Baby dinosaur steps
The kids have been getting more screen time lately. This shift is happening at least in part because I'm having a harder time defining what's wrong with screen time. There's a lot to learn from screen time, after all.
However, some of the screen time they get really doesn't have much redeeming value. For example, Skipper has watched several episodes of a PBS show called "Dinosaur Train"* which she really likes. (Duchess does too, because Duchess likes everything.) She learns a little about dinosaurs when she watches, but it's really just enjoyable to her for the same reasons that "America's Next Top Model" is enjoyable to me - it's silly and it makes her laugh and she doesn't have to think about it too much.
Yesterday, though, Dinosaur Train did something great for her. Some of the kids** were playing Dinosaur Train at recess, and because Skipper understood the reference, she joined in the game. She joined in! And then she and one of the kids spun off their own game, pretending to be pteranodons flying around the playground. Their own game! "Mom, I think (Pteranodon Boy) and I are getting to be friends now!" she said
I understand that this is a mundane moment on the playground, and I also understand that she's probably had other moments of participation that she just hasn't reported, but this moment seems to have been significant to her, and it's certainly significant to me. Every morning she says she doesn't want to go to school, and every morning I have to actually physically*** shove her into the classroom. Every morning I walk away feeling unhappy about it, and very aware that this is not something she HAS to do. Every morning I am forcing her to do something that makes her unhappy, and I'm doing it for reasons that sometimes don't seem good enough. Knowing that she had a joyful pteranodon moment yesterday helped me walk away today with a more hopeful heart. Thank you, screen time.
*Because somebody was like "Hey, what do preschoolers like? Dinosaurs...and trains! That would make an awesome show that preschoolers would love!" and that person was totally right.
** All boys, of course, because her class is more than two-thirds boys.
*** Not very hard - I just have to nudge her in. It's not a wrestling match - it's more like a token gesture of protest, like she's just making one last demonstration that she's sure as hell not doing this of her own free will.
However, some of the screen time they get really doesn't have much redeeming value. For example, Skipper has watched several episodes of a PBS show called "Dinosaur Train"* which she really likes. (Duchess does too, because Duchess likes everything.) She learns a little about dinosaurs when she watches, but it's really just enjoyable to her for the same reasons that "America's Next Top Model" is enjoyable to me - it's silly and it makes her laugh and she doesn't have to think about it too much.
Yesterday, though, Dinosaur Train did something great for her. Some of the kids** were playing Dinosaur Train at recess, and because Skipper understood the reference, she joined in the game. She joined in! And then she and one of the kids spun off their own game, pretending to be pteranodons flying around the playground. Their own game! "Mom, I think (Pteranodon Boy) and I are getting to be friends now!" she said
I understand that this is a mundane moment on the playground, and I also understand that she's probably had other moments of participation that she just hasn't reported, but this moment seems to have been significant to her, and it's certainly significant to me. Every morning she says she doesn't want to go to school, and every morning I have to actually physically*** shove her into the classroom. Every morning I walk away feeling unhappy about it, and very aware that this is not something she HAS to do. Every morning I am forcing her to do something that makes her unhappy, and I'm doing it for reasons that sometimes don't seem good enough. Knowing that she had a joyful pteranodon moment yesterday helped me walk away today with a more hopeful heart. Thank you, screen time.
*Because somebody was like "Hey, what do preschoolers like? Dinosaurs...and trains! That would make an awesome show that preschoolers would love!" and that person was totally right.
** All boys, of course, because her class is more than two-thirds boys.
*** Not very hard - I just have to nudge her in. It's not a wrestling match - it's more like a token gesture of protest, like she's just making one last demonstration that she's sure as hell not doing this of her own free will.
Comments
Arlo at his birthday... "Wow! I got a michelinaceras!" and "No, Emerson, it's not an apatosaurus...it's an argentinasaurus!"
It's a big hit here in DC.
JR