In the past eight months I've gone from total ignoramus about parenting issues, to info-accumulating nut, to apathetic incubator. There has to be some kind of happy medium between Lili Taylor's character Lisa on "Six Feet Under" and the moms that I watch on "Nanny 911". Basically every blog, internet article and parenting magazine will tell you that everything your precious one encounters is potentially harmful and/or fattening and you should monitor your kid every second of their existence, but don't worry! A Relaxed Mom is a Good Mom, whatever that means.
Incidentally, why is it that parenting magazines always direct everything at the mom? My husband is actually the one who suscribed to the one we get and so far I haven't seen him try a single one of the Make-Up Tips For Frazzled Moms. He's getting ripped off!
I watch television, but I don't watch whatever's on. Luckily we have HBO, so by the time Chloe's born she'll be very familiar with such quality programming as "The Sopranos" and "Real Time with Bill Maher". She'll probably even recognize Jim Lampley's and Larry Merchant's voices from "Boxing After Dark". Even though I'm only a parent in utero, I know I'm not going to be the most sheltering mother on the planet. The only objection I really have to a kid under 3 watching TV is that I have a sneaking suspicion all the quick frenetic editing and frequent shrill commercial breaks you see on channels like Nickelodeon might give a baby sensory overload and an attention span that maxes out at 30 seconds. And I know from my own childhood that it's really hard to concentrate on anything with a television on in the same room.
Check back with me in a few months after I've been dealing with a fussy baby all day. I don't want to do it, but if I get desperate enough I'll see if I can get her to sleep by letting her watch "Big Love".
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