Dora The Babysitter

My kids watch television; they watch a lot of cartoons.  We have a TV, but we do not have any outside feed to the "box" like cable, satellite, or internet.  We rely on go "old" VCR tapes (kids ask your parents what those are), and DVDs that are mostly used and abused.  Yes, we are so in the early 90's.  About the time we found out we were expecting kids, we cancelled all outside media except dial-up internet.  We made that very hard decision (at that time) because of financial reasons and we were so busy we didn't get any benefit out of what we were paying for.  We haven't looked back since and I actually enjoy not having to watch a weekly series until 11:00 pm because I am hooked.  My parents have satellite, so we get updated on the major news.  We have upgraded to faster internet so I have certain places that "hook" me (darn that Pinterest) but I try to set a time limit on how much of my time is used searching.  The draw back to not having the immediate feed is I am usually 2 days behind some major news event.  I usually catch the middle of the conversation and feel awkward asking "What happened?", especially if I am not sure it is a celebrity or someone I should know.  We miss any previews to new movies, so I am way behind on inside jokes.  My sister is a movie-aholic (I secretly love it and wouldn't tell her to stop), so she supplies us with a lot of recent movies.  We also get caught up on our families favorite series with the luxury of watching the whole season from start to finish without having to wait until next week.
Yes, my kids also get there morning and, maybe, afternoon programming every day while at the grandparents.  There are some very educational shows that help teach my children, from counting, to letters, math, music, and art.  There is even some eclectic dancing involved if Grandpa is around (Lord help us!).  I was watching "Dora" with my children the other day.  Most people know about Dora and almost any parent could sing the theme, map song, or back-pack jingle.  My brother, a firefighter, gets some strange looks at debriefings when he starts singing the map song.
I was thinking about how Dora is very educational, fun, and energetic.  The episodes really do get the children involved and they then are "hooked".   I caught myself thinking that Dora wouldn't make a very good babysitter and had to laugh.


But seriously, here are my reasons.

1. She repeats every instruction 3 or 4 times.  This is very aggravating for me as a parent.  I think that is why I have developed as stutter.  
2. She never tells her parents or an adult where she is going or who she is with.  That would send me into "mamma-bear" panic mode. 
3. I do not understand everything she is saying.  Ok, I should have a second language, but I don't.  I get really leery about others saying things I can't understand, even mumbling is hard on my emotions.  
4. Her adventures are very dangerous.  She is always walking in some spooky forest, crossing oceans, or climbing high mountains.  Why don't we just tell our children they could sky dive also?



My children being adventurous while watching television.

5. No matter how urgent getting to the destination may be, she always takes a half-an-hour and has many distractions along the way.  I hate when "The Boy" has to fight off Swiper, the fox, on the way to bed.  

I am glad my children are "cultured" even if their dancing style makes me laugh.  Even though they watch TV, they aren't addicted to it.  They can't be because we don't have that option at home.  Sometimes, they just want to imagine and play, and that is great with me.