And the Child Surpasses the Adult

I completely agree with the Academy of American Pediatrics that children under the age of two should not watch television. However, it's a well known fact that parents over the age of thirty tend to be exhausted by the day's end, and they are advised to consume copious amounts of television (preferably in the form of reality TV) to numb their pain. These two things are in conflict, though, when you have a child who won't let himself be put down in the evenings and who is downright fascinated by the TV and who will wriggle his way around to watch Sunday afternoon football and The O.C.

That said, on Monday I was tired. Just tired. The Doodlebug is very hands on when he's awake, requiring constant attention. He wants to be played with. Or he'll scream. And I just didn't have it in me for the sixth "Wheels on the Bus" or the twenty-seventh face game (this is where I point out all the parts of his face over and over and over--it's his favorite because when I get to the nose, I wave my fingers around and make a long "nnnnnn" sound before poking him in the nose, which always gets a gleeful smile). So I did it. I sat down (normally a big no-no with the Doodlebug) and I turned on The Teletubbies. Those of you who know me, know I'm actually a big fan of the 'Tubbies (those who don't know me can read my article on why I love them). Now, don't get me wrong: I had no intention of allowing television to babysit my child. This was a fully interactive experience with my commenting on everything we saw ("How many Pos do you see on the screen? There are five Pos. What color is Po? Why, he's red!"). Maybe the Doodlebug is a big fan of Dennis Miller, who says when describing what men want, "Don't talk to us while the television is on, all right? Very simple: Television is off, we talk. Television is on, we don't talk." But, more likely, it's a simple matter of my son having better taste than I do and he just doesn't like the Teletubbies. Every time that sun came on, the Doodlebug would start to cry. He got antsy at the bunnies. He found no joy in Tinky Winky's handbag. I should be proud and happy, but instead I'm depressed. Just one more thing I can cross off the list of "Ways to Soothe My Child." I bet the Doodlebug would love Jerry Springer. Could I...? Nah.