Evie vs. TV
My 2-year-old does not understand TV.
You see, we don't have cable, or satellite, and so turning on the television and flipping through multiple channels is not really a concept my kids are familiar with, other than as a novelty at someone else's house. Don't think that we're one of those families where the kids spend all their time in educational, fulfilling activities, however. They still watch plenty of shows. They're just of the VHS and DVD variety. We also have a high-speed internet connection, and with a computer hooked up to our TV set, we can watch all kinds of shows via the internet.
But now, as of a few days ago, my husband rigged up an antenna so that we can now watch PBS again as well--the only channel that comes in. It's been quite awhile since we've had any broadcast TV at all--six months, maybe? And when you're only 2 years old, six months is like half your cognitive lifespan. Evie has no memory of broadcast television at all.
And frankly, she doesn't like it that much. Because when you're watching shows as broadcast by a network, there's a schedule. A lineup. Something pre-arranged by someone else that determines in which order you're going to watch your shows. And Evie does not like it when other people are in control.
So her TV watching goes a little something like this:
Me: "Evie, you can watch a show on the TV now. Should we see what's on?"
Evie: "Scooby-Doo! I want Scooby-Doo!"
Me: "Well, Scooby-Doo is not on this station."
Evie: "Scooby-Doo!"
Me: "No, there's no Scooby-Doo. But Clifford! Look, Clifford is on!"
Evie: "Clifford! Clifford! Yay!"
--30 minutes of peace while Evie is enraptured with Clifford--
Evie: "Again! I want Clifford again!"
Me: "Well, it's not a DVD, honey. You can't watch it again. It's over."
Evie: "Where go Clifford? It's all gone!"
Me: "Yes, it's all gone. Clifford isn't on right now."
Evie: "Why? Clifford? Where go Clifford?"
--Cue theme song of WordWorld--
Evie: "Noooo! I not like that one! Where go Clifford?"
And this is when she breaks down into tears because of the evil, evil television, that capricious box that gives her enjoyment and then cruelly snatches it away.
I think sometimes it's hard to be 2. You know life is rough when even the TV is out to get you.
You see, we don't have cable, or satellite, and so turning on the television and flipping through multiple channels is not really a concept my kids are familiar with, other than as a novelty at someone else's house. Don't think that we're one of those families where the kids spend all their time in educational, fulfilling activities, however. They still watch plenty of shows. They're just of the VHS and DVD variety. We also have a high-speed internet connection, and with a computer hooked up to our TV set, we can watch all kinds of shows via the internet.
But now, as of a few days ago, my husband rigged up an antenna so that we can now watch PBS again as well--the only channel that comes in. It's been quite awhile since we've had any broadcast TV at all--six months, maybe? And when you're only 2 years old, six months is like half your cognitive lifespan. Evie has no memory of broadcast television at all.
And frankly, she doesn't like it that much. Because when you're watching shows as broadcast by a network, there's a schedule. A lineup. Something pre-arranged by someone else that determines in which order you're going to watch your shows. And Evie does not like it when other people are in control.
So her TV watching goes a little something like this:
Me: "Evie, you can watch a show on the TV now. Should we see what's on?"
Evie: "Scooby-Doo! I want Scooby-Doo!"
Me: "Well, Scooby-Doo is not on this station."
Evie: "Scooby-Doo!"
Me: "No, there's no Scooby-Doo. But Clifford! Look, Clifford is on!"
Evie: "Clifford! Clifford! Yay!"
--30 minutes of peace while Evie is enraptured with Clifford--
Evie: "Again! I want Clifford again!"
Me: "Well, it's not a DVD, honey. You can't watch it again. It's over."
Evie: "Where go Clifford? It's all gone!"
Me: "Yes, it's all gone. Clifford isn't on right now."
Evie: "Why? Clifford? Where go Clifford?"
--Cue theme song of WordWorld--
Evie: "Noooo! I not like that one! Where go Clifford?"
And this is when she breaks down into tears because of the evil, evil television, that capricious box that gives her enjoyment and then cruelly snatches it away.
I think sometimes it's hard to be 2. You know life is rough when even the TV is out to get you.
2 comments:
Glad you have PBS! My kids forget we can't pause PBS shows like we can videos.
Silly mommy. Don't you know that Dora always comes next? Always. Every. Single. Time.
Except when Little Bill comes next. But Dora is sure to come after that, right? Right, Mommy? Dora come next!
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