I carefully monitor my children's television intake: they watch only Noggin or PBS or Nick Jr. Sometimes, if E is desperate, I will let him watch something violent on Cartoon Network. (I swore I never would.)
There are all kinds of studies that demonstrate children are deeply affected by what they see on TV. Violence, behaviour modeling, every aspect of their personality is altered, however minutely, when they watch TV.
But, I am beginning to suspect that my children are watching TV that I have not approved. I am not sure when they find the time (in between pestering me and pestering me?) to find these shows, but they must be--for I can think of no other source for some of their more "colorful" behaviour.
First, How to Throw A Celebrity Tantrum. There must be a show with a bunch of starlets whose names I only vaguely recognize and aspiring leading men who have that floppy, ridiculous hair and somewhat effeminate faces (probably because they are barely pubescent) who show their bad behaviour when the clerk at Gucci doesn't have the belt/purse they are so desperate to drop a couple of grand on. But, my children have this petulant whine and stomping foot combination that reeks of spoiled star. S will lay on the floor and in total monotone, repeat endlessly, "But I'm still hungry," until he is either yelled at or fed. Ridiculous.
Second, Becoming A Lawyer in 30 Minutes per Day. This must-be infomercial-type programming was hosted by Billy May until his recent passing. The show teaches lawyer-ese, negotiation methods, and how to appear as though you are offering a service when really you are giving your client the shaft.
Third, I Live Like a Millionaire, (but make no money). The kids have parties, playdates, swimdates, and restaurant luncheons behind them, and three vacations ahead of them. They wake up and ask, "what are we doing today?" E claims that we are eating out less often, until I remind him that I take him and his brother out to eat lunch three days per week! They have full housekeeping, laundry, chef services, companionship and entertainment budgets. They have nearly any Netflix movie a kid could dream of, a Blu Ray disk player and big screen to watch it on. And the words "Thank you" are becoming less and less a part of their vocabularies.
So, I am thinking of pre-programming the DVR with some shows I'd like them to see:
SuperNanny/Nanny 911. I'd like them to see what it would be like to have some one whip them in to shape. It'd be nice to have a lovely British woman who doesn't take any BS come and whip my little darlings into shape. I picture jaws agape and defiance. But slowly, that triumphant conclusion where a child no longer treats his mother like a short order cook is so enviable.
Second, Any Soap Opera. I'd like them to remember that there are always going to be children who will need therapy more than they.
C-Span. My children need to learn that not everything in this world is entertainment for them.
Dirty Jobs: As a friendly reminder that if they don't love us, treat us nicely, and respect us, we will spend their college savings on a 365 day long cruise, and they will find themselves shoveling pig manure into heaps for some energy product that THEY could have invented if only they had treated their parents better.
I think I need a programming gig at Fox, no?
I make my kids watch Super Nanny from time to time. Then we put into place things we learned from her. It is funny when they realize where that particular punishment came from. Darn super nanny. It does show then however how bad kids look. Maybe I should video them sometimes and play it back.
ReplyDelete