The Idiot Box

Yesterday was one of those days. Claude was up early. So we let her watch a few shows.

What started as an early-morning ended up being a running-late-morning.

Clearly, TV and mornings don't work in our house. During winter break, we put morning TV on holiday hiatus. By 8:30 am the children had eaten breakfast, read books, gotten dressed, played play-doh, and made holiday cards. It was amazing.

So after yesterday's shenanigans (and seeing Claude stare slack-jawed at the youtube clip on the computer at Childwatch), I have reinstated the morning hiatus. And today, it was greeted without a fuss. Instead, Claude climbed in our bed at 7:15, snuggled for a spell, and then asked her Daddy to read her a book.

Now, we live in a house where the TV rests in a cabinet with closed doors. It is not played after school-- we are too busy with the ice rink and dress up and the park. We are careful and cautious about media usage. That being said, I have relied on TV to make dinner, place a work call, or get through a sick day. But it's disturbing to add up a child's weekly media usage (iphone games, computer, TV, etc) and realize they essentially have a part-time job. And it's also upsetting to see TVs in schools, restaurants, child-care environments, airports, and stores just providing noise. Also, children are so impressionable to advertising. After watching a hockey game on TV, Francis insisted, in an Australian accent, that I needed the Jupiter Jack.

So, today, we turned the TV off and had a very peaceful start to our day. It did mean that Blaine and I had to drag our tushes out of bed a bit sooner, losing that respite that Dora the Explorer could provide.

To that I say: Roderiques, 1: TV, 0.