Oh, for the Love of Kiddie Television!

I was just reading a friend's post about her kids discovering Barney. I feel for her. Brandon went through a period of loving Barney and the Teletubbies. At the same time!!! It was hard for me. In retrospect, I'm not sure what I was worried about. But then I remembered......

It all started with a bad Teletubbies experience.

Waaayyyy back in 1993 - April 19th, as a matter of fact - I got sick. Very sick. Sick enough to actually call in sick to work. I worked at a Silicon Valley start up and got very little sick and/or vacation time, so I had to feel really really bad to not go into work. Anyway, I remember having a in inking for potato soup that day, but had no potatoes. And I was hungry. I got in my car - still very sick - and drove a whopping half-a-mile to Nob Hill foods for potatoes and milk. Somewhere in the middle of the store I realized that I had absolutely no recollection of how I'd gotten to the store, or how I'd ended up in the produce aisle. I paid for my items, drove home, and later woke up on the sofa, still clutching the bag of potatoes. My car was in the driveway, keys and purse on the table, and the milk was in the fridge. I'd blacked out somewhere in between. It was obvious I shouldn't have been out at all! It was then and there that I decided to spend the rest of the day camped out on the sofa watching TV. I wasn't tired at that point, but had no attention span, so I turned on the TV. The FBI siege on the Branch Davidian compound was coming to a fiery end, and it was being broadcast to the world on every television station known to man. Except PBS. What did I end up watching... the Teletubbies.

It was harrowing.

I was so profoundly disturbed by this experience that I vowed never let any children I might have watch the show. My British boyfriend, years later, never understood this fear I had of the Teletubbies. In fact, most people thought it was weird and irrational. But I stood my ground! Barney was a whole other strange show that I didn't think much of. My little brother, now in his 20's, watched it, so I was familiar with the world of Barney. But the big purple guy... he was odd.

Fast forward to 2005. I'm pregnant with Caitlin. And very tired. Pregnancy makes me exhausted! I sleep much better in the mornings (from, say 4:00 am to 10:00 am), but was blessed with an early-rising son. So, I'd sleep in as long as I could in the morning. 'Til, say, 6:30 a.m., when Brandon would wake up. I'd stumble through the whole morning ritual thing, which involved warm milk for the boy, and his sitting on my lap for extended cuddle time (with me nodding off the entire time). But then there was Barney, and the Teletubbies! Brandon would happily watch Barney every morning while having his breakfast, thus allowing me a full 25 minutes to shower and get ready every morning. It was heaven! There were things that I was trying to teach to Brandon, too, like the fact that he needed to hold my had in parking lots and while crossing the street. But he wasn't listening! Yet, one day, he reached up voluntarily to hold my hand when we were about to cross the street. I stared at this child, who obviously wasn't mine, wondering where mine had gone. Quite sweetly, the child-who-wasn't-mine said "Barney says you always need to hold the hand of a grown-up while crossing the street." I melted. Barney love began to flow from my heart. Even my husband, a hardened Barney-hater, developed a temporary soft-spot for the big purple lug.

Brandon's love for Barney lasted only a few months, but my tender feelings did not end so soon. When Caitlin decided she loved Barney last winter, I did not discourage her. It didn't last long, which also didn't bother me. Yes, the voice is irritating, and the songs are awful. But there are lessons to be learned. Showers to be taken. 25 minutes to myself!! The Teletubbies experience didn't last long for Caitlin, either. Again, I'm not bothered. Caitlin really isn't into TV (which is usually a blessing, but sometimes a curse). The only show she asks to watch is "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". And when the theme song is sung by They Might Be Giants, how can I say no? I can't be the only mom be-bopping around the house to the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" theme song, or the show-ending "Hot Dog" song. Can I?