We’re back from Cleveland and things were magnificent. We got to spend time with our friends, and our children had a blast. They have three boys so my son, who has two sisters, was in heaven. They played and played and played until their little bodies couldn’t handle it anymore. You would think that they would welcome sleep, but noooooooo, they just had to reenergize for about 15 minutes and then they were off and running again. Sleep they say, who needs sleep? The adults do that’s who. So, for my wife and I this wasn’t a real relaxing trip, but it was certainly a fun one. Our Cleveland friends are wonderful people. We reminisced into the early morning about life’s splendors and challenges; we discovered that we have a lot more in common than we had thought. These are the type of friends that you hold on to forever. These are the type of friends that will stand by your side through thick and thin. These are the types of friends that you can share your inner most demons with and they won’t look at you and judge. THESE ARE FRIENDS.
I think what made this visit nice was that we felt comfortable the entire time we were there, and that our friends weren’t afraid to ask us questions about Amanda. Sometimes when we have Amanda with us people are a little intimidated and don’t know what to say. It’s those moments that make me uncomfortable because I’m usually the one that has to do all the talking.
Another thing that was noticeable was that our friends don’t let there kids sit in front of the television for hours. My kids love TV and everything Disney, however, they didn’t miss it this weekend, part of it was because they were to busy playing, and the other part was because our friends television was kind of off to the side, unlike in our house.
My questions to you are:
Do you have a TV?
If yes, how much TV do you let your children or child watch?
Do you think about getting rid of your TV? If so, why isn’t it gone yet?
I often think about taking it away, but it does act as a babysitter sometimes. I like to have it around because I think our nanny would go nuts, plus I like to sit in the big ol’ leather lazyboy and watch in the evenings when I have the time.
I guess I’m kind of curious as to what the heck I should do. Your opinions are welcomed.
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8 comments:
bstrong:
(sorry, was all excited about vacation, and didn't folow up with tinkletoonz site info)
http://www.tinkletoonz.com/
http://www.tinkletoonz.com/special_needs.html
http://www.tinkletoonz.com/special_needs.html#06
Regarding tv, we turned off the videos a few weeks ago to work on intensive toilet training. Our son's vocalizations went way up. That was great. However, we do need breaks. There has to be a balance.
Also, I think he has learned a lot of words from the "Love and Learning" videos.
Thanks for the website info. Regading TV, your right, there has to be a balance. My Peanut and James watch "Love and Leaning" too and I think they both get a lot from it.
Yes we have TV.
The boys watch Sesame Street in the mornings while mark & I get ready for work. Then they watch 30 minutes of either wiggles, more sesame street, baby bumblebee or signing times when we get home and I'm cooking dinner.
They do watch more at the weekend but we're pretty restrictive about what they watch.
Having a son with three sisters I know the fun your little guy had with a few more males around [something about that testosterone...gotta love it!]
Sounds like a great friendship, and one to cherish.
As for TV [I hate it, but you'll laugh at my post today].....my husband [when he is home] is the lazyboy/remote kinda guy. [His memory of the shooting of JFK was sadness, not for the president [he was only 4 years old at the time] but because 'I Love Lucy' wasn't on. lol!
We have 4 TVs in the house. The children are not allowed to watch mainstream TV unless it is approved by me [being a TV junky dh would say yes to everything!].
They actually don't watch much TV. Emma Sage loves videos [she thinks that all TV shows can be stopped and started at will]. We use Love and Learning, but I prefer Small-fry productions. She has the movie 'Annie' memorized.
TV can be a useful learning tool and a great 'babysitter' [if not overused] and there are so many wonderful educational videos that I believe a TV can enhance all of our lives.
Peace, TM
Hi...I'm just visiting your site for the first time. Sounds like wonderful friends and a good time away.
As far as TV is concerned. I grew up without a TV, really and truly. My husband grew up without a TV, really he did. And we don't have a TV in our house either. Never have. Never having had TVs it's easy to find other things to do. I love to read, always have. My ideal down-time activity is reading. Ahhhhhh, lovely. My kids all love to read and/or be read to. We do have a computer and they have some games there, many of them learning games.
My husband also has a laptop that plays DVDs. Once a month we have what we call movie night. It's restricted to only once a month and we are extremely picky about what we watch.
That's what we do...for what it's worth.
I wouldn't get too hung up on having a tv - as you say it's a great baby sitter sometimes, and has the chance to be educational too. Having said that, the problems come if the kids are watching it excessively.
My wife is far more anti-tv than I am. She feels that you should be living your own life rather than watching other people's, and it's difficult to argue with that. But sometimes, it does its job perfectly.
However, while our 10 year old son would sit and watch tv all day if we let him, our daughter who has DS tends to pretty much self-limit. She gets bored with tv quite quickly and doesn't tend to watch too much.
Cheers,
Kim
Just found your blog and am enjoying reading the travels of a dad with a child with Ds. Thanks for sharing!
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