TV as the Teacher

I was going to call this post "In defense of TV as the babysitter." But that opens up a whole can of worms and opinions.
Instead, I want to talk about how TV has worked to teach my children. It has not made them zombies or inattentive or whatever else TV has been blamed to do.
I swore I would never use TV as a "babysitter." But I have to admit I tried. When my son was an infant he insisted on being held all the time. I would be doing dishes and he would be sitting under me in his swing, screaming his head off. I mean I was right there! I would have loved it if he took an interest in TV...believe me.
When he was about one, he had an interest in The Wiggles. In case you don't know...The Wiggles are grown Australian men that dance and sing...and the children love them. They are very good at what they do. My son first communicated to me using a simple sign, for banana, that he saw The Wiggles do during a dance. I should have probably gotten sign language videos right away but didn't really put it together. I was working and exhausted...and a first time mom.
The Wiggles were great for a long time. He liked other stuff as well. But there is so much crap on TV that I had to really watch what was being dumped in his head. I set limits on his broadcast TV viewing. If I watched TV at night, he never had much interest except to dance to the theme songs and commercials. We got a DVD player in our van. I make no apologies.
He also watched Sesame Street and Little Einsteins. I even got him the acclaimed "Muzzy" language system from the BBC to teach him Mandarin Chinese. They had little effect. He does enjoy Thomas The Train because of the songs and even sings along (very funny to hear).
Then he branched out to Blue's Clues. In this blog you will find my lament to Blue's Clues. Then my son had a breakthrough in learning. I completely credit Blue's Clues and probably my son being ready to learn. Blue's Clues taught him all his colors. We of course reinforced it...but Blue did most of the work. I also credit the show with my son being more interactive. He interacts with the characters on the show and then wants me to as well. I would dance to The Wiggles but mainly get weird looks.
I slowly worked on his alphabet with him. Then someone gave us the Leap Frog learning DVDs. One of them is called The Letter Factory. This DVD follows a character that goes through a factory that teaches letters their sounds. Each letter is introduced and the sound is also introduced - in a sing-song manner that is easy to remember. Not only does my son know any letter he sees but he also knows the sound. Sometimes when he is announcing a letter he sees he might just say the sound the letter makes. It is amazing. I can't wait to introduce him to the other DVDs in the set.
Another favorite is the Potty Power DVD. Sounds silly but it's only 20 minutes long and goes into how to use the potty, wipe, wash your hands and the joy of being a "big kid" and wearing underwear. At the end there is even a story about "The Princess and The Potty." All of this is done with great enthusiasm and catchy songs.
My daughter now enjoys these DVDs. She is watching some of them younger than he did. I am okay with that...she can watch ALL the Potty Power she wants! She also responds to some more than he did. She loves his Mandarin Chinese video. She even grabs the "Muzzy" stuffed creature and brings it to me when she wants to watch it.
One thing to remember about TV and the children - is that WE have to watch it to. If I want to puke every time I see the beginning of Teletubbies...I don't want to encourage anyone else in the house to watch it.
TV as a babysitter? Not for me. TV as a tool? I think it can be used as one. And used well. I don't think my son would be where he is now in learning and communicating without it.
I admit putting on a DVD that they like so I can start dinner or take a shower...that is just surviving parenthood...and that's another story.