You know what our parents didn’t have to deal with? “On Demand” and PVRs.
Yes, they can be sanity-saving on occasion. I know some parents use Treehouse on Demand to avoid shows they don’t want their kids watching (ahem… Janice… he WILL see Barney someday…)
When your child is obsessed with a certain show (as most toddlers and preschoolers are at some point) they will watch episode after episode after episode after… you get the idea. Often, if their desire for “MORE ‘magination Movas” is thwarted, there will be a tantrum of epic proportions. This is when PVRs and On Demand services come in very handy.
Right now, though, I am not happy with my On Demand. At all. At least when we were kids, you either watched a show, or you missed it. You didn’t have the option of watching it over and over and over and OVER. And over.
I’m pretty lucky that the toddler in this house likes a few different shows. However, in the past two weeks, he has become obsessed with one particular episode of one particular show. And I’m about to lose my mind.
Dora’s Hallowe’en. In my head, at all hours of the day, I hear: “Hallowe’en, Hallowe’en! Trick or Treat! Our costumes can’t be beat!” I start randomly chanting it, just because I have to get it out of my head. One night I shouted, “I’m a FIRECHICKEN!” in the van, driving home, before I even realized I’d done it.
It reminds me of my oldest, when she was just a little bit older than this. Her father, well-meaning man that he is, had recorded (back in the days of VCRs) a ton of different Christmas shows. One of them was Barney’s Christmas (yes Janice: Barney.) EVERY SINGLE DAY at lunchtime, I would put in that damned tape while she ate lunch. It was how she knew it was naptime: “When Barney’s Christmas is over, what time is it?” I’d ask. “Bedtime!” she’d cheerfully respond. I still cringe when that video comes out at Christmastime.
But back to Dora: seriously, Kid, this has to stop. Mommy has a very tenuous grasp on her sanity on a good day as it is. This may just push me over the edge.
Help… me…
The problem we are having with on demand is that she gets obsessed with a particular episode and wants it and only it…ie…the Jake episode of Special Agent Oso right now. And what do you know – after today it disappears! Tantrum!!
On Demand is great once in a while, but with the PVR, I set it to tape and keep only the 2 or 3 most recent episodes. My kids know that they only have it for a few days and that is it. It has saved my sanity.
FYI Cyn, I can proudly say my children have never watched an episode of Barney or Caillou!