Without TV for tots, moms may turn into Oscar the Grouch
By Beth Teitell
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
Look, if the American Academy of Pediatrics wants to send their docs out to sing, finger paint and read to kids starting at 5 a.m. - every day, weekends, holidays, snow days and day-care-staff education days included - be my guest. Otherwise, zip it, OK?
In case you’ve been too engrossed in prime-time educational shows such as ‘‘American Idol” and ‘‘The Sopranos” to follow the latest snit-fit from the world of children’s television, the do-gooders are targeting a new line of DVDs - from Sesame Workshop and the respected Zero to Three child-advocacy group, of all places - that feature baby versions of Elmo, Big Bird and the rest, aimed at children as young as 6 months. The AAP take? No TV for tots.
Hey, there’s Baby Cookie Monster dancing and giggling with his grandmother, and Baby Big Bird wiggling his silly yellow toes. Quick! Hide the kids! God forbid they should see such things.
What’s not to like about a DVD that shows tiny versions of the beloved Muppets dancing and singing with their parents and caregivers, and aims to help adults interact with children? Isn’t it just like Elmo’s father - a stay-at-home dad, no less - says: ‘‘This could be the beginning of some beautiful friendships!”
Dream on, Pop.
Foes are calling ‘‘Sesame Beginnings” a ‘‘betrayal of babies and families,” and cite research that shows early exposure to television could prove detrimental to attention span, cognitive development and sleep patterns.
I’m not advocating the plunking of young kids in front of the boob tube as Daily Plan A, but a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do. And sometimes that means slipping in a DVD, even if you feel sick when the action on the screen shows the very mother-child bonding that’s not going on in your home.
In fact, the one time I considered snapping off the TV before a show ended was during a particularly touching scene between Little Bear and his mother on ‘‘Little Bear.” If there’s one thing I didn’t want my young sons watching, it was a kid and his mom doing an activity together, when their mom, not wearing an apron like Mother Bear, was whipping around the apartment, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking dinner and, OK, checking e-mail.
Meanwhile, the well-intentioned doctors and child-development advocates always assume the choice a kid faces is between watching TV or doing an enriching activity with an adult. Yeah, like moms are putting off the papier mache model of the United Nations for two hours of ‘‘SpongeBob.” ‘‘It’s more like watching TV or staring at the ceiling,” one mom joked.
What mother can keep up the entertainment and enrichment 24/7? Or even 12/7? We’re only human. Even if we wish we were more like cartoon bear moms.
