The (Nit)Picky Mother's guide to Educational TV: Part 1

The Star Tribune has an article this morning on television shows geared towards preschoolers. It's a fluff piece designed to let us know what's new this year (the companion toys are probably already on sale at Target and Walmart). Along the main article, which tries to both encourage parents to limit TV and assuage their guilt for not doing it, is a list of Picks for Kids chosen by Liz Perle of Common Sense Media. I'm not entirely proud of it, but I'm pretty familiar with the latest kids' shows, and none of the shows on her list would have made my short list. I wish she had used a clear set of criteria (one of the shows isn't even broadcast anymore), and quite frankly, I wish she had better reasons for choosing them among the 100s of kids' shows on the air.

Here is her list with her comments and mine. I'll list the favorite shows in our house in a separate post.

"Franklin": A turtle who is constantly trying to emerge from his shell. "The characters are engaging and lovely and sympathetic, dealing with dilemmas that are appropriate for kids that age."

As a homeschooler, this show is a little too heavy on pro-school propaganda for me. Also, I find the way they have anthropomorphized the animals to be weird and inconsistent. Franklin and his family eat bugs, but when Mrs. Turtle was expecting, she was pregnant, instead of tending a nest. My kids do like this show, and it doesn't have an overwhelming number of licensed products associated with it, which both count in it's favor, but there are better shows out there.

"Little Einsteins": Animated kids who love the classics, and we're not talking Yogi Bear. "The title says it all. It's geared toward parents who want their children to be fabulous."

Hmm... do I want my kids to be "fabulous"? I want them to be happy, secure, well educated, and a bunch of other things, but I don't really care if they're fabulous. As for the show, my kids got bored with it after seeing it about 3 times. I can't help but wonder where the Little Einsteins' parents are.

"Reading Rainbow": Former "Trekkie" LeVar Burton reads a book from cover to cover. "This is TV at its best. Not every family has parents that read to them. This is as close as they'll get."

Unfortunately, this show has been cancelled. I guess my kids get enough books at home, because the handful of times my kids saw this show they found it dull. I always assumed it was aimed at early readers rather than preschoolers.

"Clifford the Big Red Dog" and "Clifford's Puppy Days": Canine who constantly learns new tricks. "Clifford rocks. He's smart, loving and adorable and is a great companion to kids who are starting to have an active fantasy life."

This was a show we watched fairly regularly for a while, but we've moved on. It's not an awful show, but since I like to nitpick, I wish the relationship between Emily Elizabeth and her "friend" Jenna wasn't stuck in the rut of E stoically putting up with J's poor treatment, until J realizes she is wrong, and apologizes. As the mother of two girls, I don't like seeing the heroine act like a doormat.

"Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat": Curious cat born from the mind of author Amy Tan. "Fabulous. It broadens our sympathy for people who don't look like the girl next door."

Ms. Perle's comment is interesting to me because the only Chinese people I've seen on this show are the adults, and they aren't very sympathetic-- kids are going to relate to the animals. Having said that, Sagwa is a pretty good show. The characters aren't one dimensional, the stories are interesting, and it is visually appealing. The historical Chinese setting, language, and cultural references are a great bonus. I would be happy to have my kids watch it regularly, but while they enjoy it occasionally, they usually prefer to spend their TV time on other shows.

Babykeeper... just hanging around...

This is a device Mommysentials is selling to restrain an older baby or toddler in a public restroom. I can see the appeal of it, after all restrooms are germy places, and some kids are born to run and will take off as soon as you sit down. But I won't be buying one of these, and I'll tell you why:

1. When I am out with an older baby or toddler, I almost always have a stroller. Bringing a stroller into the handicapped stall does the same job.
2. I have never had a kid who runs away from me in public places; if I did, I would invest in a harness (combined with discipline, of course).
3. The downfall of all of these occasional-use kid items is that they don't do you any good unless you have them with you. The advertisement claims that it's "small enough to take wherever you go", but the metal hooks have to weigh something, and since we've already established it's only useful when you don't have a stroller, that is extra weight to carry around on your shoulder. My history with this type of thing is that I carry it around for a month, never use it, and it doesn't survive the next diaper bag purge. The day after that I actually need it.
   
4. The hinges on public restroom stall doors are not designed to hold children. I'm sure most of them are up to the task (especially steel ones), but I don't want to test them this way. Particularly because not every child is going to hang there as happily and calmly as the kid in the picture.
   

I suppose that there are situations where this would be very helpful, I just don't think they're common.

A college cost calculator...

Here is an explanation of how I got the tuition predictions I used in my "Saving for College" post below. I looked up the current tuition at the schools of interest using this College Cost Finder
Then I took that number and used this college savings calculator to figure out what we'd need to save. I did assume a rate of return of 8%, and I'm taking advantage of the fact that I don't have to have all 4 years of tuition saved up on the day my child starts college. If I used their default rate of return of 6%, the required monthly savings would be @$300.

The Carnival of Homeschooling is up!

And I'm in it! If you haven't seen it, Category 5 has written up a piece on the Weather Conditions on the Trail of Tears. It is truly a fascinating read.

Homeschooling and financial freedom (or lack thereof)

As we begin our first year as "official" homeschoolers (my oldest is now old enough to attend kindergarten at the school up the street), my family is declaring its independence from formal learning institutions. However I find myself, as a non-earning homeschooling mom, more dependent than I ever thought I'd be as an adult. My husband's income pays our bills, and my days are spent addressing the needs of our small children. I am not a martyr, and so I'm doing my best to find a path which lets us homeschool while giving me a little more independence, both financial and intellectual. We are just beginning our homeschooling journey, but we have gotten as far as we have thanks to the help of a generous community of homeschoolers, and I am wondering if there are any members of that community who have already traveled the path I am trying to find. It seems like one that could benefit many of us.

I feel very fortunate that our family is able to afford to live on one income, but there are drawbacks for me as the non-earning parent. Since I quit I no longer have a 401k and I am not fully vested in social security. Financial experts recommend that women have their own retirement savings, and I agree with them, as does my husband, fortunately. In the unlikely event we are unable to depend on my husband's income (due to illness, disability, divorce, a change in the economy, or even a desire on my husband's part to share the burden), I may again need to earn a salary. Finding a job after a long absence from the world of work may be challenging, and if I return to my old career I will almost certainly earn less than I was when I left several years ago. Add in the challenge of finding a job which is flexible enough to allow us to continue homeschooling, and it sounds like a nearly impossible task.

To address my financial concerns, I have made some changes and am researching others. In addition to the retirement savings I accrued while working, I have a Roth IRA to which we contribute regularly. I am actively researching ways in which I can contribute financially to our family's bottom line. My goal is to find an opportunity I can pursue part-time which has flexible hours-- this may be a small business which I run out of our home. Ideally, it will earn enough to compensate me for the time away from my family while keeping my skills current, engaging my mind and giving me contacts in the world of work. Finding time to run a small business well while homeschooling my kids is a major concern for me.

In order to get myself vested in social security, I need to earn Social Security credits, and so I will either need to pay myself a salary through my small business, or I will need a second job. I can earn a maximum of 4 social security credits each year, and to do that in 2006, I would need to earn $3880-- not a small amount of money, but not a full-time job either.

So, those are my goals. Is there anyone out there who can offer tips to get achieve them, or would like to walk along with me as I seek them?

Non-earning parents in single income families are often at greater financial risk than their partner, and because homeschooling families are more likely to have a non-earning parent, and that parent is more likely to be out of the workforce for a longer time, I believe it's important for the homeschooling community to discuss this issue.

Comments are appreciated.