The Day that We Turned Off the Tv

I admit, I am a tv junkie. I love movies, and I have several favorite shows that I tivo and watch when M is sleeping. I also enjoy a warm cup of coffee and the morning news. As M has grown from a small unassuming baby into a wild and energetic toddler, she has payed more attention to tv than I thought was possible. As she grew and became more aware of her world, she noticed the tv and it's entrancing glow, so I made a compromise. If she was going to watch the images that were on the tv screen, I would make sure they were age appropriate. So she started watching Nickelodeon. Every time she zoned out watching Dora or Yo Gabba Gabba (which I love, for the record) I always felt a little guilty. Now I should state for the record that I NEVER let her watch tv all day long - EVER. But when she started asking to watch tv when it was off, I got anxious.

The other day, I was reading a post by another blogger about her children's lack of tv watching. Inspired, I decided to go a full day with no tv. At all. Really it wasn't that bad. M was entirely willing to be a child and entertain herself. Lordy that girl has an active spirit. She played outside almost all day, and when she was inside, she colored, read books (well sorta...she pretended to) and played with her toys. We even had some extra cuddle time, which for me was especially nice.

As I strive to practice Attachment Parenting techniques, it is always rewarding when M is more affectionate and more willing to listen to me rather than be a typical toddler and rebel. Today, she was an angel. And that is something special for a child her age. Instead of spending the day trying to get her to listen and behave, or seeing her with a glazed look on her face; I saw a child being a child and I couldn't have been happier. Despite the fact that my house looked like a war zone.

Now I'm not saying that our tv will stay off (I am watching Futurama now :D), but I know that M doesn't need it and I can survive the day with out it distracting her.