Matthew Loves His Football on TV.

Matthew Watching a Late-Season 49ers Game Before Church
We've all seen slack-jawed drooling toddlers. Our friends might have them. Our families might have some. They tend to wear pajamas, sit too close to the television and blink less often than a 'staring contest' veteran. Often, their half-eaten breakfast is getting soggy or stale, and the show they're watching is garish, nonsensical, and always too loud.

In our home, Kristine and I are planning to not put our kids in the care of the electronic babysitter any sooner than we can help it. That means we've decided Matthew and Sarah aren't going to be plunked in front of a television at least until they are two, and when that happens, you've got to believe it's not going to be in front of some ridiculous purple dinosaur, dancing vegetables or psychedelically colored action figures.

But despite the best intentions, we've already found that while Sarah could typically care less, Matthew is drawn to the TV. If it's on in the background during feeding or play time, or when we're trying to put the twins down to sleep, he'll perk up. He'll turn his head toward the TV and away from the bottle, or put down his toy. As a result, we tend to turn the television all the way off until they're down.


Matthew Cranes to See Tonight's NFL Playoffs on the Tube
But it's still fun to see how the twins are reacting to external sources of media. They both love hearing music, of practically all types, from the lullabies on the AOL Radio station on my iPhone, to my trance music from the iPod speakers in the living room, and more contemporary tunes from Kristine. And I think we've even detected a sport preference. Matthew loves football - both professional and college, and Sarah likes watching the MLB Network if I have it on. It's practically the only time I ever catch her trying to watch TV.

If you ask me, if my kids end up sneaking peeks at the television before we'd originally planned, and it ends up being live sports, or old time baseball, I won't feel like we failed. I'll be happy. Just lay off the Nickelodeon and Disney as long as possible, please.