mr. rogers

I am not a fan of TV. I don't like to sit and watch it; I don't like my child to watch it. I'd go so far as to say that I'm even debating on whether or not I really want to get a converter box. We don't have cable, and most of what is on network broadcasts is frenetic, trashy, or crazily biased and sensationalizing. We watch more PBS at my house than any other network, but little of that, either.

Turns out we're about to watch even less. See that new button over there to the right? I learned about the Save Mr. Rogers campaign from my friend Molly . After reading her post on Mr. Roger's disappearance from the daily PBS lineup, I went here. I wrote a letter to PBS. I hoped against hope that the Memphis affiliate wouldn't follow their lead. But alas, Mr. Rogers will only be broadcast daily for another week. They he'll be banished to 6am, 9:30 am, and 6pm on Sundays. I don't know about your family, but we're not up at 6am on Sundays. By 9:30 we're on our way to church and Catechsis, a montessori-based religious training program, which I help teach. At 6pm, we're having Sunday family dinner. No TV allowed. We may be the only family around without cable of tivo, so unless I break down and buy a half-dozen Mr. Rogers dvds, he is effectively out of my child's life.

Little boy is a very smart boy, very active, and shows some signs of having ADHD, just like his Daddy does. I try to limit his TV viewing to things that aren't frenetic, but calming, educational, uplifting. As much as I might like Arthur and Word Girl, they don't really fit that bill. I'll give my affiliate credit- they answered my query promptly. PBS did not. And I regret reading that part of their answer put the onus on Mr. Roger's demise on the Mr. Rogers foundation for not creating new material with the vintage footage in their collection. Or not doing it fast enough.

I hope I don't sound like I have sour grapes, but the results are less TV at the Bridgman house, which may, in the end, be a good thing.