I had the most horrible headache, yesterday. The kids ended up watching t.v. the entire day. I stayed on the couch, drifting in and out of consciousness, all morning. Then, watched movies with them, still from the couch, all afternoon. I was finally feeling well enough to get up and do a little bit, at dinner time. I made dinner, and by then my husband was home. We ate, cleaned up, and put the kids into bed. I'm not completely well, today ... My neck and shoulders feel really tight (the causes of yesterday's headache) and I can tell it's trying to come back. Sooo, while I'm hoping to avoid the t.v. marathon from yesterday, I'm still trying to take things easy and relax ... what a balancing act.
My question is this: While I had t.v. to fall back on, to keep the kids entertained and out of trouble, what would/could I have done without that option? As much as I feel that too much t.v. greatly harms a childs' creativity and overall social development, I must admit to leaning on it, especially at these times. What would I have done, yesterday, if we had no t.v.? What did people (presumable women...) do before the invention of t.v. (or invention of childrens programming)? I could not have sucked it up, yesterday. I needed to rest and really had no choice about it.
I've made my peace with my decision and know that it's likely to happen again. I always feel awful about my child rearing abilities when this happens, but it still happens from time to time. We all fall prey to this, at one time or another ... we're human; we're weak; I know.
2 comments:
Ahh, the great Babysitter! The only phrase that makes the Cable Guy atrocity even worth remembering (Jim Carrey in a satellite dish yelling "kill the babysitter!")
Well Sesame Street has been around since 1969 (thank you Wikipedia), so that's almost 40 years covered with that alone. Before that: radio? blocks? their imagination? And non-TV toys don't have to have batteries or otherwise make noise, either. Because for a headachy mom....
My guess is that a sudden no-TV play with these blocks (for six hours) policy may not go over so well. Mostly, I'm just sorry to hear you're not feeling well! I hope you're feeling better soon, Kristi.
I generally try to stick to a 2-hours-a-day rule. And, even then, I pay attention to what they're watching, and sometimes turn to something else.
Additionally, I've discovered that some cartoons and/or stations with commercials can influence the attitudes of your niece. It's kind of an interesting corollary.
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