rivka: (Alex & Mama)
rivka ([personal profile] rivka) wrote2005-12-05 09:23 am
Entry tags:

Rescinding the Corvette offer.

This morning I turned on the TV to a cooking show while I was eating my breakfast.

Alex clapped for Rachael Ray. Okay, so she's been strangely interested in Rachael Ray for a while - but sheesh, so much for my unbelievable specialness. I still love her to pieces, but now she can just wait for Rachael to buy her a Corvette.




A brief digression about Alex and TV:

Yes, we know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV at all before age two because of concerns about its effects on development. I am utterly unconvinced by the putative TV-ADHD connection, and beyond that, the primary concern about TV in babyhood is that it crowds out activities with a higher developmental payoff, such as playing, interacting with other people, and being active. That's definitely a valid concern, but it seems most relevant for families where the TV is always on and kids are planted in front of it for long periods of time. That doesn't describe our household.

That said, we try to limit Alex's TV exposure in sensible ways. We watch most of our TV when she's sleeping. If the TV's on when she's awake, we try to arrange ourselves and her toys so that she's not facing the screen. (Other things being equal, she prefers to face us.) We don't turn on any children's television; I also avoid anything violent or graphic and anything with a lot of quick cuts. That pretty much leaves televised baseball and poker, cooking shows, decorating shows, West Wing reruns, and the occasional documentary. And we usually watch things on TiVO, which means that we can skip the commercials. Mostly she ignores the TV... but she does seem to like watching 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray.

[identity profile] kcobweb.livejournal.com 2005-12-05 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
We do watch some TV when Elena's around, but I'm getting more aware of it as she gets older. Her favorite thing to watch seems to be the weatherman. If he's not on, sometimes she looks that direction, and sometimes not.

[identity profile] rivka.livejournal.com 2005-12-05 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
When she was teeny tiny, I was willing to watch a lot more stuff in front of her - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI, etc. Now I'm afraid she would actually notice the violence and gore.

[identity profile] tammylc.livejournal.com 2005-12-05 05:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Me too! I used to watch all sorts of things when I was stuck on the couch nursing him for hours on end. Lots and lots of West Wing and Six Feet Under episodes on the replay. But then I was watching a Six Feet Under episode that had a lot angry shouting, and it just didn't feel right to create that kind of environment for him.

[identity profile] kcobweb.livejournal.com 2005-12-05 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
When we were stuck on the couch nursing in the early months, we watched a lot of Law and Order: SVU.

[identity profile] windsea.livejournal.com 2005-12-06 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
When Colin was about 14 months, and sick with ear infections and asthma, he and I watched most of an every midnight PBS "Tales of the City" marathon. He seemed to enjoy it :-)