Yes, I know, I go overboard....

Just when I thought that nobody reads my blog, except for my sister and Grandma Gruber, I find out that Julia Pimsleur happened to stumble across my blog and was kind enough to leave a comment!  You may or may not recognize the Pimsleur name, but Julia Pimsleur created a line of language learning products for kids, called Little Pim.  In my last blog, I mentioned that my blogging time was up since Ella's Little Pim DVD ended, which is what drew her attention to my blog.

If you have read my previous posts, then you've probably picked up on my enthusiasm for educational stuff.  I've talked so much about the Signing Time DVDs, because Ella's been able to demonstrate how they really have helped her learn since she uses signs herself.  But, I'll now admit that we have not only the entire Signing Time collection but: about half the Little Pim DVD collection, Muzzy- Level 1 and Level 2, Your Baby Can Read, MonkiSeeMonkiDo, BabyBit- Volume 1 in English and Spanish, Preschool Prep, as well as a few others....  Sounds like a bit much, huh?  Oh, and I'm itching to finish her Little Pim collection, get Muzzy in Chinese- Level 1 and Level 2, and get volumes 2, 3, & 4 of BabyBit in English.  Then maybe I'll consider getting it in Spanish too : )  I'd already have it all, except for the fact that it all adds up!

Now, before you start wondering if I just sit Ella in front of the TV all day long, let me describe what it's like...  Every morning, Ella eats breakfast in her high chair.  As soon as she's done, I pop in a DVD (usually Signing Time or Little Pim) while I take the chance to clean up the kitchen, pop a load of laundry in the wash, etc...  Then at lunch time, same thing.  That's it.  2 DVDs a day - it's about an hour or so of "TV" and we both love the routine.

Most parents are aware of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that all children under 2 watch NO television.  So back when Ella was a couple of months old, I thought I better figure out if I would stick to that recommendation or not (who really does?).  I read a pretty thorough book Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children from Birth to Age Five, that really helped me to decide how I was going to use television in our house.  I remember even taking notes from the book, I thought it was so helpful (I take this parenting thing very seriously! lol)  Here's what I remember most from the book:

•  Evaluate the content of the program
• What's most appropriate for an 18 month old will differ from what's most appropriate for a 2 year old, and that will differ from what's most appropriate for a 3 year old, and so on
• Background television isn't beneficial 
• Constant background noise makes it harder for an infant/toddler to pick out words from a constant stream of not-yet deciphered language- and all the more difficult to associate meaning with those words, possibly delaying language development
• Children engage in a higher level of play, for longer periods of time, when they don't have a TV on in the background to distract them, even when they don't seem to be paying attention to it
• Interaction between caregiver and child is reduced when the TV is on (unless you sit down and watch with him/her, asking questions about what's going on - how many parents do that every time the TV's on?)
• There's nothing better than face to face interaction
• Children learn best through face to face interaction- there's more to that argument, but I don't think most people really question the importance of face to face interaction

Based on all the information presented from that book, I decided that I would allow Ella to watch appropriate programming, for only a limited amount of time so that we would avoid background television and make sure it didn't take away much from our own interactions with each other.  

Deciding what to show to your baby is hard, because there's lots out there!  Most common is probably Baby Einstein, but thanks to Your Baby Can Read, I had already decided it held little benefit- more likely none at all- and crossed that off my must-have list (although we do have the Baby Einstein sign language DVD which I think is great).  All the other DVDs I listed that we have, I do recommend.  Well, maybe not Preschool Prep- that one is pretty boring; it just doesn't measure up to the rest.  At least Signing Time has taught me ASL and Ella uses it daily, and Little Pim has helped me pick up some foreign words myself.  I have a Japanese friend, and every time she says a word I learned from Little Pim, I'm actually proud of myself for recognizing it!  Lol.  Ella's not speaking Spanish or Japanese (though her English is emerging quite nicely!), but I wouldn't be surprised if she also recognizes some of the words from her Little Pim DVDs.  I'm about 100% sure that Ella does NOT know how to read, but I think that she enjoyed all her learn-to-read DVDs, and I have no regrets in purchasing those.  Maybe they'll help "do the trick" later, who knows?

And as far as face to face interaction goes- she gets plenty.  That's what I credit for Ella's love of books.  She has loved her books from the beginning, and I'm sure it's because it's something we do together- although more and more she'll take one and "read" all by herself - sometimes signing what she's looking at: bird, bear, hat, etc.  

So, I've confessed to yet another thing: being a crazy first time parent who went completely overboard in certain areas, and still has no plans for stopping!  Now you can see why a comment from Julia Pimsleur on my blog got me so excited...  As a parent who dreams of her baby's future being full of so much potential, I am so thankful that there are people out there making products that at the very least, help me feel like I'm doing my job as a parent when I choose to use their products for my baby.  Thanks again, Julia!