Rhymes with "Oh No"

Guess what Zeke's new word of the day was?

This just after Sprout Daddy suggested we (meaning me, really) let the kiddie watch more TV than he should. After all, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two watch no TV, and as you know we already bend that guideline by letting Zeke watch the half hour Laurie Berkner DVD almost every day. After Zeke started school, I started turning on Sesame Street to busy him while I got breakfast ready and lunch packed. That is how we got started watching it a few times a week. He likes it, and I have a fondness for it from my childhood and a deep appreciation for its methods and goals. This week, I gave Zeke the TMX Elmo that Grandma Kathy gave him for his birthday. When he saw it, he said "Awww!" He already recognizes some Sesame Street characters because they are all over so much stuff including the disposable diapers we use and some of the food we give him.

I do think that Sesame Street -- for all its good -- is a gateway consumer experience and I wouldn't mind keeping him away from that for a little while longer. (I know it trains him to be a consumer because he says, "Ooooo" when he sees the asthma medicine and shoe "sponsorships" at the beginning of the show.) He has a whole American lifetime of "stuff" and the "need" to buy ahead of him. So far we have also been able to keep his branded belongings to a minimum and most of them are hand me downs or gifts. I don't inherently see anything wrong with some branded stuff but it is just so ubiquitous. We see today as the opening for this situation to start changing. To compound our certainty on this, Zeke also asked for Elmo to get tucked in with him tonight. So, two firsts for the price of one: first mention of a licensed character and first request for a toy to sleep with. And so it begins....

(As an aside, we were in a toy store the other day -- yes yes I know he has enough toys after Christmas -- and he cooed over some Sesame Street finger puppets. He wanted to hold the Bert and Ernie ones especially and when we let him, he immediately had them kiss. He did hear the Avenue Q soundtrack before, but it seems that he drew his own conclusion on this one, dear readers.)