I love the Baby Einstein videos. They give me a chance to make dinner in peace. Leah loves them, too. But lately, Leah's "appreciation" for them has turned into more of an infatuation. She toddles up to the TV and starts banging on it at all hours of the day, yelling "Be-be! Be-be!" in hopes of getting it to magically appear on the screen.Today after lunch she walked over to it and started petting the screen, softly asking "Be-be? Be-be?" as in, "Are you in there, my best friend? Would you like to come out and play with me?" And since the house is trashed and Leah has been stuck to my leg since 6:00 this morning, I gave in. She's watching "Be-be" and I'm taking a break.
But I'm a little disheartened. 95% of each day is filled with fun activities, good meals and snacks, and much needed sleep. But it is the 5% of each day that I let Leah watch her 20 minute puppet-filled video that is her favorite time of the day. It's tempting to give into her "Be-be" filled requests more often. I could run a business out of our home with the spare time I would have if I let her watch TV as often as she'd like.
But, I won't. We will still go Mother Goose story time at the library and play group and our swim lessons. We will still play with finger puppets and read stories and build block towers. We will still take walks around the block and through stores and pray for warmer weather soon so we can go back to the park. Because I'm not going to raise a couch potato! We will find a healthy balance between television watching and all of the other fun things the world has to offer. I'm adament!
I'm sure the "Be-be" battle will continue, and something tells me it won't be won anytime soon... just thought I'd share.
(And in case you're wondering why Leah is wearing so little clothing in the above picture, sadly enough, it was taken in September.)
5 comments:
Hey Melanie! I think this is the first time I've made a comment here, but just wanted to say that I think you are a fabulous mom! Little breaks are needed here and there and I don't think Jason, Leah, or anyone else foresees television being a main part of Leah's life. And I think it's great that you're adament about it. I think with things like this if there isn't a resolution made beforehand then unknowingly it gets out of control. Maybe I'm dramatic, who knows.
Hey Melanie! I'm a first timer as well! How are you guys?? I know what you mean about the tv...kate watches 20 minutes of sesame street almost every day. she loves it! Leah is adorable and getting so big! It would be so cute to see her walking all over the place! Take care!
I totally agree with the TV situation! Gotta keep it in control but it is definitely needed a little bit every day! Brooklyn sees a little bit of Signing Time or Word World or some other educational show a little bit now and then!
I feel the need to warn you...this is just the beginning! It only gets worse from here as the polite begging turns into screaming tantrums:P That's ok-just know that her love of the TV is normal and in the long run, it's the story books and cuddles with mom that will matter, not Dragon Tales:)
You are such a good mom! Just listening to all the stuff you do makes me tired and ready for a break. Eva loved baby einstien and Elle only watches it every once and a while...isn't it amazing how much they love it...it's like baby crack.
That would be so cool if we ran into each other at DisneyWorld! I know it's huge there but still that would be so fun!
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