Commercials

Leanna has really begun to pay attention to commercials in the past 6 months. I avoided them at first, for the most part by only letting her watch Playhouse Disney, which has only one commercial that sometimes plays-McDonalds. That probably explains why I didn't have to deal with her begging for toys at the store. But as she got older she started to pay attention to the tv that her parents watch too. And I started to let her watch Dora and Blues Clues on Nick Jr. That channel is full of commercials that cater to kids. And that's when I started to get occasional requests for toys. Now that she's older commercials aren't just fillers between the show, she watches them too, as though they were a mini tv show. And advertising really works on kids that young, because they can't distinguish fact from fiction. Leanna believes, word for word, everything she sees on tv. That's why last fall she told me that next year when she goes to school we'll have to go to Walgreens to get back to school stuff. Because they have it all. When I told her we could get that stuff lots of other places she insisted that we had to go to Walgreens. Or she'll ask me to buy a product immediately after watching a commercial for it. She has started to frequently comment on commercials, and likes to memorize the words to the ones she likes. Sometimes it's obvious that she just likes the song that plays, other times, who knows what it is that appeals to her? If the commercial has kids, she has to watch. She loves the ones where kids yell out, Hurray for Huggies!

I don't exactly regret letting her watch Dora and Blue's Clues though. Both were educational, at least somewhat. Dora's mainly valuable for teaching a little spanish, counting, and the concepts of through, over, under, around, etc. In Leanna's case in particular it really stimulated her imagination. When we would go for walks she and I would pretend to be going through the forrest(We have to rescue Baby Condor!!) or cross the troll bridge, etc. She also became fascinated with maps. Dora uses a map every show. So although Blues' Clues actually contains more educational material, Dora really sparked her immagination. And I think that's what counts more in the long run. It's what you make of it-kids who mindlessly sit in front of the tv are going to be the worse for it. Am I guilty of letting the tv babysit-sure. It think what helps to make the difference is that I try to talk to her about what she sees. I'm not always good about doing it, but I try to when I remember. I help her process what she sees. And I try to take some of the better stuff from tv, and use it to help her learn.
Unfortunately, my husband and I don't agree on what is appropriate viewing for kids. He basically thinks he should be allowed to watch whatever he wants, whenever he wants. And if I don't like it, than I should go elsewhere with them. He has a point, I should make more effort to just get them away from it when he watches that stuff, but it's not always possible. Sometimes we'll be watching something otherwise ok, and a something scary happens. Or the show ends and Tom will flip or a horror flick or something. They still need supervision, and so they're around the tv when I'm cleaning downstairs or making supper, or am on the computer. Even if they're not technically watching tv, they still hear it and they pay attention, even when you don't realize it. So if I realize that something is on that could be scary or itsn't appropriate, sometimes I just tell Leanna to turn her head quick. At least then she won't have the visual in her head. Or if I realize it after the fact, I try to talk about it with her. People are always getting into fist-fights on tv. So one time we talked about it-I asked her what they could have done instead of fighting and yelling. She said they could have stamped their feet and yelled biza biza! : ) She cracks me up sometimes. Or we talk about how the stuff that happens on Charmed is pretend. People can't really throw fire or move furniture with a finger wiggle. And demons don't just appear in your home. Not mine, anyway.

I really wish I hadn't let her start watching tv as young as I did. Around 9 months old she started watching Rollie Pollie Ollie on Disney. This is when I was working, and Leanna woke up a lot during the night. It bought me an extra half hour to sleep. But it also started a habbit that's difficult to stop. If I could do it over again I would keep her away from tv for as long as I could stand to fight it. (Which would have been easier had I not started her so young.) I think some kids are more predisposed towards getting sucked into the tv than others though. Leanna would watch all day long if I'd let her. Justin just isn't interested. He'll watch for a few minutes, if that, and then move along. He has things to do! And I've noticed that Timothy's already paying attention to it.
Don't get me wrong, I've made peace with my choices. I just know that I need to watch how much I let them watch, (and how long!) and make sure that I help them learn (good things!) from what they see.