Learning the television way

Scene: A perfect weekend evening with one family relaxing in front of the tv.

The Little one walks by watches both the parents glued to the idiot box and rightly so ,gets her Winnie the Pooh chair to the side and perches over it and joins the gang. No guesses who gets the bad mother of the year award this time by setting such a fine example. Mom seems to have crossed over to the dark side. Now she reasons well,a little tv won't do that much harm can it? But after sometime when Mike Rowe is seen digging his hands into another batch of disgusting gooey stuff on his dirty jobs series, she pauses and thinks..Hmm..this can't be something good for her to watch can it?Yet the little one is watching without battling an eyelash. Mom wonders has she already desensitized her little mind so much?is she going to need some therapy in her adult years associating all her woes to those years of television watching?This prompts her to act....

Mom- Hmm.. .are you seeing this?

Dad- Yes,unbelievable isn't it?*Thoroughly enjoying this series of dirty jobs*

(Men,I tell you they can surprise you so much at times with their interests in all these bikes, cars,war,weapons and dirt. Sometimes I think they consider watching such stuff unflinchingly is a prerequisite to their machoness or honestly do they have such bad taste in programs?)

Mom- Kids these days! I never really understood the concept of tv when I was that age

Dad- *pretending to hear his wife and lip synching an yes to everything just to get her off his back* Yes dear,I agree

Mom- Don't you think we ought to switch to some other channel?this stuff you are watching seems a wee bit inappropriate for her to watch

Dad- *Apparently has no clue what his wife is talking about and abiding by the nature's law that men can never process two things at a time and wife turns into a invisible object especially when tv is on* Yes I agree

Mom- Wow!well then change it *waiting for some response*...........*Nudging him this time* ......*finally exasperated,snatches the remote from his hand* Now there you go!

Dad- *Jumping up from his couch and looking at her incredulously* You just changed it?I was watching it.Why would you do that?

Mom- Well..did you really hear what I said just now?

Dad- Hmm..yes,well...umm.. no. What were you really telling me about?

Mom- *with that look which says "You men!!* Time for another channel, we have a little spectator here now as you can see

Dad -*Letting out a moan* Comeon,it's ending in a few minutes. What harm can it do anyway?and moreover its discovery channel. It will improve her knowledge.

Mom- Watching a man wallowing in dirt or sifting through some disgusting stuff happily somehow doesn't seem appropriate to let her watch does it?

Dad- *hands in the air* I could have made up some story about how lessons can be learnt by dirt?I really truly can.

Mom- *Dismissing his pleas* Like the one you made last time about how if dad didn't watch that computer program she would get swallowed by the laptop? No,thanks. Look !there's this "Friendly jack" program on the baby tv. He is teaching how to make toddlers help you pick up their toys and put them back.

Dad- *lets out a fake laughter* You really think it's that easy to teach them??

The little one squeals and claps her hands as an outrageously colorful attired man comes jumping holding some balloons (However liked the Friendly Jack guy is he has atrocious taste in clothes and certainly would have been the worst candidate if ever featured on WHAT NOT TO WEAR...on second thoughts he could be perhaps closely beaten by Elmo and Barney)

Mom-*smugly smiling to herself* See,she is more happy to see this. (Sits with her offspring)Watch me and learn . Hey look baby, how Jack is putting his toys in place...Picking them up one by one...

Two little eyes watch carefully as Jack picks up one toy after another from the messy room and puts them all back into the toy basket...Her eyes light up now and she gets up..

Mom- *Delighted* Look,look she is going to put her toys in place.. Wow!I guess tv isn't that bad afterall...

The dutiful kid under the influence of Jack goes to her toy box picks up one and then looks at the toy..Mom is cheering her to put it into the box

She then proceeds to turn her toy box all over and scattering all her toys and lego pieces crashing them all to the ground and sending them rolling to every nook and corner of the room. Mom watches in horror as they fly all across the room under the carpet,sofa and the chairs!And then the little one proceeds to put them one by one back, periodically turning the box over and over again to get the pieces again on the floor and then putting them back before repeating it. Afterall that's what the friendly Jack did,he entered a messy room full of toys and then only proceeded to put them didn't he?first there has to be a mess to clean up...rightly reasoned by the child...

Dad was last seen rolling on the floor laughing his ass off while the poor embarassed mom cast a cold stare at him and very quietly proceeded to pick up the toys herself....Needless to say the little one's quota of friendly Jack is going to get rationed.