Friday, April 9, 2010

The one and only rule....

I have a case of the Mama Guilts. I have broken the one and only rule that Mr H set when Moo was born....and that was NO TV.

A few days ago, Moo was cranky - she didn't want to play on her mat, she didnt want to jump in her Jolly Jumper, she didnt want me to sing her songs, and she didn't want to swing in her swing.

So, as I was just about to pull my hair out - I put her in her seat and sat her in front of ABC2 Kids.....and she loved it. It was only for an hour to watch Thomas the Tank Engine and Playschool! She talks to them, blows raspberries - all while having a lovely smile on her face and plays with her feet! When they sing - she makes all these noises! Moo LOVES Playschool!!

So, as honesty is my thing - I rang Mr H who was working hard out in the paddock and told him what I had done and told him how much Moo loved it - all in the one sentence. It appears that Moo has weakened her daddy with her charm because the reply I received was....'As long as she is happy'.

But then the Mama guilt set in (It is so evil)....I find that since Macie is hearing impaired - I always think that we have to do things doubly as hard so she is 2 steps ahead. I thought that I should be singing, dancing, reading books and doing the crafty thing instead of putting her in front of the TV. But then I thought - I am only human - she is only a kid - and it's only an hour!

So I have included Playschool in Macie's routine - I see it as entertaining and education and it also gives her "MOO TIME". I crave 'Me Time' so I figure that she needs 'Moo Time'. I wonder why I feel like I have to justify my decision...

Do any other Mamas feel like this??

6 comments:

  1. Yeah I have certainly felt lots and lots of mamma guilt! Like when I forget about something happening at school or haven't been able to volunteer at school functions because I always seem to be tending for my younger ones.
    But as they get older, you realize life is sooo not perfect and you can't do everything.
    I have always let my kids watch tv. I don't see too much harm to it other than those darn commercials. So it's probably best to stick with dvd's so their brains don't get filled with too much commercials! :)

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  2. I felt like this the first time my daughter watched TV. Now I monitor it to an hour of Sesame Street, which I actually enjoy too. I had to stop myself from feeling guilty - otherwise I'd be feeling guilty for every little thing I did.

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  3. First off just wanted to tell you that I think your blog is just fantastic, you really have a way with words. It's become my new favourite blog to read...and I've only just joined!

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  4. Hi Ladies! How fantastic to hear from all of you. I am absolutely touched that you are enjoying reading my blog! Thanks for the Mama advice - the TV guilt is now out the window!! Have a great weekend! Mr H is home - Yeehaa!! xx

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  5. Ahh - you remind me of myself when I had Baxter. Fortunately for us, there actually is wholesome, educational telly for our little people without the polluted commercials on ABC - especially ABC2 (which is a dream!). I think the real challenge will be later on in life when they are wanting to watch trash. For now - I embrace it as a bit of "quiet time" for me. But - I really do believe that you are conciously parenting and doing a great job of it.
    have a happy day - miss 10 followers! hurrah!
    xx

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  6. I think it's fine to allow kids to watch tv, but I've always felt with Julia that she doesn't need to have the tv going in the background making it harder for her to hear speech sounds. So the tv is only on if she's watching it - otherwise we wait until she's gone to bed to watch our own shows.

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