When Gracie was an infant, she did not like those Baby Einstein DVDs at all. I was jealous of moms who could plop their babies in front of the TV for 20 minutes, so they could cook dinner or take a shower. Not my baby, she was too active-needy-attached.
But a few weeks ago, I turned on Sesame Street and Gracie was interested. Two episodes later, she asked for Elmo. I thought, wonderful! I can write a few emails, take a shower, or have a telephone conversation while Gracie is amused by something for 20 minutes.
Now she asks for it. Begs. If the TV cabinet is open, she starts pleading “Elmo” or “Dora” in that cute little baby girl voice. Oh, so tempting for me. She is busy for four DVD episodes, and I actually get a break.
But am I a horrible person for letting Gracie watch TV at age 17 months? Now, she only watches Elmo and Dora — both pretty educational type shows, and Dora is very engaging (asking the viewer to stand up, dance, answer questions). Gracie now knows how to dance (mostly spinning, shaking her elbows and clapping, very cute in a bizzare, manic way) and say the words “backpack” and “map” upon demand by Dora. Another odd thing is that Gracie actually stands in front of the TV for the entire show, so I am not worried about a couch potato effect.
Of course, the childhood development powers-that-be say that no one under age 2 needs to be watching TV. But no one under age 2 needs to eat ice cream either, and I don’t feel guilty about letting Gracie have some of my scoop, once a month.
I guess that’s my answer — balance. Moderation. “They” can’t say TV is okay because people might plop their kids there for 14 hours a day — but 30 minutes or an hour is okay. And, these programs do have some educational value, and a bit of harmless entertainment. Just don’t let the DVD repeat on autoplay, hour after hour.
Except when I’m really, really, tired. Besides, it’s not like I’m letting her play in traffic.
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I'm Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, a writer, teacher, and coach.