In Cartoons We Trust

MLM got acquainted with the telly pretty early in life. He used to have frequent bouts of cold and cough and feeding him would be a nightmare…dragged out for hours on end with precious little going down the gullet. Also there were the days when nebulization was de rigueur. The television would captivate his attention long enough for us to feed him and nebulize him. It was a godsend. But television is also a double-edged sword…it does stunt your child’s growth by keeping him sedentary for long periods and not give them opportunities for two-way communication.

But necessary evil that it is there are still those shows that this child has been positively influenced by. He learns about the environment and the animals by watching Animal Planet and Discovery Channel. He learns about acceptable behavior from Noddy, Oswald the October (sappy as hell as it may be) and problem solving from Maya the Bee. The artistic side or the creative side was tweaked by I Can Cook and Mister Maker.

So while I do wish that he didn’t have as much affection for the idiot box and preferred to spend more time outdoors, the fact of the matter is that he  is learning from the t.v. His vocabulary is growing…he mimics a lot of things he hears on the television, he affects new physical mannerisms and does get a glimpse of the world beyond his immediate surroundings through it.

So what’s the ultimate downside you might ask? I have to record everything I want to watch since the t.v. is entirely his domain :p

Phooey!