Elmo Obsession?

photo from here

Let me begin by saying that we currently don't own a TV, and I make a point to limit any kind of screen time Elise has (I know what the AAP has to say about babies and TV). The only full-length show we have ever put on just for Elise to watch is Baby Signing Time when she was about nine months old and we were encouraging her to start signing with us. Even then, we didn't watch the shows for long, partly because we checked the DVD's back into the library and partly because she started catching on with signing. And sometimes we would watch Jeopardy in front of her when she was really little.

So, why is my baby obsessed with Elmo?

I do admit that sometimes I put on a Youtube video of Sesame Street while Elise and I wait for Matt to get home from work. When dinner is cooking, or when Matt is a few minutes later than he thought, she loves to watch these clips. But she never watches more than a few at a time, so a total of less than about 15 minutes. And this has only happened very recently, and fairly infrequently.

I was walking around Wal-mart the other day when, far off in the distance, Elise spotted a pair of Elmo pajamas on a rack. She immediately pointed and exclaimed, "Elmo!" What? Baffled, I told her what a good job she had done identifying Elmo correctly. Then I tried to figure out how she knew with such certainty who Elmo is.

And he keeps showing up everywhere. I noticed her safe-to-swallow toothpaste has a picture of Elmo on it. Actually, she pointed that out to me. Every Sesame Street character is Elmo to her, except Big Bird, who is just "bird." Pretty soon, she'll be insisting I buy her Elmo pajamas like the ones she saw at Wal-mart.

She also knows Sesame Street from these toys she got from my sister Paige for her first birthday, which are great little toys. Elise is still really into biting, and these little figurines are perfect for that. They're also great for church, since they make absolutely no noise. She has Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and Ernie.

So now that I have written this post, I guess it doesn't seem like such a mystery that Elise knows who Elmo is. But it still scares me a little.

But I guess not bad enough, since my not-yet-18-month-old is also currently obsessed with this Youtube gem from 1986. Yeah, I know; I'm a great mom.

P.S. We're not anti-TV. We just haven't bought one since we gave away the free CRT giant one we used to have before we moved. Matt and I watch movies all the time on our laptop. And we have already bought Elise movies for when she is a little older.

P.P.S. Oh, and that day we were at Wal-mart? I bought Elise a Sesame Street counting video from the $5 movie bin. I haven't decided if I want to take it back yet. We'll probably keep it.

P.P.P.S. If you let your baby/toddler watch TV every day, I totally don't blame you. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.