Grrrrrrrr...Part II

So, Maddie knows who/what Elmo is. Yeah, it took her a whole nine months to get sucked into the commercial, corporate, consumer-driven machine and come out with a "favorite" television character.

I should back up a bit. First of all, she rarely watches TV at home. We have two (one working) Baby Einstein DVDs in the house, and we usually only use them when she's not feeling well or having a really rough day. She's never watched Sesame Street or any sort of Elmo show at home, so like any good parent, I'm going to blame daycare. Now, I use blame in the nicest way blame can be used. Laura is watching five kids, two of whom are over the age of two, and if I were her, I would probably have chucked it all in and run off to Fiji by now were it not for that bastion of all toddler calming devices, the television. However, the TV is in the living room, which is the only completely baby-proofed space in the house, so if the "big kids" are watching an Elmo video, everyone is watching an Elmo video. I think that, and the Tickle-Me Elmo they sometimes play with, is the culprit behind her brand recognition.

Sadly, Jon and I cannot be held blameless in this matter either. Having heard that Maddie cracked up over the Tickle-Me variety of said Muppet, we promptly went out and bought her one of her own. (To our credit, it was at a garage sale for $2, so I can't feel that bad about it. I mean, come on, $2!) Nana has also contributed a couple of Elmo books to her library, and before you know it, when you say, "Maddie, where's Elmo?", she looks right at the stuffed garage sale find.

So, why, you may ask, if I'm so averse to her recognizing a Muppet, did I fuel this fascination with the furry little monster with the big ego? (Elmo constantly refers to himself in the third person, which I find to be a bit much. We get it. You're Elmo. Geez...Muppets are sooo self-centered!) Well, because, she knows what Elmo is! I mean, this is a big step. She's starting to recognize people and things, and while she may have chosen the one Sesame Street character that annoyed me more than any other during my babysitting days, I think this sort of development should be encouraged. Besides, when I'm really honest with myself, it could be worse. It's Sesame Street, for crying out loud. It's a Muppet. If there had to be a show she gravitated toward at such a young age, I'm glad it's this one. It's not as if she recognizes the Terminator, and ends all conversations with "Ah'll be bauck."

I guess I just hoped that she could remain free from these sorts of outside influences for a bit longer, and what really gets me is that I know this is one of the things we're sacrificing by putting her in daycare, and there will be more things like this. You put them out in the world, and they pick up, well, the world. In order to have a sane Mommy and Daddy who feel balanced with their parents selves and their non-parent selves, we're going to have to put up with Elmo, which in the grand scheme of things, doesn't seem so bad.

Um, also, in all fairness, I should disclose that I'm slightly annoyed by the fact that while if you ask, "Where's Daddy? Where's the kitty? Where's Elmo?", she will look for these things. Try saying, "Where's Mommy?" Nothing. If I can blame daycare for the E-love, I'm going to blame Jon for this one.