First published Piece

Well, I can't believe it but I actually got a piece of mine published in the local paper. It was supposed to be a humorous piece - hopefully this will be the first of many.

Here it is:

I am a stay at home mom of three children under five years old. I also attend graduate school online as well as run my own business. This of course necessitates that I actually spend some time not directly interacting with my children. Usually, by this time, they also need a break from me also. I'm sure even a four year old reaches his fill of Frere Jacques and coloring the letter A. When we have both reached the point of not being able to even look at each other for another second, I turn to the TV friends of my childhood, PBS. Upon turning to channel 13, I was little puzzled. I found Sesame Street with no problem (alas with no Mr. Hooper, nor Kermit the Frog), but there was a whole crop of new kids on the block, some who I'd never heard of: Jakers! The Adventures of Piggly Winks, Caillou and Between the Lions.

As a former teacher who always screened anything my students viewed, I figured I should give my own children the same courtesy. So, I took the time to watch a few of the shows with them. The one that really stood out for me was Caillou, since it is a bout a four year old boy and my son seemed to enjoy it the most. Good old Caillou. I must be missing something, isn't that a weird name for a little boy?
\u003c/span\>Drawing on my high-school French and Wikipedia, \u003cspan\>\n \u003c/span\>I discovered that Caillou meant pebble or bald head, which explains why the kid's bald as an egg.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>The program seemed benign enough, so I felt comfortable letting the children watch unsupervised in order to take 30 whole minutes to myself.\n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>What a mistake.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Instead of a cute little bald-headed boy, Caillou was a little scoundrel whose prime directive was to lead little children astray through his demonstration of how to talk back, insist on having his own way and become frustrated to quickly.\n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Luckily, I was able to head this off by cutting off Caillou and letting my son know in no uncertain terms that the show didn't show the parts when Caillou got a spanking for doing some of things he did.\n\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\> \u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"margin:0in 0in 0pt\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\"\>We as parents have to be so careful about what our children watch, even the so-called educational programs.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>\nThe behaviors displayed by certain TV characters, especially those with which our children identify are the behaviors that they are apt to imitate, good or bad.\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Therefore, we have to be diligent in talking with our children about what they see and most importantly, what they think about what they see.\n\u003cspan\> \u003c/span\>Yes, it might be easier to cut out the television all together, but I see it as an opportunity to teach my child how to identify appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cbr\> \u003c/div\>",1]
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Drawing on my high-school French and Wikipedia, I discovered that Caillou meant pebble or bald head, which explains why the kid's bald as an egg. The program seemed benign enough, so I felt comfortable letting the children watch unsupervised in order to take 30 whole minutes to myself. What a mistake. Instead of a cute little bald-headed boy, Caillou was a little scoundrel whose prime directive was to lead little children astray through his demonstration of how to talk back, insist on having his own way and become frustrated to quickly. Luckily, I was able to head this off by cutting off Caillou and letting my son know in no uncertain terms that the show didn't show the parts when Caillou got a spanking for doing some of things he did.

We as parents have to be so careful about what our children watch, even the so-called educational programs. The behaviors displayed by certain TV characters, especially those with which our children identify are the behaviors that they are apt to imitate, good or bad. Therefore, we have to be diligent in talking with our children about what they see and most importantly, what they think about what they see. Yes, it might be easier to cut out the television all together, but I see it as an opportunity to teach my child how to identify appropriate and inappropriate behaviors.

Well, well. Now I've got to think of a follow up!