The Dad in my house gave up watching a Euro Cup game over the weekend. Why? Because Thing 1 and Thing 2 wanted to go to the community environment day (they remembered the face painting from last year). So he pulled a wagon and made a memory with his kids instead of cheering (well, in our case, – yelling -) at the players on TV.
Thank you Papa.
I was reminded (by that Papa) that a short time ago; Parent Club was offered to review TiVo (digital-video recorders (DVRs) – for the non-tech parents; TiVo allows you to record TV…(like soccer games)…and watch your recorded show on your schedule (like after the kids come home from face painting). I turned down the offer because I didn’t have the parent time for TiVo — forgetting that the other parent in the house may appreciate watching his shows on his schedule.
The folks at TiVo did a tv viewing poll to see what Dads are secretly watching when they have TV time;
Dancing With the Stars – 33%
Grey’s Anatomy – 24%
Desperate Housewives – 22%
hmm, not soccer games?! I bet the Dads who are watching Dancing With The Stars are sharing the couch with the kids. Modern Dad wants to be engaged in his kids’ lives. Not cheering from the sidelines. Not staying home to watch the game (well, as long as it isn’t’ the quarter finals, semi finals or plain ol’ finals).
We have a PVR from rogers (personal video recorder)…I don’t know how we lived without it before.I can record the shows I want to watch, the ones my husband wants and….the ones the kids want that are on while they are at school, ot other inappropriate times like bedtime or dinner time…no more lost or scratched DVDs!!The PVR is really the best thing we have ever done for TV in our house. It also helps avoid those times when the kids (or the dad) don’t want to leave the TV for dinner, a friends BBQ, bath time, bed time or whatever…you just press record and off you go and you can finish watching the show/game when it is convenient for you.Toilet training?? Kids mesmerized by the TV and don’t make it in time? Before we had the PVR I had a potty in the TV room (this did work well) then once the PVR came in just show them how to pause and off they go to the toilet when they need to go!!! Big brother was even happy to help pause the TV so little brother could go and when he came back they could finish the show together!!
Really? Is a PVR easy to use? Didn’t even think about the potty training implications – you are so smart.
I only had a chance to experience PVR for about a month a couple years back, but I fell in love with it. I don’t even have cable right now, but when I get it, you’d better believe I’ll be PVRing my life away. Hah.My dad watches all those reality shows–Dancing with the Stars, SYTYCD, American Idol, etc. because he doesn’t have cable and his options are limited. But, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t totally into it! : )