A Mother's Dilemma

If I am to name an activity that my kids do the most, it would be watching television. Especially my youngest son, who is not yet in school, they really love to watch cartoons which left me not being able to watch my favorite television shows at night.

I worry too much about their fascination with cartoons - - not that cartoon shows are bad but there are some shows which were advised by my son's developmental pediatrician to avoid watching. Unfortunately, the shows to avoid were the ones my kids fancy the most, and that is Mr. Bean (both the animated and human ones) and Tom and Jerry. Mr. Bean is a representation of an autistic personality, which could be imitated by its viewers. Sad to note though that my kids are fond of imitating is every action, gah! Tom and Jerry may not be something autistic but its lack of dialogue may attribute to speech delay on its viewers. Actually, the doctor indicated to avoid those cartoon shows which has no dialogue and violent in nature because they do not enhance the child's speaking abilities and triggers the hyperactivity of those kids having ADHD.

My second son has already been diagnosed with at risk to ADHD and I am really having a hard time forbidding them to watch Mr. Bean. Now my youngest would cry his heart out every time I change the channel. I worry about him too because he is going to be 3 this April and yet he still can't speak coherently!

Ahh . . . a mother's dilemma indeed.