why tv is kind of amazing for kids

And the last story from the Betsy & Summer Production archives…

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We’ll be the first to say it. 
Being a stay-at-home mom is hard work. 
It’s tough being a martyr.
But we have good news. We’ve found a way to stay home and have smart, well-balanced, and well-behaved children-all the while keeping your sanity.
How?
Get a nanny. 
But not just any nanny. 
A smart, entertaining, and interesting nanny.
We’ve had the good fortune to have some incredible nannies come in and out of our lives over the years. In fact, due to the endless hours they’ve worked and devoted to our children, we as mothers have hardly had to do anything! 
(Other than, of course, keep them fed and alive. That is what we signed up for, right?)
Let’s take a walk down memory lane:
First, there was the baby nanny. 
So gentle. So calm. So cultured. 
Every day, several times a day, she introduced our babies to classical music in order to help build their brains. 
She even showed them amazing, beautiful pictures of art, nature, and bright colorful objects.
When our kids turned from babies to toddlers, we had the good fortune to find a hot Aussie manny. Actually, not just one, but four! 
Every day they’d come into our home and sing songs, do funny dances, and teach our kids that fruit salad was yummy yummy.
But there was only so much singing and dancing that we could handle. 
It was time to find someone a little more sophisticated.
It was time to go bilingual.
Our next nanny was a cute little thing. 
Every day, she brought a backpack stuffed with toys to entertain our kids. 
With her, every day was an adventure. 
She even taught our kids how to stand up to bullies-not just in English, but in Spanish as well! 
(Although isn’t “no!” the same in Spanish and English?)
Once our kids had mastered the basic Spanish language, we felt it was time to move on to letter recognition. 
The new nannies -a group of siblings- not only taught them their letters and sounds, but also how to put letters together to make words! 
Amazing! 
Our kids were some of the smartest ones on the block before they even got to preschool. 
Junior Mensa, here we come.
By now you’ve got to be wondering, how can a pair of stay-at-home moms afford such quality childcare . . . and so much of it?
We’ll let you in on a little secret:
Just get your remote. 
Dig it out from under the couch cushions, where it’s hiding among the stale Cheerios and missing sippy cups.
What?!?
Oh, yes, fellow Mummies, we are talking about the TV. 
The cheapest nanny you’ll ever find! 
Apart from paying a small fee to your cable company every month, it’s free. 
Even better, if you have some kind of On-Demand program, you can pick and choose your nannies at any time of the day, any day of the week. 
And they’ll work as long and hard as you need them to. 
Remember, cable doesn’t charge overtime.
But wait-don’t judge us. 
We do have standards. 
For instance, we would never let our virtual nannies into the kids’ bedrooms. 
And just as we would “screen” a real babysitter, we also did our research with our virtual nannies. 
We evaluated all the possible shows and allowed only the best, most qualified ones to come into our homes.
Really, how can you go wrong with Baby Einstein, the Wiggles, Dora, and Leap, Lily, and Tad? 
We’d never introduce our children to Barney (annoying), or SpongeBob (where’s the educational value in that?), Teletubbies (um, language skills?), Lazytown (creepy), Arthur (have you seen the way he treats his sister?), or Higglytown Heroes (delivering pizzas makes you a hero? We don’t think so).
{although, we won’t judge you if these shows happen to be your cup of tea.  we’re moms that get it…no judging here!}
So for those of you moms who have been feeling guilty about your child’s viewing habits, now you can proudly proclaim that you are expanding their vocabularies, teaching them music and art, and even introducing them to new languages!
Really, we’re doing it for the children. 
And if that doesn’t qualify us for the Mother of the Year Award, we don’t know what does.
To those of you who don’t even own a TV, we’ll say this: You are better women than we are. 
Without such digital magic available to us, we would almost certainly be buying stock in Bev Mo.
So on that note, pick up your glasses. 
(Not the kind you wear-we’re not that old yet!) 
Let’s say “Cheers!” to the nannies of the digital age.
© 2012 “Le Musings of Moi”
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