I said "Nanny", not "Manny". Get your head out of the gutter!
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, T.V. is not recommended for children under 2. Young children should learn only through talking, reading, singing, listening to music, and playing. Well, here are my two cents on that.
Of all the pediatricians and pediatric specialists we've seen, approximately half have not had children. Now, many have been military doctors, which could be the reason for that, but many have not. Let's face it, I've seen a lot of doctors and trust me that a lot do not have children yet or don't plan to. And if they do have children, and maybe this seems sexist, but they are old men who were probably too busy working and their wives were the ones dealing with the kids. And trust me. Their wives were letting the kids watch T.V. and lying to their husbands! Better yet, there was no T.V. yet!!
Have any of these doctors seen the current programming for young children? "Super Why" teaches them how to spell and read and say the alphabet. They interact with an actual children's book, which is a step further than what I can do. "Classical Baby" introduces them to the art of famous artists while playing classical music. I'm sure not taking them into a Museum of Art at this age. They would just scream to hear their echoing voices. Because of this program, my daughter sings opera! And Dora, Diego, Kai-lan, and Mickey's constant prodding for answers from my children? Not only do they encourage my kids to talk, but in multiple languages! I think it's funny that these doctor's would think that if the T.V. is on that they will sit in front of it like zombies and not play. Have they spent time with toddlers? Do they not know that their attention span is only so big? When they lose interest, they run around, try to crawl in the toybox, and put buckets on their heads.
There is just no way that someone with twins can get away with not turning on the T.V. A sane person, anyway. I choose sanity. When Evan and Amelia were 5 months old and John was in school and studying non-stop, I was their sole care provider during the week. I didn't get to sleep much. If one woke up at 3 am after the other one was up at 2 am, I would put them in the baby bouncer chair in front of the T.V. and turn on Family Guy. Why Family Guy? Because we were in the middle of one of our three moves within a year and that's what we had on our recorder. I really didn't care what it was, as long as it stopped them from crying and I could sleep for 30 minutes. Who cares if Peter was wearing buttless pajamas and chasing people? I sure didn't.
So what's more important? A mother's sanity so she can love and be with her children when her mind is clear and rested? Or an insane overtired mother who plays non-stop with her kids for hours and hours? How is that even possible, I ask you?
Now I'm not saying I don't do these things with my children. We play multiple times everyday. I read them books everyday. We have a dance party at least every other day. We are always listening to music. We sing songs. I talk to them (duh). It's just that in between all that, there is still a lot of time to a day. I have to do laundry and dishes and pick up crap from the floor. And I also check my email 'cause I have a life. So guess what, the T.V. is my nanny during those times. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Now I know there are a lot of parents who claim their kids don't like T.V. Sometimes I feel like they think there is something wrong with my kids because they like it so much. I feel the opposite, if you know what I mean. My kids have an attention span. They know what they love. There are shows they don't like and shows they do. At 17 months, Evan has a hysterical sense of humor and loves to watch old cartoons like Bugs Bunny. He knows that the characters are being wacky and laughs and laughs. How smart is that? I think very. I think it might be genetic. Both John and I grew up loving T.V. Some of our fondest memories of our childhood are of Saturday morning cartoons. I can't imagine having that not a part of my life. I think it made my childhood better. My imagination ran wild with possibilities. I ran like Speedy and the Roadrunner. I fought like the kids from Dungeons and Dragons. I was a Master of the Universe. I developed my sense of humor though Bugs, Daffy, Droopy, etc. I dare my mother to say I wasn't exposed to cartoons until after age 2.
OK, that is enough. I just thought this was an interesting topic because I overhear moms talking about what shows their little ones are or are not watching. (Why they are watching The Wiggles and not Imagination Movers, I don't know. My kids are hip ;)).
Evan and Amelia's current favorite shows in order:
1) Wow Wow Wubzy
2) Super Why
3) Jack's Big Music Show
4) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
5) Sesame Street
6) Yo Gabba Gabba
7) The Backyardigans
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, T.V. is not recommended for children under 2. Young children should learn only through talking, reading, singing, listening to music, and playing. Well, here are my two cents on that.
Of all the pediatricians and pediatric specialists we've seen, approximately half have not had children. Now, many have been military doctors, which could be the reason for that, but many have not. Let's face it, I've seen a lot of doctors and trust me that a lot do not have children yet or don't plan to. And if they do have children, and maybe this seems sexist, but they are old men who were probably too busy working and their wives were the ones dealing with the kids. And trust me. Their wives were letting the kids watch T.V. and lying to their husbands! Better yet, there was no T.V. yet!!
Have any of these doctors seen the current programming for young children? "Super Why" teaches them how to spell and read and say the alphabet. They interact with an actual children's book, which is a step further than what I can do. "Classical Baby" introduces them to the art of famous artists while playing classical music. I'm sure not taking them into a Museum of Art at this age. They would just scream to hear their echoing voices. Because of this program, my daughter sings opera! And Dora, Diego, Kai-lan, and Mickey's constant prodding for answers from my children? Not only do they encourage my kids to talk, but in multiple languages! I think it's funny that these doctor's would think that if the T.V. is on that they will sit in front of it like zombies and not play. Have they spent time with toddlers? Do they not know that their attention span is only so big? When they lose interest, they run around, try to crawl in the toybox, and put buckets on their heads.
There is just no way that someone with twins can get away with not turning on the T.V. A sane person, anyway. I choose sanity. When Evan and Amelia were 5 months old and John was in school and studying non-stop, I was their sole care provider during the week. I didn't get to sleep much. If one woke up at 3 am after the other one was up at 2 am, I would put them in the baby bouncer chair in front of the T.V. and turn on Family Guy. Why Family Guy? Because we were in the middle of one of our three moves within a year and that's what we had on our recorder. I really didn't care what it was, as long as it stopped them from crying and I could sleep for 30 minutes. Who cares if Peter was wearing buttless pajamas and chasing people? I sure didn't.
So what's more important? A mother's sanity so she can love and be with her children when her mind is clear and rested? Or an insane overtired mother who plays non-stop with her kids for hours and hours? How is that even possible, I ask you?
Now I'm not saying I don't do these things with my children. We play multiple times everyday. I read them books everyday. We have a dance party at least every other day. We are always listening to music. We sing songs. I talk to them (duh). It's just that in between all that, there is still a lot of time to a day. I have to do laundry and dishes and pick up crap from the floor. And I also check my email 'cause I have a life. So guess what, the T.V. is my nanny during those times. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Now I know there are a lot of parents who claim their kids don't like T.V. Sometimes I feel like they think there is something wrong with my kids because they like it so much. I feel the opposite, if you know what I mean. My kids have an attention span. They know what they love. There are shows they don't like and shows they do. At 17 months, Evan has a hysterical sense of humor and loves to watch old cartoons like Bugs Bunny. He knows that the characters are being wacky and laughs and laughs. How smart is that? I think very. I think it might be genetic. Both John and I grew up loving T.V. Some of our fondest memories of our childhood are of Saturday morning cartoons. I can't imagine having that not a part of my life. I think it made my childhood better. My imagination ran wild with possibilities. I ran like Speedy and the Roadrunner. I fought like the kids from Dungeons and Dragons. I was a Master of the Universe. I developed my sense of humor though Bugs, Daffy, Droopy, etc. I dare my mother to say I wasn't exposed to cartoons until after age 2.
OK, that is enough. I just thought this was an interesting topic because I overhear moms talking about what shows their little ones are or are not watching. (Why they are watching The Wiggles and not Imagination Movers, I don't know. My kids are hip ;)).
Evan and Amelia's current favorite shows in order:
1) Wow Wow Wubzy
2) Super Why
3) Jack's Big Music Show
4) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
5) Sesame Street
6) Yo Gabba Gabba
7) The Backyardigans
8) Sid the Science Kid
9) Dora/Diego (same thing)
10) Curious George
11) Kai-lan
12) Imagination Movers
13) Thomas the Tank Engine for Evan (though he seems bored of the annoying talking faces) Olivia for Amelia
14) any other kids show
Watching T.V.
9) Dora/Diego (same thing)
10) Curious George
11) Kai-lan
12) Imagination Movers
13) Thomas the Tank Engine for Evan (though he seems bored of the annoying talking faces) Olivia for Amelia
14) any other kids show
Watching T.V.
Not Watching T.V.
1 comment:
I learned and memorized the melodies to most of the classical music in the Tom & Jerry cartoons.
By the way thanks for posting the part about needing a rested Mama. I lost it with the boys today and had probably my ugliest Mommy of the Year award. Sometimes you do what you've got to do.
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