Friday, July 24, 2009

Prime Time


Back when I was pregnant, I signed up to get weekly email updates from BabyCenter.com. (You plug in your due date and they do the rest.) During the countdown to Bob, I enjoyed the mini What to Expect While You’re Expecting aspect of these updates. During Bob’s first year, the emails were great because I needed someone to tell me how to do everything. The year from one to two brought a lot of articles about toddler milestones and activities and brain development information to obsess over. Since Bob turned three however, the pre-schooler updates have repeatedly proven to be a catalog of What-We-Are-Doing-Wrong.

The latest evidence: this week’s email update about The Best Children's Television. BabyCenter’s expert list only includes shows that Bob never watches. Ever. It’s not like he’s channel surfing and picking this stuff out on his own. It’s approved by us, and then we TIVO it and pass it along to him. We don’t let him watch more than an hour of TV a day but according to You-Are-Breaking-the-Baby-Center, nothing that we are watching makes the cut.

The shows currently getting the heaviest play in our house are:

Toot and Puddle – Two Canadian pigs (Brothers? Roommates? Partners?) travel the globe taking photos of the sights, wearing turtlenecks, and talking about their feelings. So OK, I guess they’re partners.

Wonder Pets – By day they are classroom pets (turtle/duckling/guinea pig). By night they save baby animals from danger. They fly. They sing. A lot. There is a Wagner theme running throughout. It is pre-schooler opera.

Paula’s Home Cookin’ – Bob loves The Paula Deen. She is a good “cooker.” She’s got a grandma-vibe and there is a dessert on most every show. She says “bacon” a lot. How this one didn't make the almighty BabyCenter list I do not understand.

Curious George – I know, but the stories are better then the ones that make me crazy. Dr. John does the theme song. The man in the yellow hat has a Will Farrell sound-alike voice. Nice. George communicates with expressive ooh ooh aah ahh monkey noises that Bob has adopted and uses on us when he doesn't feel like talking. Less nice.

And of course… Bob is still obsessed with the 2009 Grammy Awards.

So BabyCenter's list might have shows that are educational but Bob's list has an opera turtle, gay pigs, peach cobbler, and the Reverend Al Green and that is an education too.

6 comments:

  1. BabyCenter should take tips from you (observe kid's preference, approve, tivo, pass on) instead of prescribing, I think.
    --Kate (who knows lots of 3 year olds)

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  2. I've said it before and I'll say it again. It doesn't matter what we do. All of our mistakes will play out on a therapist's couch eventually.

    P.S. Hitler loved Wagner. I'm sure that's what turned him into fascist bigot.

    ReplyDelete
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