The Unthinkable

This morning Leon woke up way too early. It was before 4 am. He refused to go back to bed. He nursed and then wanted to play. I handed him my iPad (that I just on Sunday had downloaded an episode of Sesame Street) to watch Big Bird and the others. I laid back down beside him and he watched the iPad in amazement. That is a big "no no." The American Pediatric Society says no "tv" until two years old. The authors of "Simple Life" (a book I would recommend though I'm not following as closely as I would love) say to remove all things with screens (tvs, computers etc) from your house all together until children are over five (or was it seven?). But the concept that TV, videos, and computers are bad for babies and toddlers is not an American concept. When I visit other families with children Leon's age and sometimes younger they almost always have the TV on to some child friendly program. Leon received two Baby Einstein DVDs when he was just a few months old and they are for three months and up! (I did put one on for him when he was younger but he didn't seem to like it or care).

So what's a parent to do? In a perfect world Leon would sleep until 7 am and we would have interactive and engaging play with non-commercial products. But in my world, Leon has been waking up before 5 am fully ready to play. I'd like to call this morning an exception to the rule. I usually read books with him and play in his room when he wakes up early. My intention is never to have a relapse but I can't promise that Elmo and friends or Blues Clues won't save me in the future.