Television

As I posted earlier, one of my passions is exercise. This, I believe, is essential for the happy existence of the stay-at-home father (parent, really). I have another passion which is, oddly, at complete odds with exercise. TV. Boy, do I love TV. I also feel that, properly utilized, TV can be a constructive tool for the stay-at-home father. Now, when I say that I love TV, I mean I LOVE TV. My understanding of television shows and the whole TV universe is so nuanced that I could write a blog entirely about TV. Several blogs in fact!
In this post, I will present my formula for successful TV watching with kids. Just for kicks, I'll describe my guide for successful TV watching with my wife, as well (I told you that my TV knowledge was nuanced). I should start out by emphasizing that a child's age has, obviously, a significant influence on what is appropriate. My boys are too old for Sesame Street, for example. But there are shows aimed at preschool kids that can still interest them. Sid the Science Kid (on PBS) is an example of such a show. Super Wy (short for super Wyatt, I believe) and the Super Readers is another show aimed at younger kids which will occasionally catch my boys' attention. Although these shows have occasional success with my boys, Animal Planet is the real star in my children's TV life (Discovery Planet, as well). My boys love the Jeff Corwin Show. He's a snake expert who also focusses on other cool animals. He travels around the world and focusses on the animal life there (from whales to eagles, from pythons to lions, gorillas to crocodiles. An equally successful show in my house, Escape to Chimp Eden documents the efforts at the Jane Goodall Center in South Africa where they are attempting to reintroduce domesticated chimps to the wild. The protagonist of this show first rescues the chimp in question from captivity, then transports them to the Jane Goodall Center, and introduces the chimp to the group of rescued chimps already there. Many shows focus on the politics of the chimp troop at the center. It's a really interesting, exciting, and touching show. My boys are both educated and entertained by it. Big Cat Diary is an awesome BBC show documenting the daily trials (and believe me, it's not easy being a lion, let alone a cheetah or leopard) of lions, cheetahs, and leopards. Among the Pride is another awesome show. In it, an animal trainer who works with big cats in the US is hired by a game reserve in Namibia. There, a group of lions is acting too aggressively towards the tourists who visit the reserve. The pride will be put down if they continue to pose a threat to tourists (the economic lifeblood of Namibia). This show sounds a tad contrived, but it is thrilling and quite interesting. Wild Recon is another cool show on Animal Planet. The host is Donald Schultz, a South African herpatologist (snake expert?) who travels the world collecting snake venom to be used by pharmaceutical companies to make medicine. All his shows contain snake footage, but he discusses other animals, as well. These shows are awesome because my boys are entertained and informed by them. As am I. More than merely entertaining the boys and I, they give us (I'm actually the only one who needs this) a break from the sports/play fighting/other fun activities that exhaust me so. I have the added pleasure of feeling that I'm being a good parent because the shows are pro-social and non-violent. All in all, a big win/win situation ("remember to attach the flow of oxygen to yourself before assisting others"). What sort of a stay-at-home father would I be if I was always so tired that I was grouchy? A less fun one, a less effective one. TV helps me be the best dad I can be.
To be totally truthful, sometimes the allure of On-Demand cable becomes too strong. Caving to empassioned pleas of my children, I will put on a cartoon like the Batman, Batman beyond, the X-men or Spiderman. This invariably leads to my youngest asking disturbing questions that indicate the slow and potent process of his being de-sensitized to violence. I'm not perfect, OK? But I do stick to Animal Planet most of the time.
I also left out a significant portion of my TV watching. Sports games. What can be more bonding than a father and his sons sharing in the joys of watching the success of Boston Sports. The one caution I would add here regards one's level of sports fanaticism. I, for example, am incapable of watching any of the sports that I truly enjoy without getting so caught up in the action that I behave immaturely (to put it mildly). I guess one positive is that I have mirrored such inappropriately, immature behavior while watching the Patriots/Red Sox/Celtics that my eight-year old is a pillar of maturity in comparison. He has, on occasion, sent me from the room to "catch my cool" before I can return.
In terms of show that I consider wife-friendly (and I need to add that my wife, a strong and independent woman if ever there was one, is a complete weenie when it comes to TV. With her, I can only watch sitcoms with a hopeful slant (i.e. no Married with Children or similarly grim shows). With her, I watch(ed) the Gilmore Girls (which I admitted earlier is one of my favorite all time shows), Scrubs, Friends, 30 Rock, Parenthood, the Office, Better off Ted, etc. You get the picture. The grittier shows, which I do enjoy (Damages,24, Justified, Nip/Tuck) I watch on my own. I need to send a very hearty shout-out to my wife in one regard. I convinced her to watch Lost via Netflix. She LOVED it, and we continue to watch it. (I tried getting her hooked on 24 in a similar manner, but she found the show too stressful).
TV is fun. It is relaxing. It can be used with children if done so judiciously. (Try to avoid Man versus Shark on Animal Planet; it might freak your kids out). A similar careful consideration of TV options is useful with one's wife. But if you're a dedicated TV watcher, you'll make time for the grittier shows so essential to the TV experience.
As a final comment. If you don't have a TIVO, you should really get one. Using the wonders of TIVO, one can fulfill the duties of good parenting/good being-a-good-husband (i.e. proper bedtime rituals/going to bed early when your wife is "TVied out") and never miss a show.