"Children don't remember their best day of television.”
That's kind of thought-provoking, isn’t it? I read that quote and it got me thinking, really thinking, about what makes kids’ best memories. At first, I thought, "Oh, that's true. Makes sense to this old mom and longtime teacher.”
Then I felt guilty as I remembered that some of my favorite childhood memories are sitting with my mom and stepdad on Friday nights watching the late night movie on TV. Friday Fright Night. Black and white. My sister and I were allowed to stay up late, till whenever the movie ended. Dad would cackle at the lame “scary” characters and scenarios. He'd impersonate Bella Lugosi or Vincent Price in whatever role they were playing. My mom would pop a huge pot of popcorn and we’d munch on it as we watched. I’d usually fall asleep and rarely saw a whole movie, but my sister, the night owl, would fill me in the next day. “The Wonderful World of Disney” on Sunday evenings is a staple of my childhood memories, too. We ate supper on TV trays, gathered around TV, enjoying the offering the genius of family programming created for us that week. TV was in its infancy in the 50’s and 60’s, but it had already become a part of our lives. We got our first color TV when I was in high school. What magic! I'll never forget the first day of color television viewing in our house.
I love those memories.
I also love the memory of my family’s first VCR in the 80’s and the magic of recording it brought. Now we could watch whatever we chose, whenever we chose, however many times we chose. One summer I thought I’d lose my mind as “The Wizard of Oz” and “Bedtime for Bonzo” became the repeated daily choices for afternoon rest time. The sons wouldn’t nap any more, but I made them rest for a couple of hours during the heat of the day. They had to stay out of the blistering Oklahoma sun and recharge after hours outside. They’d stretch out on the floor under the ceiling fan and watch a recording together as I folded laundry or did some other chore.
Another favorite memory is playing Mario on our sons’ earliest Nintendo. Ah, Mario and Luigi. I remember how we all howled as the boys tried to teach us how to play. The laughter rocked the house as my husband tried to operate the controller like a remote. For some reason, his exaggerated motions with the controller and pushing buttons randomly didn’t work. He never really got it, but he entertained us with his antics as he tried. I think that’s when the sons started lovingly calling their dad Old Man. Funny old man. Definitely not a gamer.
I adore the memories of reading with my sons every night, playing board and card games with them, and spending way too much time interacting with different lines of action figures. Trips, picnics, playing with the neighborhood kids, sprinkler and pool time, bikes, sports, and rides on our snow machines are well-loved memories, too, but that doesn’t take away from the part TV and its extensions hold in our memories.
I’ve decided I don't really like that quote. At least not exactly as it is written.
I get the sentiment, but it pigeonholes what’s important to kids. Maybe families can't take cool trips or participate in expensive hobbies, but they can sit together and watch TV or a movie. They can talk about what they watch and make memories together. That matters.
Our stories and what we remember are different, but TV is likely part of most people’s memories. We’ve all heard about media pressure, screen time, and television’s effects on us. Those are frequent topics covered in the news, especially as they pertain to youth. But, that doesn't necessarily make the video world bad nor mean that it shouldn’t be any part of kids’ memories.
Do you realize how much stuff young people are learning via screens? The culture is shifting. We no longer live in a world where encyclopedias are the tools for checking facts or a trip to the library is needed for research. Kids today have knowledge at their fingertips.
What we need is balance, not presumptuous commentary or too much of anything. Most parents are working hard to make it through each day and provide. There are times parents need a break. Streaming or You Tube might be part of the answer now, just as recorded movies during rest time were part of my answer in the 80’s.
Kids may not remember what they watched during screen time. But, who knows? Memories are funny. Sometimes small moments become big memories. Before we relegate screen time to the realm of bad parenting techniques, remember the amazing things that can happen from media too. Kids are becoming entrepreneurs, inventors, musicians, creators, and fundraising gurus for causes of their choice through media. That’s pretty astounding.
Building tomorrow’s adults can include screen time, without accompanying guilt. Balance, folks. That’s the key. Balance screen memories with lots of other non-screen moments.
