*Warning* This blog post is not advocating that you leave your house with your television in charge of your children. Please make smart decisions and don’t leave Elmo 100% in charge of your children in your absence.
There are plenty of things to keep up with around the house that may fall of the radar when you have kids around. Dusting, cleaning out your junk drawer, feeding your pet hermit crab Mr. Jiggles, or making sure Granddad doesn’t overdose on prune juice are things that move down in the hierarchy of responsibilities after you have children. Keeping up with a kid, working around the house, and keeping up with a job at home can be more stressful than trying to reverse engineer Velcro. My two children, Beth who is 5, and George who is 3, are a raucous bunch to deal with during the day. This is going to sound absolutely horrible to most parents but (big surprise here) I’ve found that I can get a lot of work done by just turning on the TV and letting them watch. Sure, little George may come up and ask for a few things here and there, but for the most part, the kids are fine on their own. Just to clear the air for any commenter’s here, I’m not stationing my children there for 12 hours a day and feeding their lethargy, I am talking about 45 minutes twice a day so I can have some time to catch up on life.
You have heard the old adage that television will rot the brain. I disagree here as I bathe my children every night and have seen no signs of rotting. I think I have circumvented the rot because I am limiting their viewing to shows that I deem acceptable. This means no South Park or CSI, instead they watch movies and shows that are entertaining to my little ones as well as educational. There are so many TV shows out there to watch but only few that have real educational or motivational value. If any parent is looking for some tips, from my experience these are the top 3 that keep my children occupied:
1.Charlie and Lola: Both of my kids enjoy watching these two British children on TV. In each episode, Charlie and Lola will work together to resolve a problem. They teach children about problem solving and the benefit of teamwork. Either one of the pair may make mistakes, but they always end up working as a team to fix the problem.
2. Sesame Street: Cliché? Probably, but we all grew up on it and my kids love it – especially Elmo. The show has been playing forever and still comes up with new innovative ways to keep my children entertained and learning. Sesame Street teaches lessons about friendship, being healthy, and kindness, as well as all about numbers and the alphabet. Those crazy Muppets make learning fun.
3. Disney movies: This one requires some parental investment in videos but these movies last longer than an hour and never get old. Heck, I’m still watching “The Little Mermaid”. I can stand listening to the music that I’ve heard countless times before and I know the content of each movie is wholesome. Each movie has a beautiful female character to entertain Beth and a male hero to keep George role-playing for days.
With my children quietly watching television in the next room, I am able to finally get back to a little bit of work and cleaning. TV has been my ultimate babysitter during the day and it works cheap. I have yet to pay it, feed it, and it’s not inviting it’s boyfriend over to make out while my kids are asleep. If you are looking for a “break” to get other chores accomplished, I recommend the television be part of your blueprint. Remember, make sure your kids can actually learn something from their electronic babysitter so their brains don’t start to decompose.
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