Sounded simple enough.
LOL for days.
Screen time began up in here over a year ago with my buddy H--the baby that wouldn't nap. The kiddo that only last two weeks before deciding a better setting would be best. Well somewhere in that two weeks I discovered (I honestly don't remember how now, maybe his mom suggested it?) that cartoons would keep him from melting down when he was super tired but wouldn't sleep.
The educator and researcher in me judged harshly. The new mother, full time student and new child care provider to three infants said "yep, sounds good!".
So Mother Goose Club entered our world. I rationalized that songs were good for babies. Nursery rhymes are good for language development. So what if brightly colored costumes and cartoons are the source of delivery?!? H left, but then the three year old joined our midst a few mornings a week and he was an ardent fan of this cartoon Masha and the Bear so we gave that a go.
Isabella and A paid virtually no attention to the TV until one day last winter they did. Not a lot at first, but there was this show Word Party that in particular grabbed Isabella's attention and what can I say? If I needed to shower...make dinner...have 13 minutes of a mental break...enter Word Party.
One of the babysitters in the spring introduced Isabella to Bubble Guppies during one of the hour long crying fits after I would leave for class and it was raining so a walk was a no go. The girl has been hooked ever since, and her partner in crime has since become a junkie too.
So far neither of them request TV, BUT I suspect that will come as their language skills improve. So for now it provides me the opportunity to shower, clean up after lunch, transition after naps, get dinner ready, and clean up after dinner. When the weather is nice I can trade some of these in to playing on the screened in porch time, but now that winter is coming I see that becoming more difficult. Each of these opportunities affords me 23 minutes of getting stuff done without whining, fussing, clinging or having to referee toddle disputes.
If only I could get my conscious on board as the educator/researcher continues to judge and gives me the side eye every. dang. time.
An academic mom Facebook group I'm on were discussing a new book that provided contemporary research on screen time, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Desperate to assuage my teacher-mommy guilt...
It was good and provided perspective that screens are not, in fact, the devil incarnate. But, alas, it still gave a hard no to kids under two and tv. The good news is we are well below the average screen time for preschoolers. The bad news is they're not supposed to be watching it at all sooooo....
Real Life Mom: 1
Teacher mom: 0
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