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I have so many
things to say to you
all today! We just
had the most
excellent Mom to Mom
meeting. For those
of you who were
there, isn’t Pam
Knifong such an
encouragement to us
as moms? She has
some great wisdom
and we young mothers
need to be clinging
to women of such
wisdom for guidance!
(see Titus 2) Do not
underestimate the
awesome task you
have in raising
young children,
ladies. I will be
typing up much of
what I remember from
Pam’s talk today and
posting it in the
Mom to Mom section,
so make sure to
check it out.
It has been on my
mind for a while now
to talk about videos
& what we’re
exposing our kids
to. First of all, I
think I need to let
you know that even
though I am able to
share my thoughts
with all of you on
this site, I do not
feel like I am
endowed with any
more wisdom than the
rest of you. It’s
not like I woke up
one day and thought
“wow, I think I’m
really smart and
have a lot to share
with other moms, so
I think I’ll create
a website.” By no
means! I saw a need
for moms to find
resources and
encouragement, I
felt like I could at
least learn
how to put a website
together, and so
with the help of my
husband (a computer
“geek”) and a few
friends, I figured
it out. I am a mom
who is struggling
just like the rest
of you—I deal with
discipline issues
(oh boy do I), and
everything else you
guys are going
through. I just
want to use this
blog as a place to
be vulnerable about
my struggles, to
share my
conclusions, and to
(hopefully) get some
feedback from all of
you. My prayer is
that somehow this
would all help you
in your daily life!
Now for the topic of
videos. I have
struggled with
playing videos for
my kids for a while
now. I didn’t used
to think it was a
big deal, and then I
started thinking
maybe it was and I
began to limit how
much they would
watch to one show
per day. And now
I’m allowing even
less than that, and
I want to share my
thoughts with you
about this:
-
First, I have
begun to feel
like I have to
compete with the
kind of
entertainment
that my children
are used to
seeing in
videos. It
seems as though,
when I am
attempting to
teach them, or
read to them, or
even memorize
Scripture with
them, I have to
make it REALLY
fun and exciting
to keep their
attention. Now
maybe this is
just because
they are
toddlers, and
this is the way
toddlers have to
be trained. Or
maybe it's
because they've
been entertained
by professional
entertainers on
the videos
they've been
exposed to, and
they are totally
bored with
anything less.
This seems like
a bad setup for
future
training. They
need to be able
to pay attention
to less
entertaining
lessons so that
they can grasp
important
principles in
life (after all,
they cannot be
taught
everything
through
videos!). It
also puts a lot
of work on me,
as their mom--I
am not creative
enough to make
everything as
entertaining as,
for example,
Blues Clues!
-
Second, I have
seen my children
creating idols
for themselves
out of the
characters I
have been
exposing them
to. My kids are
obsessed
with Blues
Clues. I do not
say this with
great joy or
pride. I do not
think we humans
ought to be
obsessed
with anything or
anyone besides
God, and I
really feel that
if we are, it is
an idol. I have
created this
idol for my
children,
unknowingly, and
now that I have
realized it I am
trying to undo
my own damage.
We haven't seen
any Blues Clues
videos for about
2 weeks now (and
I have like 13
of them that I
got at a garage
sale once!). I
purposely did
not get the
little Blues
Clues jacket I
could have had
for free today.
My kids have
Blues Clues
shirts, and
Blues Clues
shoes, but I
haven't been
pulling those
out. I've
refrained from
calling our big
arm chair the
"thinking chair"
anymore. I am
attempting to
teach them so
much more about
Jesus in place
of Blue or
Steve.
-
My kids tend to
misbehave more
on the days that
I show them a
video. Watch
this for
yourself, in
your own home.
I have been told
that it is
because watching
a video builds
up so much
adrenaline
inside of the
kids, and then
they need to
release that
adrenaline
somehow (but
when they're
sitting,
watching a
video, they're
not releasing
any adrenaline).
-
Lately I've
found that I
really enjoy
just having my
kids beside me,
"helping" me in
my daily tasks
rather than
having to
entertain them
with a video.
When I do the
dishes, they do
dishes. When I
cook, they stand
on their chairs
with a bowl and
a spoon, and
they get to stir
up flour and
water, and
sometimes even
chocolate chips.
:) When I do
laundry, they
help me put
clothes in the
washer and pull
clothes out of
the dryer. They
have little
brooms from the
Dollar Tree and
help me sweep.
They have popper
toys & help me
vacuum. As we
work we can not
only whistle,
but we can
memorize
Scripture, and
we can sing. It
is truly a joy.
And I feel so
much better
about it than
putting them in
front of a
video!
-
There will be
times that the
kids cannot
participate in
what we are
doing. For
example, if I am
bleaching our
kitchen tiles, I
don't really
want the kids
breathing it
in. And they
aren't really
talented at
"helping" clean
the toilet yet.
So, I've been
letting them sit
at their little
table and
partake in
meaningful
playtime
activities that
might increase
their thinking
skills. For
example, they
play with felt
figures on felt
boards, they
lace big foam
puzzles, they
play with wooden
puzzles, they
color, etc.
-
I've always
protected my
children from
watching
television and
justified videos
as being much
cleaner & within
my control. But
how can a child
discern the
difference?
They know the TV
is on, and it's
fun to
watch--whatever
is on it.
Through the
viewing of
videos, we are
creating a bad
(ADDICTIVE)
habit for our
children of just
clicking on the
TV when they
need a
distraction from
life.
-
Many of the
shows we allow
our children to
watch have
hidden agendas
or philosophies
that we are not
even aware of.
For example, on
Blues Clues,
Steve sings "if
we use our
minds, take a
step at a time,
we can do
anything that we
wanna do." This
is secular
humanism! It
does not say "I
can do
everything
through him who
gives me
strength," as
Philippians 4:13
says. No. What
Blues Clues is
telling our kids
is that they
have power
within their own
minds to do
whatever they
want to do.
-
Some moms might
argue that kids
can learn a lot
from a video.
Well yes, they
can learn their
abc's and their
shapes, etc.,
etc.--but I
would take so
much more pride
in my children
learning these
skills because
of careful,
diligent time
that I spent
with them
instead of from
a video. And
for me, the
risks of other
exposures is not
worth it.
Please
e-mail me if you
have any other
thoughts about
this. Pam Knifong
gave me this link to
share with all of
you, also:
Dangers of
Television. |
