I'm not sure what the dealio is but lately I've been very passionate about some baby-related things. Well duh, lady, you got a 7.5 month year old! Uh huh, but I'm not one of those parents who've done all this reading and research during my pregnancy; I'm not someone that has an idea of the way things should be done and stick with it. I like to think that I'm pretty easy go lucky with all that stuff.
Cloth diapers: Ugh, I just don't have the time, energy, or care enough, frankly, to do it. Sorry. I'll take Pampers with that awful Dry Max, please.
Homemade baby food: Well sure, that'd be great, but we rarely eat anything homemade as it is so when the hell am I gonna pull out the food processor to grind up some shit that I can just get from a jar? Hell, I don't think we even have a food processor or a blender or the like!
Pacifier: Well yes, please. She's a baby after all... but she only has it at nap/bedtime and in the car. That is it. You won't see my Lovie crawling after the cats... with a pacifier in her mouth. You won't see her jumping in the jumperoo... with a pacifier in her mouth. You won't see her playing with her toys... with a pacifier in her mouth. I'm not sure where my passion for this came from, but I cringe anytime I see a baby who can play on his own with a pacifier in his mouth. It really bothers me for some reason. And when I see a child who can walk and talk with a pacifier in his mouth, I want to scream. I could care less what it does to his mouth or teeth, I'm just solely bothered by seeing an older child with one during playtime because to me, it SCREAMS that the parent or caretaker is pacifying the child and not wanting to hear from them. And that saddens me immensely.
Television? NO. This is the baby-related thing I'm probably the most passionate about. Not so much that I go preaching to others about it (although is that what I'm doing with this blog post?), but I do have my opinions about it and while I really do like to think I'm open minded and try to see both sides of the coin, when it comes to babies watching TV, nothing I've heard or read can change my mind that babies who cannot talk and walk should NOT be watching TV. I have no facts, no references to back up my thoughts, but I really feel strong about this one.
Oh but Babyboy loves watching his Baby Einstein videos! BULL.SHIT. Babyboy never knew something like that existed until you sat his happy ass in front of the tv to watch it. Why on earth would a parent do that to a baby?!? I cannot fathom this and I'm being dead serious. And I don't want to hear that it's educational either. Give me a fucking break. So then my parents and generations before them (remember I'm old) who grew up without TV are stupid- since they didn't have these "educational programming" available to them?? Sorry, but the only reason a baby is watching TV is because his parent or caretaker is lazy and doesn't want to interact with a baby. That's the ONLY reasoning I can come up with. That, or it quiets a fussy baby.
Now before everyone gets their panties all bunched up, I'm not going to pretend that my child doesn't watch TV- because the fact of the matter is that I, myself, LOVE Television!! Therefore the TV is usually on when we're home... but I promise you that Lovie has NO interest in it and watches nothing more than 30 seconds here and there. Maybe my Lovie really is the most brilliant child to exist, but I really think she's like most babies who just want to explore and play and touch and put things in their mouth. So on the extremely rare occasions she might get sucked into the sights on the TV, it gets shut off and she happily moves onto her next fixation.
Oh but Babygirl loves watching Dora in the morning while I get ready for work. Uh huh, RIGHT. Again, how the hell does she know she loves watching it unless you put her there in the first place?! Sure she's gonna get sucked in to it and be quiet for 20 minutes so you can get ready, but why can't she just play in her crib or pack N play instead? Again, maybe my Lovie is just that awesome and brilliant that she has the ability to do this - to entertain herself in the crib in the mornings with a couple stuffed animals, some links, a book, and her mobile moving and the music softly playing.
I don't know. It just really gets my goat when I hear parents of babies say how much their little one loves Elmo or Dora when the only way that's possible is if they're being sat in front of the TV nearly every day to watch it. And that, like the three year old with the pacifier, saddens me greatly when every day brings something new to be discovered for these young, growing minds yet they're moved in front of the TV for part of it!!
And now I'm off to go buy my Lovie a BOOK. ; ) : D
AUGH that reminds me how I got all riled up when you posted about that babe at daycare that wasn't allowed to crawl. It makes me so sad too when parents pacify instead of play.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly about cloth diapers and homemade baby food. I don't care enough to do either one. Disposable diapers and jar food work fine for us.
ReplyDeleteAbout the pacifier - my 19 month old still uses her's, a lot more often than I'd like, but I certainly would not classify myself as a parent who doesn't want to pacify or hear from my child. There are times, in the car or in the store, etc (for example) when she's fussy and the binkie does the trick. I'm also a stay-at-home home who spends all day, every day, home with my daughter and I certainly do not neglect or ignore her. I wouldn't lump every parent of a toddler w/ a binkie into a group of people who don't want to pacify or hear from their child. That's certainly not the case at all.
Regarding TV? I agree with you that the only way a baby learns to love a certain cartoon is, obviously, when they're exposed to it. That being said my daughter loves Barney, Olivia and Elmo. She does have TV/cartoon time every day. Yes, I feel kind of guilty about it but once again we are home all day every day. This puts a little something extra into her day and she actually has learned some things from her favorite shows. If your daughter is only 7 months right now you might be singing a different tune when she's a year or 18 months. I was determined not to let my child watch TV/cartoons either and look at me now. However I totally agree with you about previous generations getting by just fine without TV and I despite letting her have *some* TV time every day I'm also bound and determined NOT to let my children grow up as couch potatoes, addicted to TV, video games, internet, etc. I know that our generation tends to be very lazy in lots of ways and instant gratification is a huge thing for parents and kids today. I'm very old fashioned in lots of ways but yes, my daughter watches cartoons.
Loved your post by the way!! I love hearing/reading bloggers speak their minds without worrying about offending anyone. :) It's your blog... tell it like you see it. I love it!
Cloth Diapers - I am right there with you? Who has the time (or the stomach) for that nastiness?
ReplyDeleteHomemade Baby Food - I'm on the same page with that too! My kids probably eat way too much processed food, but damn, we are a two-working-parent family. They are healthy and that is what matters.
Pacifiers - I HATE them and I cannot stand to see toddlers with them! Huge pet peeve there. We used them when my kids were babies as recommended to prevent SIDS, but Rylie's were tossed at 4 months due to her ear infections and Bryce's were tossed shortly after 6 months. I have friends that let their 3 year olds suck on a paci. Gross. But to each their own there. My kids have security blankets and some may think that is horrible.
As far as the TV, though...Bryce LOVES Dora. And yes, I exposed him to it! LOL But honestly it only grabs his attention for a minute or two when she sings. He was actually exposed to Dora on our long road trip to Alabama because Rylie was watching some DVDs. We found that if he started getting restless and he heard Dora he would settle down. Neither of my kids really watch TV though, other than in the car. Rylie is always on the go and won't sit still long enough to watch anything anyway and I think Bryce is the same way. I guess I have geniuses too!
Sorry for the ridiculously long comment. I just really liked this post. I'm typing from my phone, though, and now my thumbs hurt! If this doesn't post I'm gonna scream...