A Subtle Shift

When my older three girls were little we didn't have cable TV, just the normal terrestrial channels.  There were many good and not so good programmes for them to watch, and for me to endure.  Then along came cable and a whole new world of children's entertainment.  This was fine for a while, but then Katy got older and discovered all the America shows aimed at teenagers.  I'm talking about iCarly, Wizards of Waverley Place, Victorious, Sweet Life of Zach and Cody, Sunny with a Chance etc, etc, etc.  They were loud and annoying and were on endlessly.

When I got home from work she would be watching them, one after the other.  Switching channels every half an hour to catch her favourites.  Now this is her house and she needs to have some freedom to watch her choice of television, but each day I would get to a point where enough was enough and I had to make her switch it off.

A few months ago, I came to realise that when I got home tired and hungry at 5:30 each night, I was no longer being bombarded with American kids being, well, America.  I'm not entirely sure when the shift happened as it was like when you suddenly realise that annoying headache has gone. You're not sure exactly when, you just know it's not there any more.

Now when I got home she was watching shows like QI, Top Gear or Friends, and a current favourite Man versus Food.  I feel this is a big step in her development and can only be a good thing.  Although I have to admit I did get converted to iCarly, and missed that one for a while.