Thought of the Day 09.23.09

It irritates me that TV stations refuse to deliver ad content which is as safe for my family as the program we’re watching. Right there in the middle of a baseball game or Wipeout are PG-13 ads for murder shows, horror movies, or adult content like Cougar Town. These contain violence, frightening images, sexuality, and even profanity. This is one reason I tape most everything I watch.

So, for years, I’ve been either shielding little eyes with my hands or else telling them to look away until I can change the channel. Naturally, they disliked this, but their resistance was futile. But during a baseball game last night, something quite wonderful happened. An for Pandorum came on, and Spencer immediately looked away from the set, asking me, “Daddy, do you see how I’m not even looking?”

Not only was he quickly able to identify a problem ad, but he turned away from it and was eager for my approval for this act. So I praised him, which was easy since I was flush with the excitement of finally seeing years of parenting pay off so vividly.