I Need a 12 Step Program...

...for my 19 month old. He has an addiction, and it's starting to control his life - and mine.

Sunday morning he woke up at 7:00 a.m. By 7:10 a.m., I had heard each of the following phrases:

"Watch Lightning"

"Watch Beggie Tales"

"Watch Wittle People"

"Watch Barney"

"Watch Bideo"

I guess since I said no to the first four, he thought he make a more general "video" request with try #5. It still did not work, much to his chagrin. He is officially addicted to the television.

I'm not sure what to do about this. I've always been pretty strict with the amount of TV watching that my children are allowed.

The biggest problem is that I've noticed how much I can get done while my child is sitting in front of his favorite shows. He will watch the entire hour of Sesame Street without hardly moving a muscle. I can shower, get completely ready, talk on the phone, do laundry, clean the house, scrapbook, read...I could probably even go out for a jog and he wouldn't notice.

So, I'm wrestling with this one, and thinking that it just might be time to adopt a new parenting philosophy about TV.

Then I'll only have one more addiction to tackle:

"Want pop sicle!"

"Want mor-or (more) marshmallows!"

"Cookie! Want cookies!"

"Want Marties (smarties)!"

But, really, the kid has to eat.