P&K Insider

Why is it that my son is a perfect student for his actual teacher and a less than enthusiastic one for his own mother? Why?

I severely doubt that he whined when his kindergarten teachers asked him a math question or asked him to recite a few lines in a book. Man, that drives me crazy!

Despite this initial resistance, my son has enjoyed his Super Why activity sheets for the past few days. I love it because it’s a no-brainer for me. My kids watch a 30-minute episode of Super Why and then we have some fun with the activity sheets I download directly from from the PBS web site.  Suddenly I have a 45-minute lesson plan. This is especially important to me during the summer months when I don’t want to have my children’s brains turn to mush! (Read for background)

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When the subject of TV comes up with fellow moms, I always hesitate to engage. Inside my head, random self-deprecating remarks abound: “Oh, I bet compared to her I let my child watch too much TV. ” Or, “I let my kids watch SpongeBob, she’ll definitely think I’m a bad mom.”

Mention TV and there’s hushed voices revealing some guilt on behalf of the parent who uses it - on occasion - as a “babysitter.” Consider yesterday. I watched four children - ages 4 - 6 - all day (two of my own, two nephews) and the TV went on around 5 p.m. so I could make dinner. Do I feel guilty? A little. On average, my kids watch the tube for about an hour or so a day…sometimes more.  There I said it.

I’ve hesitated to cover “TV” in the pages of P&K because I think there is a sort of “stigma” associated with kids - especially the little ones - and TV viewing. Somehow, I thought the story “Must See TV for Toddlers” would rub a few people the wrong way. It turns out, I may be wrong.

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