My boy Ben is a hoot and a half. He is so different from my other kids. He just kind of melts into the background sometimes. He doesn’t ask for much, other than the tv remote control and some video game time. He is so super smart it amazes me some times. If I ever need to know anything about just about any animal or natural disaster, all I need to do is ask him. He soaks stuff up like a little sponge.

Because of his sponginess and also partly due to my lack of tolerance of completely stupid stuff, I have blocked several ‘kid’ channels on my cable tv. The last to go was Cartoon Network. I admit, there are some fun shows on there….like Scooby Doo, but some of the shows make me want to run from the room and fill my head with brainwash to clean it out. I can literally feel the intelligence leaking out my ear when I watch these shows. Not to point any fingers at certain shows, but the Amazing world of Gumball, the Regular show, and Mad Tv are among the absolute worst.  Every time I would find my kids watching any of the above, I would tell them AGAIN how much I hated the show and ask them to change it. After a while, I had to start the threats. If they kept watching the shows I sad no to, I would block the channel. I actually did block it for a while, but they made such good sounding promises I gave them another chance.

Yesterday, when I walked into the room and saw Mad Tv on again…it was the final straw. I took the remote and blocked it on the spot. I don’t understand why these shows are popular. They are so SOOO stupid!! They not only make everyone on the show look stupid, they also have a very thick under lying layer of plain creepiness. If there is anything on tv that is brainwashing our kids, I’m pretty sure that those shows are right at the top of the list. So…the channel is gone. Now, we are stuck with basically Disney. That is a topic for another day…..

The upside of blocking the bad channels is that my kids actually turn off the tv and go outside more. They also pick better shows to watch when they do use the tv. Last night, Ben decided to watch a show on dangerous critters. I sat and watched with him and listened to him repeat the scariest parts about these creature to me. I was creeped out….spiders, snakes, crocs, and dingos to name a few….but it was better than the stupid talking piece of gum.

As I put Ben to bed last night…he lovingly hugged me and told me to remember that the black and red spider from Australia could kill a person in 30 minutes without the antivenom. It was a sweet moment. I returned the favor by squeeaing and tickling him til he couldn’t breathe. I was sure I was going to have nightmares after that show….it was really creepy. But instead, I dreamt about my sweet boy and the time we spent together. I do love him, and all the others, very much. They add so much spice to my life. I would be lost without them.

I do have to say that the show did have a definite effect on me. I have always said I wasn’t interested in going to Australia…..Crocodile Dundee ruined for me years ago….but now, after seeing that huge spider crawl into the guys show as he sat by a pool at a very civilized looking spa in Sydney…yeah, there is no way on earth I will ever go down under!! Cause I said so!