Boredom

Today Elizabeth has been very sooky at home.  She was fine when we went out to Bible study this morning, but her time at home has been filled with tears and a desire to be held constantly.  I offered baby toys and more baby toys, and then some other different baby toys.  Nothing pleased her.  She grizzled her way around the floor finding any 'non-baby' toys she could on the floor, close to the edge of the couch, or getting them while sitting on my knee.  She also found the nappy bag.  She would then chew on things until they were taken away or got boring.

So far she has attempted to devour:
the TV remote,
one brother's sword (it's okay, it's only a toy),
another brother's light saber (also only a toy),
her sister's ruler,
the box of wipes,
a clean nappy,
some clean clothes,
the couch,
her socks,
her toes,
the floor,
a bookmark from the school book fair last week and
a pamphlet about the Sydney Jewish Museum.

Trying to cram in all the information about the Jewish Museum (See all the toys she refused to play with…)

GIVE ME BACK MY PAPER!

I think I need to be creative with toys for the next little while and maybe put away her familiar toys, at least for a week or so.

And in case people were wondering, she is not crawling yet, but she somehow manages to wiggle around on her bottom and covers a lot of floor space this way.

Update on my letter to Target...

This morning I received an email from the Target Online Team in response to the complaint I made regarding their lingerie advertisement.  This is what they said:

Good Morning Esther,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us regarding our recent intimate apparel television commercial.

We want you to know that we take all of our customer’s concerns seriously and it’s certainly not Target’s intention to offend anyone. As a result of ongoing feedback, we have slightly amended our television commercial to remove particular images that made viewers uncomfortable. This amended commercial is on air now.

Thank you once again for writing to us, we appreciate having the opportunity to respond to your concerns. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if there’s anything further we can assist with.

Kind Regards,

Online Team

Target lingerie ads on TV

Target has a new ad on TV for lingerie.  I saw this ad a few nights ago and commented to Simon that I was glad it was past 'family viewing' time because some of the poses are very sexualised.

Today as I was feeding Bethy, I turned on the TV and a movie was just starting.  It was an old movie about an escape attempt from a POW camp during WWII.  This is a subject I am quite interested in, so I continued to watch and the boys sat down to watch it with me.

I was VERY disappointed when the Target lingerie ad came on during Sunday afternoon family TV viewing time.  I hoped the boys would not be paying attention, but I noticed they sat up and watched with interest and some embarrassment as a series of women paraded around in their underwear, a couple with provocative and suggestive poses.

So, I did something I haven't done before.  I looked up the Target website and registered a complaint about their ad, and the time it was used in.  I don't know if it will do any good, but I am glad I have done something.

Feeling like a bit of a silly mother...

Today I had an 'Ah ha!' moment about one of my children and why he is the way that he is.  This insight actually would apply to all of my children to some degree, but this one child in particular.

My children frequently ask me for 'screen time', which to them means playing some form of electronic game, either DS, PSP, X-Box or computer.  I have concerns about how much time a child should spend on 'screen time', so we have a daily limit of 30 mins, (which is sometimes extended to 1 hr as many games are hard to complete without some longer play times).

One of my children in particular will ask, beg, plead for screen time and may end up in tears if it is denied.  Today, after an episode of crying, I decided to find out why he feels the need to have screen time.  That's when I had my Ah-ha moment.  He is definitely an introvert, and in a crowded house, with two brothers sharing his room, he NEVER has any place to go to just be alone.  Screen time is his form of time out from everyone, and that's why he gets so upset when he misses out on it.

After some discussion about it, he agreed that if we could find some way for him to be alone and have time out from others, he wouldn't feel like he had to have screen time so much.  Now I just need to figure out how to create a space for the boys where they can go to have time out when they need it.

I feel like a bit of a silly mother to have taken so long to register that the boys need alone time and space for themselves.

Olympic thoughts...

As we all know the Olympics are in full swing at the moment.  I have enjoyed watching my children get excited, and I have been tempted to give in to their requests to "stay up, just till the next ad break", because I know they are enjoying watching, even when Australia loses.

As I listened to the coverage the other day, without being able to actually see the TV from where I was, I was reminded of this poem by Banjo Paterson.

The Riders in the Stand

There's some that ride the Robbo style, and bump at every stride;
While others sit a long way back, to get a longer ride.
There's some that ride like sailors do, with legs and arms, and teeth;
And some ride on the horse's neck, and some ride underneath.

But all the finest horsemen out -- the men to Beat the Band --
You'll find amongst the crowd that ride their races in the Stand.
They'll say "He had the race in hand, and lost it in the straight."
They'll show how Godby came too soon, and Barden came too late.

They'll say Chevalley lost his nerve, and Regan lost his head;
They'll tell how one was "livened up" and something else was "dead" --
In fact, the race was never run on sea, or sky, or land,
But what you'd get it better done by riders in the Stand.

The rule holds good in everything in life's uncertain fight;
You'll find the winner can't go wrong, the loser can't go right.
You ride a slashing race, and lose -- by one and all you're banned!
Ride like a bag of flour, and win -- they'll cheer you in the Stand.

Banjo Paterson