Commercial free

Posted on July 11, 2008

After spending some time at my parents house, I realize that here at home Chloe has a commercial free existence.  My parents have Tivo, which is wonderful, but you have to fast forward through the commercials.  Here, we have Myth TV (ask john for details, because I only know it works) and it has an automatic commercial skip.  We don’t listen to the radio, instead In the car I listen to my Ipod with my carefully selected adult, yet kid appropriate music.  We don’t receive a newspaper because both John and I get our news online and from the Daily Show.  All the online computer games she plays are carefully selected by me, and if there are any adds, I skip them before she sees them.  In addition to that, we use mozilla with add and pop up blocker.  When we get a new movie, John puts it up on Myth TV, eliminating all previews.

I believe this is good, for the most part.  I do worry sometimes that we have too much control over what she sees and what she hears.  Will she be able to establish her own likes and dislikes if she is never exposed to anything other than what John and I like and dislike?  Will she miss out on the excitement at Christmas time of creating a “wish list” based on the toys she sees on the TV and in adds?  Will she be able to keep up in social conversations with her friends if she doesn’t have the same exposure to “pop culture” that they have?

I have already noticed that she doesn’t recognize certain characters, specifically Disney classics such as Micky Mouse and Donald Duck.  She uses the generic “Princess” to describe any of the female Disney characters and doesn’t delineate between Cinderella and Snow White (I do have a fairy tale book that has generic forms of these characters that wasn’t published by Disney.)  She doesn’t know Dora, Diego, or the Doodlebops.  The only cartoon she watches at this time is the Little Einsteins because its the only one I can stand, and with Myth TV (or any DVR) she can have it on demand, so she doesn’t have to watch the Disney Channel until it comes on.

It’s possible that most people wouldn’t worry about this, but I am a believer in pop culture.  I enjoy being able to converse with anybody based on what is happening NOW.  I enjoy that sense of belonging when you discover that somebody you just met has read the same books, watches the same TV shows, enjoys the same movies, and listens to the same music.  You have an instant connection.  Am I denying her that by creating  this electronic bubble?  Or, will she be able to see through all of our protections to discover her own identity?  I always assumed once she started going to school, we would start losing control over what she is exposed to, so I wanted to make sure she understands quality before she was thrust into all that noise.  But, perhaps we aren’t giving her a chance to see the bad in order to compare it to the good?

I really want her to have the best in life, but I wonder if I am being too controling in my attempt to expose her to only the best.  And I guess there is the argument that the best is subjective, and who am I to decide?  I know there are more important issues to worry about, like is she eating the right kinds of foods and getting enough excercise.  However, I feel that preparing her socially is also important, and I hope that all of the cool gadgets we have aren’t stunting her ability to cope with the competitive and sometimes cruel kid society.