Early on, we didn’t want to be parents who would plop their kid in front of a tablet to pacify them. In that idyllic image of the mind, meals would be a time for conversation.
And, of course, baby would compliantly nibble on her food as we talked about the days events. Familial bliss.
But oh, how reality bites! Mealtimes stretch out the full hour (or longer) as our daughter D– has mastered the imitation of the chipmunk. To be honest, I never knew you could chew on a teaspoonful of rice and vegetables for so long.
When we tell her to hurry up, she sarcastically makes a show of exaggerated mastication…unless she’s running off to the living room that’s been converted into her play area.
To that end, YouTube has become a sort of a saving grace. It gives D– something to fix on, at least part of the time.
Luckily, it doesn’t consume her attention entirely, and she knows well enough when to push it away, or to change programs when we tell her to.
To be fair, she only ever watches YouTube on a few occasions throughout the day, either during meals or snacks, or a little before bed, or doing ‘number two’ on the can.
(Speaking of toilets, YouTube had a hand in easing D–’s potty training. Talking Tom, yes, that Talking Tom, has an episode dealing with tummy rumblings. That always has D– in giggles, but it also cemented the idea in her mind about sitting and waiting on the toilet.)
Actually, it’s unbelievable how much kids programming is available on YouTube. It’s one of the biggest — and most profitable — segments.
Cocomelon, which I would never have known about if I weren’t a parent, is the most viewed channel; it made headlines recently after its parent studio was purchased for a cool $3 BILLION dollars.
There are plenty of other good channels that even I get to enjoy, and they’ve been a great bonding aid with D– as they have songs that we can sing along with her. Mother Goose Club and Super Simple Songs come to mind as great examples.
Just as challenging, though, is keeping track of the bad ones, and oh boy, are they plenty.
Kids programming, as I’ve said, is quite profitable, and there are quite a few out to make a quick buck with viral videos.
A little mindless animation I can probably stand, but some feature wanton destruction like running over toys. The worst offender is D’Billions which, in my view, can set back language development skills with their idiotic babbling.
Luckily, we can tell D– to change channels for which she obediently complies.
Over the past two years, I’ve seen an evolution of D–’s YouTube viewing habits. Maybe not so much evolution as different phases.
After the toddler toons, she moved on to numbers and planets; then to Peppa Pig; and then back to some of the musical programs.
Musical tastes via YouTube has been the most interesting of all. There was a time, for instance, that we had BTS and Savage Love in repeat, though thankfully, that lasted all of two months, and — thank God — she hasn’t taken any liking to BlackPink. D– seems the more soulful sort, and prefers Maroon 5’s Memories.
Though I might have had illusions about keeping D–’s childhood YouTube- and tablet-free, I’ve already let go of that idea.
There’s simply no use fighting it, it’s a cultural phenomenon that’s ingrained into life; and yes, it would be hypocritical of me, addicted as I am to my own channels.
The best we can do as parents would be to find good programming, and to filter out the bad.
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