TV vs. Books

i know research says watching TV is not so good for growing children's brains. But I am a tv and movie fanatic and will watch anything that has even a remote story line - although movie songs, crime drama, avatar (for now) are my favorites. I used to fake sickness and bunk saturday half day school so that i could watch the regional film that DD used to telecast on those mornings and i didn't even understand the language! I used to refuse to go out with my mother on Friday evenings in order to catch the ever famous 'Oliyum Oliyum'. My mom used to say, "if only someone invented a small tv that can be worn around the neck, i would get her one!"
And mangoes don't fall far from the tree. my daughters crave their tv and movie time. We watched tonnes of movies (thanks to redbox) over the summer and became iCarly and Avatar fans. iCarly was subsequently banned as my younger daughter picked up a lot of objectionable language and attitude from that show.

But coming to the subject, of late, i've been thinking how watching tv is so much better than reading books - especially from a mom's point of view.

TV comes to your home. Books have to brought home from the library in heavy bags.

The TV sits in one place. you never have to go looking for it(hunting for the remote, however, is a different issue). Books seem to get all over the place and you can never find it when you are in the mood to read.

The tv shows actually have healthy ad breaks, during which time, the kids can use the bathroom and do small chores around the house. It is very hard to get them to put a book down once they are into it.

And you can eat and watch tv at the same time. Although i've perfected the art of eating and reading a book at the same time, my kids have a long way to go. There are books in our house whose pages are stained yellow with turmeric.

When they watch a tv show, 90% of the time, i am watching with them too. So I can go stand in front of the tv when there is any smooching on and help protect my babies' innocence. But I can't control what they are reading. It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to read all the books that my daughters bring from the library before letting them read.

And watching TV counts as quality family time. you can laugh, cry, be scared and embarrassed as a family. how can four people read the same book at the same time?

And finally, until they invent a remote for our kids, we can indirectly control them using the tv remote! and which mom does not want that!