My Kids Aren't Going to Watch TV (And Other Stupid Things I Said Before I Had Kids)

We all did it.  We all talked with our friends at dinner, in our dorms, on the phone.  We all talked about how our kids would NEVER do xyz. 

Ha!  That is all I have to say.  I would like to publicly appologize to everyone I ever thought I would be a better parent than.

When I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I had a long list of things we would and wouldn't do.  The first, and probably most laughable, was the idea that if we never gave our son a pacifer, he wouldn't know what he was missing and we would never have that five year old with the pacifer problem.  (Of course, the pacifer would be known by it's proper name, not binky or bop or another silly name.)

This obviously lasted about 15 minutes after he was born.  Pacifers are the world's greatest invention (next to DVR, of course). 

Then there is the classic, I won't use TV as a babysitter.  I have to admit I did put up a noble effort on the TV front for about a year.  Then, well, sometimes life just happens.  My husband was injured in Afghanistan in 2008, when Luke was 16 months old.  (Another story for another day.)  We moved into a hotel room in Texas while he was in the hospital and guess what Luke did?  He learned to watch TV.  He was a natural.

Then when our second came along, TV became my best friend.  In fairytale land I would have Luke engaged in art or play-doh as I prepared to nurse the baby, which would last the scheduled 15 minutes and then we would all go play outside.  I know some of you are belly laughing now because this NEVER EVER HAPPENED.  I meant for it to, I would have liked that, but in reality, it just didn't happen.  Sometimes TV was the only way to keep at least one child (or Mommy) from crying.

Let's see...my kids weren't going to eat fast food, they would only eat at the table, my furniture would not be sticky, they wouldn't run around in restaurants, would eat all veggies, wouldn't play in the Chuck E. Cheese germ factory, would never go out in their pajamas.....the list goes on. 

Why am I telling you this?  To remind you that you are a good parent.  Even if your kid is in Pull-Ups until first grade and watches Sesame Street over his cold, sugary cereal every morning, you are doing a great job. No one tells you that your kids are going to come programmed with their own little personalities and you can't change them.  Why would you want to?   Sometimes you just have to use the resources you have available, even if it's....gasp....the third show they have watched today.