We now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming.

Here's why people think I'm a freak =)  Although...truth be told: my kids think that Sesame Street only airs at Papa's house so they do get to watch it once or twice when we're there.  Other than that, they think the tv is for watching UCLA sports, nothing else =)

Here's a terrific article from the Greater Good Science Center that might help you better understand me =)
(i.e., pretty please stop arguing with me that my kids "need to learn about this stuff sometime"...they will.  when it's developmentally age-appropriate.)


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Weighing the pros and cons of introducing television into our household

  

Dear readers,
As I write this, I am waiting for the cable guy (or cable person, as the case may be).  I haven’t had regular Internet access since June 17th, not that I’m counting.  So the cable person is coming to install a landline (no mobile phone service here, either), Internet, and, um, possibly cable TV.
I kind of want it. I haven’t had a TV hooked up for years.  Although I do take a smug pleasure in saying, “My kids don’t watch any TV,” I’m sure this is more annoying than inspiring.
People often say to me, “Don’t your kids feel left out that they don’t get to watch the shows that the other kids are watching?”  I honestly don’t think that they do feel left out, though they are only 7 and 9, so this may change.
To me, here are the pros of having television:

1. It would be fun to watch cooking shows with my children; maybe it would inspire them to spend more time in the kitchen with me.
2. If there is a show that all the other kids are watching (American Idol) it’d be fun to watch this together.

Although there is a tiny bit of evidence that some shows are, indeed, educational, clearly time spent reading or in other activities is a zillion times more beneficial developmentally, so I’d put educational shows in a neutral category—not really a “pro” of watching TV, but certainly not a “con,” either.
Here are the cons of television, for my family:

1. TV takes time that kids could be playing, reading, socializing or doing other, more developmentally beneficial activities.
2. My kids always seem really cranky after they’ve been watching TV.
3. Currently my kids are great at entertaining themselves by drawing, playing outside, and by playing with their pet rats (sounds gross, I know, but those pets are a positive thing).  I’m afraid they’ll lose this self-entertaining skill if they can do something that takes less effort, like watch TV.
4. TV may create a new battle-ground: “can I watch TV” begging.  I certainly know how to create limits (my mom only let my brother and I watch a half hour of TV per day) but I think my kids will still ask, beg, and cajole me to make exceptions.  I can also limit this behavior by taking away TV if they do it, but then I will have created a complicated new system ripe for arguments.
5. Even if I’m super-controlling about which shows the kids are allowed to watch, TV can have a pernicious effect on our perceptions of race and ethnicity.  New research shows that watching how black characters are treated on TV tends to affect people’s attitudes about race both consciously and unconsciously, and usually not for the better.  Why would I want to let actors’ and producers’ prejudices influence my kids?
6. Moreover, and I think this is my biggest concern, the influence of commercials, product placement, and celebrities—especially if my kids’ heroes are endorsing a product or style just by wearing it—is not happiness-making.  Consumption and materialism are in large part learned; the materialistic culture often represented on television creates beliefs and behaviors that ultimately make kids dissatisfied (and whiny) rather than joyful.

"Think It Through With Me" Thursday

Ok...here's one I need help on this week:

A grandparent spanked my oldest last week while we were staying in said grandparent's home. Curly was disobeying my direction to get dressed and ran into the living room. Grandparent went in to get him, Curly got upset and apparently hit his grandparent in the face.

I heard the commotion and asked what happened when they walked back down the hall. Grandparent responded with "He's fine" and no more detail. Curly told me what happened right then and I explained to the grandparent that I would attend to the fact that Curly hit but that it was NOT Ok for Grandparent to spank my son.

I was shaken and really upset afterward. I felt awkward spending the last two days of our vacation there. I told Mr. P who agreed with me on all accounts. Grandparent has advised us before to use spanking more often as a discipline strategy, but Mr. P and I both agree that we're really not ok with it.

Should I address the situation again? Thoughts?


Anything you want help thinking through? Post and let us know..we'll try to be of service =)