Television

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children under the age of 2 (http://www.aap.org/family/tv1.htm). None. Zip. Zero. That means all that Baby Einstein stuff, all Disney movies, Teletubbies, etc are out. As a hyper anal mother-to be, I spend a lot of time thinking about how things will be once the baby is here. I have spoken with dozens of mothers about this issue and as far as I can tell, the best thing about television is what it buys you: time. When the baby is spacing out to a half hour Baby Einstein DVD, mommy can wash the dishes, get a load of laundy in or just sit down for a few minutes. I do not pretend tp understand what it is like to have that little time and, the fact is, I probably will not until the baby is here. Still, R and I have made a committment to not allowing Samara to watch TV. To that end, we are planning on cancelling our cable subsciption, which should save us some money as well. It is a hard decision since I love me some Detective Stabler on Law on Order and I am--guiltily--a fan of the Bachelor, the Real World and other reality schlock. But we are committed to two years without television. For me, this means I do not even want her to know that there is such a thing as television. Until she is 2, I do not even want it on in her vicinity. Logistically, this is going to take some getting used to. R and I do tend to watch TV during our down time, probably more than we should. It would be nice to breastfeed while the TV is on since I am not sure how else I will stay entertained. The more I realize how much we rely on television for relaxation, zoning out time, entertainment and comfort, the more convinced I am that I do not want my child being too exposed to the TV. It is not a healthy habit. I have seen families who eat with the television on and basically leave it on for background noise all the time. I really do not want that for my family. Luckily, Samara has no attachement to the television yet. It is mommy and daddy who need to break their bad habits. I know it will not be easy and I will miss my evenings with Detective Stabler. But it is ultimately the best thing for our child.