I know there is a lot of controversy out there about children and television. Brandon and I fall somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. We did not get rid of all of our TVs when we had Aidan, but we also do not let him watch TV very much. We like to be pretty choosy with what he watches so that he is not spending much time in front of the tube.
Occasionally I would let him watch “Sesame Street” as a baby. More for the colors and music. Then as he approached the age of 2 he really began to like the characters and understand some of the stories.
“Curious George” was added to the “ok to watch” list around the age of 2. I can’t remember what “Curious George” was like when I was a kid, but this newer version is great. It teaches lots of math and science concepts. Some even simple enough for preschoolers to get. Plus, George is just a silly, funny monkey. Aidan loves his antics and this show definitely was great as he started developing his sense of humor.
The show most recently added to the list is a newer show called “SuperWhy”. There are a lot of early reading concepts on the show. Some of the activities include identifying letters, starting to introduce lowercase letters, and phonics. Here is a good explanation of the show.
Right before Aidan’s nap today, I let him watch the episode of “SuperWhy” that I dvr’d while he was at preschool. I was amazed watching him. At one point in the show, one of the characters always asks the kids to help her phonetically spell a word. So she will tell them the word and then start asking questions about the letters. Today’s word was “BELL”. So she asked, “What letter makes the sound ‘buh’?”. I looked over and Aidan is excitedly shouting “B!!!” He did this for the whole word.
Now, Aidan has known his phonics for a while, but really the only way I had seen him use that skill was to tell me what sound a letter made and not the other way around. For instance, when he sees a sign he might pick out the first letter and tell me “M says mmmmm”. I had no idea he could work from the sound to the letter. Too cool! He loves this show and the characters are constantly asking the kids questions. It was so much fun to watch Aidan shouting answers back to his SuperWhy pals.
In my book, PBS rocks.
Here is a picture of Aidan today enjoying his episode of “SuperWhy” with his favorite furry pal Daphne.
And one from a couple of weeks ago of Aidan telling me that someday he wanted to build a nest like Big Bird. I left the room for a couple of minutes and returned to an “Aidan nest.” I love watching his imagination grow.
Okay, I’m a Sesame Street junkie right now so you’ll get no judgment from me! Emery actually says the alphabet now …. okay, it’s his own made-up version of the alphabet, but it’s a start!
Why is he so darn snuggly?
Ok #1. WOW. HE’s SO smart!!
#2…he’s got to be the cutest thing ever in his little nest!!! I love it. It makes me want to hug his royal cuteness and I’m not even his momma.
I love building nests. Does he build forts yet too?
Hello-
I have been reading your blog for quite sometime now. It is fun to read about Aidan and seeing him grow into such a delightful boy.
I have an 11 month old daughter and I have been facing some issues with her feeding. I read in one of your blog that you saw an occupational therapist and that helped you a lot.
If you could please write to me about the therapy that helped you..it would mean a lot.
I am at my wits end and pretty worried.
Thanks a lot-
N
Hey Lori, I’m going to cross-post in case you don’t get back to read the comments, but I’m not going to blast you by any means! I agree with you. I do regret that she put all of those children at risk. I’m also angry that in the midst of all of this hoopla not one media outlet has chosen to represent the long-term effects of prematurity. What a waste of air time! Also, the only thing the media have stated about the babies is that they are ‘doing well’ and ‘breathing on their own.’
My thought process is that we are probably never going to stop things like this from happening, so I’d rather spend my energy on trying to help her rather than the media circus of blame. I was just showing what a ‘religious’ person would or perhaps should do in the midst of all of this, but usually people ask to have their religious perspective left out of topics like these, yet it’s my ‘religious’ perspective that shapes and molds my opinion.
I actually agree with a lot of what you posted. I actually agree a lot with everyone thinks with regards to her decisions.
I definately won’t think anything of letting your child watch tv, Kellar has always watched tv. I started it when we were traveling 3 hrs at least once a week to see his pedi in Dallas, it was the only thing to keep him occupied and his love for the tv hasn’t let up yet. I think that Kellar has learned a lot from watching shows like Blues Clues and Elmo. There are days I think gosh I need to turn off that tv and get in the floor and roll around with him but he wants it on and he does leave it and come to me to play when he wants, I kind of do the “mom and son learning” stuff around his schedule..I think the big bird nest is hilarious, he’s such a smarty pants!!!!