The Trouble with "On Demand"

Remember when you had to wait an entire week to watch the Smurfs? Like, seven whole days. When it ended at 11am on Saturday, there was no seeing those little guys (and one girl, but that is a whole post all together), until next Saturday at 10am. The horror.

There was no pressing a button and the show magically appearing at 4:30 on a Thursday, or 1:15 on Monday. It was on when it was on and you dealt with it. Excuse my rant; perhaps you were lucky enough to have a VCR, like we did. But the work that went into recording a show on the 200 pound machine that was louder than the actually TV was hardly worth it. No, you can wait.

Waiting. Kids today don’t have to wait anymore. It’s all “On Demand” or “DVR” or “DVD”. Pop it in and press a button – instant Elmo. I’m not complaining. I have had a sick little one at home that just wanted to watch Peep and the Big Wide World while lying on the couch snuggling. It made him feel better. Took his mind off the horrible feeling in his belly or the pain from his ear. It’s a distraction. I remember being home sick. There was nothing on but soap opera’s. I didn’t know who Erica Cane was but I felt nauseous so I watched her slap some guy over and over. I survived.

My question: is “On Demand” a bad thing? Sometimes I think so. Are children losing the ability to be patient because everything is so easy to get? I want Octonauts and I want it now!

I know television and children are a slippery slope. Some say they watch too much. Others say but it’s educational. I’m not trying to start a debate about children and television. We keep it very strict in our home. One hour in the morning and a half hour at night. If Lilly has been good she can watch Octonauts after her brother goes to bed. We stay away from stations that show too many commercials – PBS, Nick Jr and Disney Jr are ok. That is what works for us. But I look at my DVR and I see 15 episodes of Peep, 6 episodes of Octonauts, 3 Super Whys and a Caillou. This is of course going by the assumption that Mr. MaxxSilly taped Alaska State Troopers, but who knows, it could have been the 17 month old.

Where do you sit on the whole “On Demand” thing? Do you make your kids watch what’s on, when it’s on – aka no DVR or On Demand? Do you ban television all together? Did you know what a Remipede was before you saw it on Octonauts?