I'm guilty

I admit it, I'm one of those bad, bad mommies that uses TV as a babysitter. But before you call in the child psychologists to repair the damage or put me on the Dr. Phil show, let me explain...

I am not a big TV watcher. My TV is rarely, if ever, on during the day. I have nothing against TV, I just don't watch it much. I can't stand the noise, so unless I'm actually sitting watching something, the TV is off. But I admit I have been actively promoting Sesame Street to Hannah. Not because I have strong feelings towards the show and it's "educational content", but because it is on at a convenient time. It comes on at 8 a.m. which is just a few minutes after Alex and Tara leave for school and usually the perfect time for me to either take a shower or get a few things done around the house. So for the past several weeks when Sesame Street comes on I get all excited and make a big deal of it and dance and sing along with the show. Well, for 2 weeks Hannah has had absolutely no part of it. She looks at the TV, looks at me, and off she goes to find her next potential disaster point. She couldn't care less about Big Bird, the Grouch, or Elmo. But I guess the power of marketing and persuasion finally got the best of her. Today, she actually sat through the entire show!!!! Do you realize that is 60 total minutes of uninterrupted ME time! It was amazing. So amazing that I had to keep walking in the living room every 30 seconds wondering what she was doing. I was sure she was not really watching TV. But for 60 whole minutes she sat there, sucking her thumb, holding her blanket and behaved like American children all over the country. She was glued to the TV. But it was Sesame Street, so don't stone me, ok? And I promptly turned it off at 9:00 and played with her. So have I traumatized her for life? Will she have to go on Oprah someday and talk about her horrible childhood of watching Sesame Street while her mom showered and put on make up? Somehow, I think she will survive.