The Importance of Thirty Minutes

I know most people are stopping by to see if I have collapsed under the pressure of having my son away at camp. I haven't, yet. I've had much to keep me busy. Cows escaping everywhere day and night, my regular work, weighing cows for shipping (for my husband who is at camp), and a not feeling so well child have kept me busy enough to not panic.

Yesterday, I read a blog entry at Mental Multi-vitamin that is still making me think. Ms MMv wrote about escaping the heat in a bedroom with a small rabbit eared television in which they watched Bay Watch with their young son. The post was funny. I even chuckled in my pained, separation anxiety state. But, the lasting message is what is working on me today.

If one television show on one day, can mold the behavior of a child for ten years, think of the lasting implications of other decisions we make for our children. Learning lifesaving skills is positive even if it is done because of Bay Watch. I know it is impossible to shield your children from every unsavory morsel of pop culture and if you tried you might miss positive things like Bay Watch swimming lessons. I also know that much of what is out there in schools, on television, and in malls is not going to inspire anyone to greater heights. Thinking of all the wasted, ridiculous, or alarming 30 minute segments in the public and private school day gives me another reason to homeschool.