Of TVs, Tents, and Butterflies
I come home from work and find Lydia in front of the computer, frustrated that she can’t pick the right accessory for the barbie doll like dress up game. In the living room, Elisa is sitting with cui ayi watching cartoons. In the back bedroom, Aidan is watching his own cartoons. I think now would be a good time to send the TVs to all the parents who want to have dumb kids. I turn off the screens and take the kids downstairs to play.
The TV thing is a bit of a conundrum for the modern parent, even more so if you are lucky enough to live in Beijing with ayis like we do. While I certainly think TV and computer games are “ok” in the larger scheme of things, the kids will grow more mentally and physically by being outside, using their bodies, and exploring. Yang also thinks the computer is really bad for their eyes; I’m less worried about that than the lack of physical activity and mental repetitiveness. Also, while TV may seem like a nice way to wind down the kids (or ourselves), it actually has more of the opposite effect and we are better off with some non screen activity before bed. For me, reading, for kids reading or drawing or legos. (not to be too preachy of course, since i also love to watch TV).
So Yang and I talked about it and decided to reduce the amount of household TV watching. While my approach would have been “you ain’t watching TV, it makes you stupid and crazy”, Yang was a bit more indirect saying that the power company cut off our TV and computer power supply. The kids bought it since the remotes no longer worked and the power switch on the TV no longer worked. I find this is some kind of confirmation that the TV was dumbing them down (Yang had just unplugged the power strip from the wall).
Thursday passed and then Friday. The house seemed like a quieter place and the kids while yearning for TV where learning to entertain themselves in other ways. For example, Elisa took a black felt marker to our faux wood floor and drew circles. At some point Friday they pitched a tent in the living room and when I got home after a late night it took me a second or two for my eyes to adjust.
On Saturday, more playing with the tent, Lydia treating it like a home and Aidan like a fort. We later took them to a butterfly park in north Beijing where Lydia especially enjoyed being around so many butterflies. Elisa mostly liked the ice cream and from what I could tell Aidan mostly liked showing Elisa the life stages a butterfly goes through.
Today, Sunday, say the tent finally taken down. Yang’s mom Yihang came over to watch the kids which meant TV on and computer on. I left for a walk at 5pm, asking them to turn off TV and computer soon, only to come home 90 minutes later to find all three TVs going along with the computer. Aidan asked if he could play games on my iPhone upon my arrival.
So all you parents who want to have dumb kids, don’t get too excited yet, our Beijing Allios TVs are still in play.