Not that I don't agree with you about Mr. Rogers. One particular moment stands out in my memory: My daughter was about two, and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood was on television. He had a little doll that looked just like him, complete with cardigan and everything. Mr. Rogers took the cardigan off the doll, then put it on again, then tried to get the doll to sit up. The doll fell over, and Mr. Rogers said "Oopsie!" and propped the doll up again. My daughter sat there raptly, as mesmerized as I was when I was watching O.J. being chased around the freeways of L.A. in his slow white Bronco. And I realized that getting your doll to sit up and failing is a big part of being two-years-old, and there was a reason this was interesting to her -- she knew exactly what he was going through! (Or maybe she was just staring in fascination because she'd never seen an adult react so calmly to frustration before.) In any case, I think Mr. Rogers' unflappable calm was comforting to her, and I much preferred her to watch his show over something fast-paced and overstimulating.

[ Parent ]