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I’ll admit I’m guilty of letting the girls watch a little too much TV on occasion, especially if I am trying to get some work done at home. I’m a realist. Sometimes TV is a lifesaver or, at the very least, a guaranteed half hour of peace and quiet. This is especially great if I am on a conference call or trying to talk to a client and the girls are at home. I’d rather have a little TV background noise then screaming over what princess name to bestow upon a pony.
I will cling to my ideals, dreaming of a day when the TV collects dust and we instead keep ourselves busy doing family crafts and baking bread and planting heirloom tomatoes. In reality, though, I have been known to break out in a sweat if one of the girls’ favorite DVDs is scratched.
Recently the girls have become quite into Scooby-Doo, especially Miss C. This is all fine and dandy because Scooby and Shag take me back to my own childhood, until I realize how scary Scooby-Doo can be with all the ghosts and witches and general occult themes…nice. It doesn’t really seem to phase them much, though, because it is, after all a cartoon. Also don’t get me started on what kind of clandestine activity the kids are engaging in the mystery machine to crave Scooby snacks all the time. Highly suspect in my book.
The other night we stopped at a Red Box rental kiosk to check out the new kids’ DVD releases. I tried to steer the girls toward a movie that I might actually enjoy sitting down and watching, maybe Adam Sandler’s latest flick Bedtime Stories, but they saw Scooby Doo and started jumping up and down and chanting Scooby Scooby Scooby! Never mind that it was a Scooby special on vampires and that I was sweating between my toes and the heat from the blacktop parking lot was starting to set the backs of my calves on fire.
I rented the DVD and the next thing I knew the girls were brainstorming on their killer vampire girl Halloween costumes on a 95-degree summer day and asking me umpteen times “how much longer” until Halloween. Next week we may rent Frosty the Snowman and bake Christmas cookies. Anything to escape the summer heat and anything that keeps them occupied and imaginative at this point is OK because we’re on the downhill slope to the first day of school in August.
As Monkey Man sits and watches The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, you can be sure that I can relate to t.v. as a lifesaver – for work or for sanity (it’s for my sanity now – Monkey Man has been asserting his independence a little too aggressively for my tastes these last few weeks. I’m hoping it has something to do with the theme of tomorrow’s holiday and after July 4, he will realize that Mom and Dad are the Boss. Not him.). Sometimes I really do feel badly that I’m not making the coolest holiday craft or planting a vegetable garden out back. But then I get over it and think, because it’s quiet when the t.v. is on and I CAN think – he’s alive. It’s all good.
I must admit Scooby Doo was a bit scary to me as a child (it even scares me a bit now!), but then I am the biggest scaredy cat I know. Luckily my kids are into Wizards of Waverley Place and Hannah Montana now and that I can cope with. In fact I rather look foward to watching it with them.
It sounds strange but children love sometimes cruel fairy tales like little red riding hood and snow white. They can distinguish between story and reality even in their early childhood years.
The girls love Scooby. And I hope ya’ll know I am TOTALLY being sarcastic about crafts and growing heirloom tomatoes. I have a black thumb!
Was it the one with the Hex Girls? My daughter is always singing their song. She is a HUGE Scooby fan. So funny, because I know so many little girls who love Scoob.
Came across this post and can’t help commenting about a point you made about a pet peeve of mine.
I’m a former preschool/kindergarten educator and its always made me crazy how inappropriate so many children’s stories and movies are for children.
Take the old time favorite of Hansel and Gretel (a terrifying story for kids)
I remember when I was teaching about 25 years ago before dvd’s Every time The Wizard of Oz was on T.V. we would have kids act out the next day (I know I was terrified of the witch as a youngster)
In contrast Blues Clues has a child development expert (more than one) on their staff and they don’t put out anything that doesn’t meet the proper developmental standards for young kids
Love Scooby Doo at our house. 2 little boys and its all Scooby all the time. Have you found Scooby Store yet? Pretty much anything you want Scooby Doo related, toys, movies, clothes, games, etc., background, episode guides, trivia.