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Originally Posted by lurkette
Is it possible to get away with being a parent and not watching Barney? Pleeeeease?
I have grand visions of being one of those granola crunchy parents taking their kid to the park and the museum and outdoor concerts and reading Baby Shakespeare and stuff, and not having to listen to insipid kid's music and watch Bob the Builder or Dora the Explorer. Is it possible to get away with that, or do you have a kid and you'll do anything to entertain them, even if it means caving to mass culture? Having worked with developmental scientists, I know that a normal environment with pots and pans and some bright colors will pretty much do the trick, developmentally. But culturally, is it hard (impossible) to be a parent and avoid all the kiddietainment?
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While my child will NEVER watch Barney, and we avoided all TV for the first year, you very quickly realize who childrens programing is for, and its the parents. Imagine a little dynamo of limitless energy who is able to do all sorts of fun things like try to turn on the stove burners, climb stairs, empty the pots and pans drawers, which all are as fun as any toy. Now imagine if you wanted to concentrate on some other task besides watching this dynamo without wondering if the house will explode or you will need to make a trip to the emergency room. The Wiggles on DVD helps out a lot here.
I don't think they are 'bad' in any way, he learns a lot while watching, and its only a small portion of the day for him, but when you need that break its really nice to have.
'fruit salad, yummy yummy, fruit salad, yummy yummy.'