Page 27 of Child of Mine

Growing up above a bookstore might not have kept me from getting into trouble, but it did give me a lifelong love of reading, something Lilah shares. It’ll be tough on her if we have to give it up. The groups of toddlers and moms at the story hour she leads love her, and the feeling is mutual.

As I pack up my things, Henry’s comment about the soaps aiming for a younger audience crosses my mind. I hadn’t believed him, but when I think back over what I just watched, there were more characters in their teens and early twenties—including a slew of hunky guys. The middle-aged regulars were mostly in the background. And lots of people record their favorite shows on the VCR, so more kids could be watching them even if they’re at school when they air.

I flip through the TV Guide on my way down the hall toward the exit, noting thatABC’s Afternoon Specialis still running, unbelievably. Like most network programs it’s in re-runs for the summer, but there are plenty of other options.

The UHF channels have old cartoons likeThe FlintstonesandThe Jetsons, or sitcoms likeDiff’rent StrokesandPunky Brewster. The new cable channel called Nickelodeon seems to be our main competitor, but the sheer volume of programming creates our biggest challenge. How do parents even keep up with everything battling for their kids’ attention, let alone figure out what’s good for them or even appropriate?

Luckily, I know a parent of a couple of girls in our target age group, and I’m supposed to pick up my daughter from her house in fifteen minutes.

* * *

When I getto Tami and Abby’s house, Esther isn’t home.

“I’m sorry, Jess,” I say when my friend opens the door. “I can’t believe you’re babysitting my kid.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jess says, pulling me inside. “We’ve been having a great time. Esther got stuck at work and asked me to come over.” She checks the time. “I do have rehearsal soon, though, so if you could stay till Esther gets home, that’d be great. It’s always a tricky time, that week or so between when the school year ends and camp begins.”

“Being a working mom is tricky no matter how you slice it.” Yet again, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to have my mom to watch Lilah. But it does get more complicated when Lilah wants to spend time with other kids, like Tami and Abby, who might not want to spend the whole day in a bookstore.

“As I am learning,” I continue. “The rep schedule is actually better for me with this new job. I can even go with the cast and crew on the retreat next week up in New Hampshire.”

“Lucky you, only one tech week to deal with. I have two in a row,” Jess grumbles.

“Why don’t you go ahead now? Take a few minutes to wind down before you have to wind up again for rehearsals.”

“If you don’t mind, that would be good. I need to eat dinner and grab my script from my place.”

“I don’t mind at all. I miss my baby.” A chat alone with the girls might give me more intel than if Jess or Esther were here, anyway.

A few minutes later, I’m impressed at how little TV they watch, but I’m also disappointed. Esther’s girls may not be a representative sampling of our audience after all.

“We’re only allowed to watch one hour of TV a day, and it has to be educational,” eight-year-old Tami tells me.

“But that doesn’t include movie nights,” Abby cuts in. “We have a lot of good videos.”

“You watch Nickelodeon and MTV when you go to Sarah’s house,” Tami says in a classic jealous-younger-sister tone.

“How do you know that?”

“I heard you talking about it on the phone.”

Hands on hips, a replica of her Aunt Jess, Abby warns, “You’d better not tell. Or I’ll tell that you were spying on me.”

Tami points at me. “She might tell Mom.”

“Me?” Hand to heart I promise, “As long as it doesn’t involve a crime, my lips are sealed. This is research.”

Abby doesn’t seem convinced, so I try another tack. “What about your friends? I don’t even know them, so I can’t tell on them.”

“Well, lots of kids don’t even really watch TV. I mean, they have it on, like in the background. But what’s really cool are games like Tetris and Super Mario Brothers.”

“Like at an arcade?”

“What’s an arcade?” Tami asks.

“Oh, wow. Your momisstrict.”

“It’s a place where old people used to go to play video games,” my daughter explains.

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