TVSitter

I know this is probably going to cost me the Perfect Mom of the Year award, but… My kid spends time with the TVSitter.

I know. It’s not good.

If I am perfectly honest, I’d say my kid watches too much TV. I’d love it if she were out running around all day. I’d be so happy if she was making things out of PlayDoh, or colouring, or reading. I’d love it if she were doing crafts.

But I’m not that mom. It’s just not who I am. I can’t micromanage and direct her activities that much, and honestly, at three, she has the attention span of a soap dish. And I have things I have to get done in the course of a day. It’s just the way it goes. I have to chop onions, or unload the dishwasher, or sweep. I have to throw stuff in the laundry.

And sometimes? I just want a little time to connect to the outside adult world via the Internet. Truth be told, I spend a lot of time alone with a three year old. Some days, on soccer days, the only meaningful adult conversation I get is with the checkout people at the supermarket, or via the interwebs and email. So sue me.

I’m finding it’s just an easy out, sometimes, when I have something to do that requires my time and concentration, to plonk my kid in front of a DVD for awhile. She’s three, and she’s at that stage where she wants somebody to play with and interact with and whatnot. But I find that sometimes, I just can’t be that person.

The Wiggles can. She sings along, and dances, and does whatever moves they do. Same thing with Sesame Street. And a couple other educational TV videos. She’s learning and moving and dancing and counting. And it’s not like she watches commercials or daytime TV or endless Dora crap or anything — we have a limited number of things for her to watch, thanks to DVD, Netflix and no cable.

(Okay. I’ll confess she watches Top Gear with us. WHAT SHUDDUP YOU DON’T KNOW OUR LOVE OF THE HAMSTER AND CAPTAIN SLOW. Okay, and Mythbusters too. WHAT? IT’S KIND OF SCIENCE-ISH.)

And, because of her oral-motor issues, our OT recommended watching something during mealtime, to distract her from the textures and fear of what is in her mouth. A piece of toast used to take an hour and a half. This morning? 40 minutes. That is progress. So until we get over the issues, we do what it takes.

But we DO get out. Our schedules are fairly busy, with swimming lessons and gym classes and our regular errands and going to the sitter. And, in a couple of weeks, school is in the mix. And we go for walks, and go for play dates, and go to the park, and swim, and play in the yard…

And yet? It’s the TV time she has that gives me the endless Mommy Guilt. I cannot help but think I am Harming My Child by letting her watch TV. It’s what the books say. It’s what the interwebs tell you. Good Moms are ENGAGED and CRAFTY and ORGANIC and GREEN and GRANOLA. And I am so not.

Oh well. That Girl is healthy, and happy, and thriving. And as she gets older, she’ll get busier and more independent. And it’ll be less of an issue. I hope.

Besides, I was raised by a TVSitter. I was a latchkey kid who grew up during the golden age of TV comedy, and saw world events unfold on the nightly news. And look at me!  I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of useless trivia, a love of good quality television, and can recite most of the first 4 seasons of M*A*S*H dialogue by heart.  I owe much of my love of music to The New Music.  I learned about atoms from Venus Flytrap. I’m only just SLIGHTLY deranged.

She’ll be fine.