Before Henry was born Tim and I decided that we were watching entirely too much TV so we sold our flat screen and decided to go TV-less for a while.
As it turns out, not having a TV is pretty awesome! We still watch TV online but not having an actual TV means that we only watch shows we really like, since we can't just turn on the TV and watch anything that happens to be on. I am a fan of trashy MTV shows while Tim is more of a 30rock kind of guy.
So anyway since we don't have a TV and we really only watch shows after Henry is down for the night, Henry hasn't really seen TV at all. I mean yeah at a restaurant here and there, and I am sure he watches a little when he visiting his grandparents but all in all he hasn't seen much.
I noticed last week sometime that the Nickelodeon show Yo Gaba Gaba was available on Netflix "watch it now." I've heard all kinds of things about this show but I've never seen it so as Henry started to get fussy this morning I turned it on.
HOLY COW! He was mesmerized! He was dancing and clapping and loving it. He would look at me and then point at the characters and jiber jabber the whole show. I went back and forth between being really excited about how excited he was and scared at how he just stared at the screen without looking away.
I think TV is something that Tim isn't too excited about introducing to Henry because let's face it, TV is everywhere and soon enough Henry will be exposed to it all the time so why not hold out?
However, I don't think using a little Yo Gaba Gaba here and there is going to hurt him in the long run, and I certainly don't think it is a learning tool, but if he likes it and I can get an extra load of laundry done once in a while, is it really that bad?
I hate TV for the most part. If I want to watch a program it's usually on the computer like y'all do. I have a TV in my room and it's only ever used to watch Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. However, I will be watching True Blood as it is my jam.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my bro and I watched TV nonstop when we were kids. I turned out to be not such a fan and my brother still stares at the thing all freakin' day.
Elliott watches TV. Well it's on a lot and every once in a while I'll get lucky and he'll watch it for a minute or two. It it weren't for Nick Jr. I would never get to sit down.
ReplyDeleteElliott loves Franklin and the Wonder Pets, just singing the songs will make him clap and smile.
Don't feel guilty.
We still have two televisions but we knixed cable because we do just that: turn it on and watch whatever is on just to watch it. But we have Netflix so sometimes I turn on a Leapfrog program for Dante (even though I feel like he's too young to really "learn" from it) while I take a late shower. We watch movies with him in the room, but not all the time so I don't beat myself up over it :)
ReplyDeleteNo biggie. A little t.v. here and there is fine. Henry LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba and so does my hubby! Its such a fun wacky show!
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