn’t watch a lot of tv, but she loves Leapfrog DVD’s. I don’t feel guilty letting her watch them. I think Dora can be a great teaching tool! I don’t know how many kids I have seen running around trying to speak spanish because of that show. It’s wonderful 🙂
Thanks, Lolli! Dora is really cute! I haven’t tried any of the Leapfrog DVDs. Maybe I’ll check them out!