Cold Turkey Television

I can't believe it is already December, and Will is nearly 10 months old. It feels like just a minute ago that I was telling people he was 9 months old, and what a big leap that felt like to me. He is developing so quickly. Just in the last 2 weeks he got his top 2 teeth in, and has learned to walk better and faster now (although he still walks a bit like Frankenstein). Today, while I was feeding him breakfast, he looked up at me and said, "Mama," just as clear as day. He's said Mama before, but usually it's like MOMMMOMMMOMMMOMMMOM. So this was a special moment for me.

I have been trying to wean myself from television, for his sake. I read this book called Bright From the Start about the development of intelligence in children, which has been interesting. The author firmly believes that a child under 2 should have very little exposure to television because the contant changes in images, programs, and commercials can hardwire the infant brain in such a way that it makes it hard to concentrate on any given thing for a sustained period of time. In other words, the more television your baby watches, the more likely he is to have ADHD.

Now Will has been exposed to television almost from the start. There were a few weeks in the beginning when we left the TV off, and I remember feeling this delicious disconnect from everything outside our apartment. I did not know what was happening in the world, and that was fine. What was happening in my world was good enough for me. But then, inevitably, the TV came back on again. As I look through the pictures and videos of Will from the last 10 months, there are quite a few where you can see or hear the TV in the background.

When he was three months old I got Guess How Much I Love You for him, and it happened to have a little DVD of the story in with the book. One day I popped it in and. . . Will was enraptured with it. His little mouth dropped open, and he just stared, absolutely quiet, for the entire 5 minute video. It quickly came to be part of our bedtime routine: first we watched the video, then we read a few books, then he ate, and then he went to sleep. In a little while I memorized the words with the inflections used in the video, and if I even recited the words to him he quieted down.

But then we moved, and a terrible thing happened. We got cable. And suddenly the TV was on a lot more, and suddenly there were all these kids shows and cartoons on, too. I really liked Little Einsteins, where the kids learn a piece of classical music every episode, but Will didn't seem to interested. Only two things on television can hold his interest. The first is Elmo. Every time Elmo's World comes on, he stops what he is doing to watch. He loves that little red furry monster. The second thing he likes is the opening credits to The Gilmore Girls, although I think he is mainly attracted to the song. It is on every weekday at 2pm here, and I got in the habit of watching it. Then one day when the song came on, Will dropped his current toy and crawled over to the TV. He likes the song so much that I bought it from iTunes and play it to him on our walks together.

It seems harmless enough. But when I was reading that cursed book, I realized that Will was being exposed to several hours of television every day. I have it on during the day. And when John comes home the first thing he does is turn on the TV and watch CNN or the news shows. He also like the crime shows on A&E like The First 48, which always show a murder. And when I thought about it, I realized that watching that stuff in the presence of our son is just not acceptable.

So I turned it off. So far it has gone okay. I watch some while Will is taking his nap, or after he goes to bed, and it's fine. I can sacrifice The Gilmore Girls for now. Yesterday was my Friday off and I went to a movie by myself. It was good to relax. I saw August Rush, and I absolutely loved it. I am such a sucker for those sentimental films with a little element of magic.

Anyway. it was good, and left me feeling sentimental, and it was in this mood that I finished the video for November. Here it is: