The No-TV rule on weekdays

I might be sending a message here that conflicts with my previouse post. In that entry, I did try to redeem some good points about exposing our young toddler to television. But I also did say that back then Lakay and I had no choice but to give in.

Now our situation here in Belgium is dramatically different, because no matter how busy Lakay and I are as students, the whole job of parenting is solely our own (no more helpers this time). The great thing about it is that we are now more in control of things. And this is where enforcing a no-tv rule on weekdays comes in.

In a much earlier post  I mentioned this rule imposed by my parents on us when we were younger. My mother had multiple reasons for not letting us watch TV from Sunday night to Thursday night-- to save up on household expenses, to help us focus on our studies, and to avoid being badly influenced by the "immoral" values promoted in the shows (these reasons are not necessarily in order). -- It's not that we grew up in an Amish household; I think the concerns of my parents were then just like those of other post-martial law folks. Still even if this rule seemed strange to many, I'd like to think that all five of us ended up ok.

I began to appreciate the effects of this rule when I got older and started living with my own family.

The TV question: my own take

Time and again, I would find articles featured online on the harmful effects of TV viewing on very young children. And I would honestly say that I've read a good number enough to make me feel guilty. Yup, Lakay and I are among those parents who exposed their children to television too early by piling up on Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby dvds. But our intention was then to at least mitigate the effects of our absence  as working parents while our Bugey was left to the care of his yaya. At the very least, it was a better alternative to simply exposing him to the TV shows that yaya will be watching with him while she rests. I know that this is not the first time you've probably heard a parent make this excuse. And this is not simply to justify the questionable practice. It is simply to state that the modern system of living sometimes hardly leaves us with alternatives.

Now instead of lamenting over our modern slavery, I thought of highlighting some of what I view to have been helpful effects of those dvds to my son. I want to highlight the pluses in order to harness it to our child's maximum advantage.

Parenting a school boy: Imposing a fixed routine

More and more I am beginning to understand that one of the greatest challenges of parenting comes at the point when education becomes a serious matter for children. I'm talking about the transition from the play-and-learn style in kindergarten to a more regimented one in grade school. I thought of noting down some of the things I have been doing to take up this challenge, especially those that I have learned from my own parents, and from things that I have read from everywhere. (Will do this through a series of entries). 

In my son's Flemish school, the contrasts between kleuterklaas (kindergarten) and lagere (grade school) are very clear. Starting grade one, kids are asked to bring bigger bags that would fit books and portfolios containing reports and briefs from the teacher.  They now bring home work everyday (except Wednesdays and Fridays),  and have their parents check and sign their agenda (datebook). Performance up to the minute detail is measured and evaluated. Finally, attendance in classes must now be strictly observed (the Flemish government actually has a law that penalizes parents on the fourth unexcused absence of their child).