Why I Hate Caillou

Research has clearly shown that watching television is not terrific for toddlers. Of course, research does not always consider what reality is, either. Sometimes, parents need to use television to entertain their children, hopefully temporarily, or when they're on an important phone call, like with the satellite or cable company, to subscribe to some premium channels. It is important not to be bothered then.

My son watches a fair amount of television, but we try to balance his TV watching with active play and reading. He has liked several programs. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (It's good to see someone encouraging children to have values - even if the show aired when I was a kid, in the 70s.) Thomas the Train (I enjoy the backgrounds, miniature waterfalls, tiny houses, and other cool landscapes.) Barney (Whom I despise, and, thankfully, he no longer watches). Curious George (Who actually is pretty funny).

His latest interest is an animated show, Caillou (pronounced KAI-OO). It's about a little bald preschool kid who lives with his parents and his sister. I don't know many other specifics - the names of other characters, etc. - but I recognize the irritating theme song and Caillou's familiar whining whenever the show is on.

Caillou soothes my son the same way a Prozac calms an adult. I wish this did not happen. My son is not a avid TV watcher but he will park his rear end on the couch for an entire episode. He sits there spellbound, practically. We do not have to worry about his well-being while Caillou is on. We could take a two mile jog and come home, and my son will be right where he was when we left.

The problem is that Caillou is not the kind of kid I want to have. He complains, tattles, is afraid of everything, disrespects his parents, and cries when he doesn't get his way. I am actually surprised the show made it on children's television, it teaches such crappy behavior. And, like any two-year-old, my son imitates what he sees. There are times he acts like dippy little Caillou.

I guess my son likes Caillou because he's a boy of similar age, going through apparently similar life events. Caillou's parents are annoyingly perfect, so I can imagine that other parents hate the show, too. (They do. I Google-searched "I Hate Caillou") To make matters worse, the program is narrated by a crabby-sounding woman, whom my wife can do a great impression of, by the way.

So the trick is to limit the exposure to this show. This sounds easy, but it ends up not being easy. It always seems that when we need my son to do something for us, we choose, typically out of desperation, to bribe him with Caillou. But then, our son expects Caillou to be on whenever he wants to watch.

It was good to hear today at a family Christmas party that our sister-in-law is going through the same struggles with our niece, who also likes the show. Our sister-in-law also hates Caillou and mentioned something about Caillou "going away" after the new year - kind of like how a parent explains what happens when a dog dies.

It's not such a bad idea.

Bye, bye, Caillou.

Santa Claus and His Old Lady

I heard this on the radio yesterday and had to stay in my car in the driveway until it finished. It was that funny. Old school funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSH9ryRzHQ4&feature=related

The whoosh of a record player

In my second Christian Science Monitor piece in less than a week, I wrote about my experience last year listening to my parents' phonograph, an outdated and flawed, but honest and wholesome, technology.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1211/p18s02-hfes.html

Christian Science Monitor article published today

You know those tiny ceramic Christmas villages with the little figurines and fake trees? They've been a part of my life since I was a kid when my mom used to decorate the living room table with churches, toy stores, and skating ponds. The Monitor ran this essay about it this morning.

Here's the link.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1206/p19s01-hfes.html

Cruel reminders of getting older

Hey,

One of the more disturbing things about being in your mid-30s - besides the fact that I keep spraining my freaking ankle playing basketball each week - is that companies begin to take advantage of the idea that you "need to prepare for the future." One example is the at least- twice monthly offers for additional life insurance.

I just received an offer - for the third time - from my Iowa-based insurer for "AD& D" protection. ( I guess my company figures that I'll be more likely to sign on as I get older.) The acronym stands for Accident Death and Dimemberment. What an uplifting thought!

For $19 a year - which I suppose is a bargain, when you think about it - my life is protected if I happen to die while riding as a passenger on public transportation (which I rarely take because there aren't a lot of places public transportation can take you in Connecticut, at least not from my town.) My insurance company uses the statistic by the National Safety Council that "accidents are the leading cause of death" in people under 39.

Now I am supposed to be scared.

The insurance policy will pay my "loved ones" $130,000 in the event of such a tragedy on public transportation.

These days, that will help my family get through one year, maybe a year and a half.

Perhaps my insurance company could have analyzed where I live (pretty rural place) and how long it takes me to get to work (10 minutes if I can do 80 in the left lane of Route 2; about 12 minutes if someone in a 1979 Chevrolet Caprice is in front of me). If I were a commuter living near the Metro-North railroad along the coastline, perhaps this would be of some benefit.

I will likely not opt for the AD&D policy. It doesn't seem to be worth it. But insurance is a subject that we 30-somethings have to suddenly consider, unfortunately. You pass through your 20s still thinking you're invincible in many ways, and that line of thinking carries over into your 30s. By that time, though, you have a mortgage, possibly kids, possibly pets, car loans, and credit cards that you're responsible for.

Time to "prepare for the future." Which you need to do. But life insurance, like creating a living will, is not a happy endeavor. It's a responsible endeavor, but not a happy one.

In the meantime, I plan to call the Prudential Insurance Company of America and tell them to stop sending me the AD&D enrollment form. And I'll plan on avoiding public transportation.

What I'm listening to...

Hey,

I'm always intrigued when famous people, particularly musicians, are interviewed and they say what's on their iPod or in their CD player. TIME Magazine sometimes asks people this in Q and A interviews. I don't know, I guess it gives me some glimpse of their personalities, since I believe music reveals a lot about a person.

See my Boston Globe column for my insights on this. (You have to scroll down a bit to see the essay)

http://www.boston.com/jobs/globe/view_cube/archive/062004.shtml

Anyway, I thought I'd share a playlist of what I'm listening to on my iPod, which isn't really an iPod, but a Dell mp3 player that the company stopped making after about two years because I'm surmising it wasn't profitable anymore.

This isn't representative of the range of stuff in my music library - it doesn't include Handel or Hall and Oates, for instance - but it's been a list good enough to keep my interest for the last month or two.

James Taylor: "Nothin' Like a Hundred Miles"

David Gray: "Say Hello Wave Goodbye"

Coldplay: "The Scientist"

Cake: "I Will Survive"

Foo Fighters: "Ain't It the Life"

Wallflowers: "Angel on My Bike"

Norah Jones: "One Flight Down"

Rob Thomas: "Streetcorner Symphony"

Gomez: "See the World"

Leroy: "Good Time"

Martin Sexton: "Happy"

Brett Dennen: "Ain't No Reason"

John Mayer: "Waiting on the World to Change"

Clem Snide: "Moment in the Sun"

Five for Fighting: "Easy Tonight"

Dispatch: "The General"

Ben Harper "Fight Outta You"

Joseph Arthur: "In the Sun"

Keane: "Everybody's Changing"

This particular playlist is especially good in the car, hanging out in the yard, or to listen to while drinking beer. It would also sound pretty good in my shoe store.

Best Sitcoms

Hey,

I'm getting ready to watch one of my favorite shows, Two and Half Men. The kids are sleeping, or perhaps they are squirming in their respective beds but they're at least quiet, and I'm planning to bring some ice cream upstairs to eat in bed with the wife. Peppermint stick. Friendly's special holiday flavor.

Two and Half Men is hilarious. The writers push the limits of acceptable network material. This gets me thinking of TV's all-time best sitcoms. This, of course, is skewed from the point of view of a 34-year-old. I've never watched more than 10 seconds of I Love Lucy.

Just my opinion, here, and I'd love to hear yours.

Yes, I've watched too much TV in my time, much to the detriment of my SAT scores.


Top Ten All-Time Sitcoms

10. Gilligan's Island

9. Mork and Mindy

8. Two and a Half Men

7. Friends

6. The Office

5. Scrubs

4. All in the Family

3. Cheers

2. Three's Company

1. Seinfeld