THE TODDLER & THE MOUSE

TIP #6: CRAM FOR THE FINAL EXAM

The week/s before you go to DISNEY, get your toddler familiar with the movies. Those are, after all, the characters they will meet, the rides they will be riding and music they will be listening too.

I downloaded 3 of the Disney classic CDS and mixed my own version to have in the car and to listen to while cleaning house. Joey's favorite quickly became the TIKI ROOM song.

Getting your toddler more familiar with the TV & movie characters can run against some parenting beliefs.

Most parent books/experts say you should limit your toddlers TV exposure to 1/2 an hour a day.

But lets look at the intent rather then the letter of the law here.

The concern is that you are using the TV as a babysitter for your kid. That you aren't spending enough one on one time with her, reading with her and etc. Another concern is that she won't learn to entertain to herself and instead expect to be entertained. There is also the bad habit it can start, and you don't want your toddler to become addicted and have a larger problem later in life.

That being said,

My child loves to read picture books, plays very well by herself, I spend plenty of time with her, and she still watches more then 1/2 an hour of TV a day.

I like her to sit still for a while after eating a big meal. It helps with her digestion. So I put on a MICKEY MOUSE CLUB HOUSE or a HANDY MANDY.

Sometimes mommy needs a break. And instead of closing her off in her room, I put on a movie I know she likes too, like BEAUTY & THE BEAST, and Mommy can have a break even with the kid in her lap.

And then there is down time at night. When she sits with mommy and daddy and watches Jeopardy before bed. Well the weeks before our Disney trip, we switched out Jeopardy for a Disney movie.

Joey obviously recognized lots of the songs and characters when she was at Disney.

Mission accomplished.