Lauren makes regular requests for the shows she would like to watch. She typically asks at the beginning or end of the day when she’s tired. But I realized I had a problem on my hands when my daughter started turning on the TV herself, preferring to stand nose-to-screen.
I’ve been able to distract her with feeding the dog, coloring or running around the kitchen table, but more often than not she’ll have a conniption if Ernie, Elmo or George don’t appear the minute she asks for them.
I pick and choose my battles carefully but, like my daughter, I get tired — and watching “Elmo’s World” for a half hour is all we need to snap out of whatever funk we’re in and back into our routine.
I can justify taking a TV break when we’re by ourselves, but watching with guests incites maternal guilt. At a recent playgroup, Lauren turned on the television and asked to watch “Signing Time” — one her favorite DVDs. I recognized the beginning signs of a tantrum, so I gave in, but not before asking the other parents if they minded.
“Is this show OK for little ones to watch?” one mom asked. This was a fair question, but I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mother did she think I was? “Signing Time” is as tame as you can get.
“We don’t watch TV in our house,” she explained. “We like to go to the library.” In my defense, I explained that the show helped Lauren develop language skills. She’s quite the talker.
Another mom seemed interested in teaching her son to sign, so I offered to lend her the “Signing Time” DVD. She politely declined, adding that they could find a signing book at the library.
“We’re not a TV exclusive family!” I wanted to clarify. We read books. Really. We do.
When I’m not over-matched: two kids vs. one mom, I try to hold my ground. Sometimes I’m successful and sometimes I’m not. This makes me wonder, what would Elmo do? Tune in next time to find out.
Jennifer Hazard lives and writes in Yarmouth.