I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite time of day.
We've gotten up, I've nursed the baby, we've let the dogs out, gotten our daughter dressed for school and packed her backback, taken showers and - phew - if there's time, which I'm always hoping there is, my husband and I sit down on the couch and have a cup of coffee before we're all off in various directions.
And the TV? It is on. It is so on.
Our program of choice is MSNBC's "Morning Joe," because I prefer mostly political talk in the morning. And that show stays on while the kids play and it generally continues to stay on until my son - who is six-months-old - takes his first nap.
Do does my child, under two, get TV exposure? Yeah.
Does it bother me? Not really, although the recent AAP recommendation and the public reaction has got me thinking about it more than I normally would. So I thought I'd revisit the topic in this blog post.
For me, the hard work and loss of personal time that come with raising little kids can be a truly difficult adjustment, so if moms and dads want to do something for themselves, like - God forbid - watch the news, I am ALL for it.
That's not to say that some of these findings - that, for instance, tons of time in front of the television can affect a small child's attention span - aren't valid. I think they are.
It's just that I've figured out my own happy medium, and it does include some passive television watching.
There have been a ton of interesting pieces written since the AAP's recent announcement, including Farhad Manjoo's "Go Ahead, a Little TV Won't Hurt Him," in Slate, and Janice D'Arcy's compilation of public opinion, with her own comments, on The Washington Post's parenting blog.
What are the TV-watching guidelines in your house? Is it taboo, is a little ok, or is the television on constantly? And what's a good payoff? Is a little screen time so mom or dad can take a shower or make dinner an absolute necessity, or something akin to the devil's work?
Alright, parents. Let's talk.
