Against all odds and to our great surprise, we’ve managed to avoid using TV and DVDs to keep Chloe and Gabriel entertained until late last week. That’s almost 20 months with no television (for the kids). We’ve been watching all along although at a MUCH diminished level as my two almost-full DVRs can attest. I can’t say that I miss it all that much. Sure, there are a few shows that I watch on a regular basis like Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs but almost everything else has fallen by the wayside.

Why have we waited so long? When Gabriel was discharged from the NICU, one of the doctors gave us the whole rundown on “how to be a good parent to a preemie” and his speech included the medical establishment’s recommendation that television not be a regular part of our childrens’ routine until they are about two years old. We laughed and the doctor, taking off his proverbial doctor-hat, said “I don’t know if this is possible, but you can try.” Lo and behold, we managed to almost make it to 24 months. Sure there were some Baby Einstein videos on now and again (especially when the kids were still little enough to sit in their bouncers) but we don’t really count that as “regular” watching of TV.

Since the only TV we have upstairs is in our room, we put up a gate and the kids sit or stand outside our bedroom door to watch. It’s a very cute scene to watch as they repeat the words they’re hearing or make animal noises when they see something they know on TV.