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TV vs imagination and actual play

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We have a new TV channel in South Africa (ok, maybe it is not new, but we only recently came across it) - the Disney Channel.  Liam loves the programmes, it is so bright and colourful.  His favourites are Little Mermaid, Little Sunshine (a rather cute programme actually called Little Einsteins), Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Can you tell that he watches WAY too much TV? 

The other day we are playing in the tub - he has a dolphin and a shark and he tells me about a kettle fish.  I ask where he learnt about a kettle fish and he tells me on Little Sunshines. 
When your child starts getting his education from the Disney Channel, you start questioning the hours spent in front of the telly.  Last night Gerhard gets home and Liam is literally glued to the tv. He does not speak, does not eat and we decide this is it, after some terrible tantrums, we simply turn of the tv and tell Liam that normal people chat when they come home from school. 

We start asking each other about our respective days and before long we are hearing tales of Liam's day.  How he was attached by sharks, and how his good dragon actually saved him.  He ate jam sandwiches, flew to the moon, oh what a day.  Gerhard and I obviously cannot keep up with this, although there were some monkeys at my office, some donkeys too...

After all of this making conversation stuff, we played doctor doctor.  Liam is Doctor Liam - I am nurse Niki and I recon the child is suffering from a healthy dose of male chauvinism as Gerhard is Doctor Gerhard...

When it is my turn to be the patient, Liam cuts my hair with the pliers (that is what doctors do silly), he injects me in my eyeball, he listens to the strange noise in my head and double checks for ants in my ears.  We actually had a blast of a time and I realised that kids just want to be entertained, and you can either leave this up to Little Sunshines, or you can play with them. 

Tonight I plan on building castles fit for a princess, telling Liam all about the monkeys at work, all this while I dream of the day that Luka and I can go shopping, I know that she needs a pair of angel wings, a barbie, a my little pony, she especially wants a tinkerbell fairy doll (she told me this last night, three month old babies can talk ok).  I recon Gerhard is probably weeks away from buying Liam a killer set of mechano's or scalextric because that is what three year old boys really need ;)


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