Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys are 50% off at Indigo right now and when I was in buying a gift earlier this week I scored Eloise's favourite train, Toby ("well you can say he's square"), for $7.95! I especially like Birthday Thomas and the Musical Car, which at $9.97 would make a great birthday treat for any little conductor.
Saturday morning soccer with Daddy isn't so bad, right?
By the end of a very busy day all I want is to do is watch TV. The funny thing about this is that up until last year we didn't even have cable.
So here I am, a formally anti-tv person, with a very full PVR. It doesn't help that January's line up is just excellent: a new season of Girls, Californication, my guiltiest pleasure Dance Moms, and then there's Modern Family, Up All Night, and a nightly episode of Chelsea Lately.
I can't help but defend television now that I am a reformed TV watcher but I am struggling to find the balance of what's okay when it comes to Eloise. I am not afraid to admit that TV lets me get work done in the mornings; a few episodes of Franklin keep Eloise happy and occupied while I answer emails, do a blog post or call vendors and clients. I know that screen time has a bad rap, but for me it's essential.
So what is the answer? Eloise didn't watch any TV until she was around a year and a half but now constantly asks for Franklin, Trains (that's Thomas & Friends), and the Wot Wots. We don't have an iPad, she doesn't have any connection to the computer, but I do wonder, does introducing her to TV now mean that I am on the way to raising a sedentary kid?
Eloise has a new affinity for Thomas the Tank Engine and it's driving me crazy. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that she enjoys trains - we spend a lot of time playing with my brother's childhood Brio - but I made the mistake of introducing Eloise to the Thomas & Friends theme song on YouTube and now she wants to watch it all the time. I know, why on earth would I show my toddler a catchy song on the computer? Because I'm new at this, okay.
It's only been a few days but Eloise stands in front of the computer demanding "Train song" several times throughout the day. If she's really persistent and we haven't watched it in the last hour I cave, and then when she cutely says, "One more, Mama? Pease?" I can't resist.
"But just ONE more time, okay Eloise?"
"Okay Mama, sank you."
Gawd.
I also made the mistake of trying to calm her down when she was cranky in the car with my own rendition of the Thomas song and guess what? She loved it! You bet I know all the words after watching the silly video a dozen times a day. "They're 2, 4, 6, 8, shunting trucks and hauling freight..."
But the funniest thing happened today we were at the community centre. Eloise saw a little boy having a snack with his mom and went up to him and started touching him. The little boy swatted her away (I hear ya buddy, I've got personal space boundaries too) and I went over to explain to Eloise that touching people uninvited is not okay. Then she excitedly pointed to him and said, "Thomas train!" Guess who was on his shirt?
