I remember thinking about how many productive and fun things i was going to do with my first child.
In my head i had planned out everything from story time to learning the alphabet and numbers. I had even requested for people to buy me books as gifts.
I wanted to be her first teacher. Bring out the wisdom in my little girl.
They say a child gets their intelligence from their mother and not their father. I mean if thats true she won’t be a genius or anything but she could get by in life.
Anyway, so with all these plans , i also invisioned that i would limit how much TV she would watch. Like maybe 30-50mins maximum spread out through the day .
BUT..The reality was that one day, i put on Peppa pig and from then she was hooked !
Hooked in a sense that sometimes she would wake up in the morning . No good morning or anything, the first thing she would say is ‘ mummy…Peppa Pig’ ( like, she was obsessed ). What have i done?, does my daughter love Peppa more than me? Maybe i should take her to the meat isle in tesco and show her some bacon rashers and tell her Peppa has gone Bye Bye!
(joking! i never would really but you never know it may have done the trick !)
It became a case of me needing to get something done i.e. Washing or breakfast without any disturbances so i would stick the telly on.
Where did all my ‘ only 30-50min a day of tv’ rule go? … straight out the window!
Sometimes i would feel guilty , like i’m not giving my child what she needs, am i being a lazy mum? Is this child abuse? But i really need to make dinner or do the laundry.
To be fair i grew up watching a fair bit of TV, mum wasn’t the type to read us bedtime stories, but i would go out and play in the local park sometimes with my sisters.
Teletubbies were the thing in my day, 4 different coloured stuffed human/ bear things thats used to jump up in random places and say ‘Uh Oh’ and have a sun / baby for a friend.
Looking back at it …it was quite a weird show and i never really know what i got out from it apart from learning 4 different colours.
It never did us any harm though!
Childrens shows of today, i feel are abit more educative and you learn things like letters and numbers so that makes me feel abit better about my daughter watching T.V.
Although i must admit i get a guilty feeling when i hear her reading the script of Peppa Pig episodes and re-anacting the scenes before they even happen. ( i feel bad but its pretty impressive ! )
Just to make myself feel better, i blame it on the fact that their episodes are on repeat. I mean i even know all the songs – the bing bong song is my fave !
To make it even worse sometime she comes to me with a storybook in hand asking me to read to her. That’s when i’m like wow, even the child knows im slacking.
I am grateful that she has interests in things other than TV. She really embraces her creative side . The other day she drew on her grandma’s WHITE bedroom wall! In pen! When i tried to clean it off it was only making it worse … in the end i had to spray paint the wall to hide the evidence. Thankfully Grandma hasn’t noticed.
All in all as much as i do feel like she could do with less screen time i must admit it has taught her alot and i think maybe i shouldn’t beat myself up about it too much. As long as she grows up to be a level headed and kind adult thats what matters to me most.
Zee x
Great post Zainab. You’re right TV isn’t all bad and yep the bing bong song is the one lol. You’re a great mum, don’t be too hard on yourself : ) x
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Aww thank you so much. From mum to mum you are awesome x
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Aww lovely yes peppa pig obsessed my child too. She sleeps nd wake up with it. But apart from that she knows some letters, colours and number. Don’t feel guilty I know it happen sometimes but we will be great mum 👍
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Thank so much cristel😘 you are a great mum too x
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Lol! This is jokes but so on point, my 3 year old is obsessed with peppa pig (good thing we don’t eat pork lol!)… I have 5 children @29 so i know he struggles of doing housework and entertaining them at the same time, TV has been my lifesaver and they’ve turnt out just fine… so your right its not all bad!
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Wow ! U are amazing! Go mama 🙂 you are so right, the struggle is real! thank u. 🙂 X
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It’s a nice idea but as you said life gets in the way. You are doing a great job!
The new generations will all be using technology, that’s where it’s all heading, so she is starting early 😉
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Do u know what u are so right, i never thought of it that way. Its a new era i guess. Thank you Andrea 🙂 x
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you are amazing mum !
…kids are kids they like different things at different times !
Technology taking over 🤫
Netflix is amazing in that way as you can put different languages on …we watch in French
Have you introduced apps on phone ?
Johanna loves “Toddlerfladhcat” and “Hello spring” educational for kids but need to sit together as she can’t read yet
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Thank u Anna. Yes u r right technology is taking over! X
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Zai! Ioved it. I see day in and day out how you are with the kids and you are an amazing mum allahumma barik. TV is fine if it helps with giving mummy the breaks she deserves during the day. At the end of the day, we are all human and all need a woosa from time to time so if Peppa pig is what gets u that then all I can say is…bing bong bingly bungly boo 😂
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Hahahaha u got the song right aswell. Thanks Nus, means alot x
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Nice reading. Learning since I am a new mum and always want to get things right to put it rightly “to be perfect” for my son.
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Thank you for your comment. Much appreciated. The fact that you have that loving and pure intention already is enough . You have 1 lucky son 😉 x
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Omg hahaaa! Mum guilt is real 😭 you literally sound like me, for my daughter it wasn’t Peppa Pig , it was those kids on YouTube playing with toys 😂
This honestly made me feel better and shows me that I’m not alone ♥️
Thank you for sharing beautiful 😘
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Thank u so much 4 ur comments. Yes you are not alone. May our kids grow up to have beautiful characters Ameen 😁xxx
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Omg this is literally my whole life on one page! I have 2 boys and tbh it pretty tiring keeping them entertained 24/7 , I also used to feel sooo guilty but tbh they pick up a lot of good learning skills, I still wanna minimise tv time a little more so
Wish me luck! ❣️
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Haha ! You are right Its tough keeping them entertained . Good Luck im sure you will be fine. In sha Allah.. Let me know how it goes 😉 x
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I have known you from a young girl and now you have turned into a fine young lady/ wife & mother 😍. I’m so proof the way you manage your life 👌🏾And still have time for yourself and hobby. Keep up the good work 🙏🏾 So proud of you my girl 😘 love always 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘
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Awww . Thank you so much for your lovely words mama. I appreciate it. God is the reason always. Love you xxx
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Haha love it. Can picture it all happening especially the cleaning and spray painting the walls 🙂
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Thanx Yaz 😚 Yes! I had to get rid of the evidence lol
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I was the same !😂 told myself absolutely no screen time but now anytime I need him to stay in one place for a bit whilst I do the laundry or anything of the like, it’s CBeebies time lol. I don’t see the harm if it’s in moderation
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Exactly. Everything in moderation !x
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