So, yesterday was Ellie's four month checkup at the pediatrician. He told us she was in the top percentiles in height, weight, and head size (well, look at her dad...). He also said she was almost preternaturally intelligent. Okay, maybe he said she was "very physically adept for a 4-month old" but, c'mon! That's 'cause this shit is too easy for her!
Unfortunately, at this age each visit means more shots. Babies don't like shots. To make it even worse, she awoke yesterday in the greatest mood in a long time. Even at the doctor's office she was smiley and playful. Then, the nurse broke out the battery of shots and Ellie was like, "What the hell are you doing!?!" By nightfall, she seemed to have recovered.
Laura had put together a list of concerns we had and the doctor cleared us on all of them. The last item on the list was television for infants. Now, we have friends at both extremes of this issue. Some of our friends absolutely prohibit television until at least 2 years of age, while others bring a portable DVD player to the restaurant so they can eat in peace. The doctor's opinion was that the television prohibition was put in place for the lowest common denominator - that it should not be used as a substitute for interacting with your child. However, I've heard that an infants brain can't process what they see on television because they don't have a handle on object permanence (for instance, why on television a person will vanish and reappear - which I still think is due to magic or homunculi).
So, any of you reading: I'm interested where you fall on this spectrum. Personally, I'm a big fan of synaesthesia. If she's listening to music, what's wrong with imagery tied to that music? I mean, look at A-ha's
"Take on me" video... that rules! Seriously, Ellie is very engaged by her environment and one of the things in that environment is television. We have been strict in preventing her from watching, but couldn't she benefit from controlled exposure?
Interested to hear if anyone has an opinion. Talk to you soon...