Perhaps one reason I’m so interested in talking about TV, movies and books here on Subterfuge is because I was raised in a family that regularly shares and discusses the media we consume. The family that posts on Raising Amazing Daughters has put up an entry about how they shared time and interest in TV shows. It immediately evoked similar memories in me.
I have very clear memories of watching Lamb Chop with my mother. I was enrolled in afternoon kindergarten, so the mornings were ours. We would have a leisurely breakfast while PBS ran. I adored Lamb Chop, and my mother felt it was one of the better programs for kids at the time. We would talk during commercials, often about what was happening on the show.
I think the first shows I watched with both my parents were Brit-coms. Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced bouquet, if you please!) is very family-friendly (even if her sister Rose is not), and I knew all the little habits of the department store staff on Are You Being Served? (“Mrs. Slokum, are you free?”) Of course, no description of my childhood would be complete without a heavy dose of Monty Python. I was also introduced to Black Adder when I was very young, so I’ve always known Hugh Laurie as the buffoonish Prince. It was wonderful to share a sense of humor, to have inside jokes within our little family.
As I got older my mother didn’t feel such a need to screen what I watched. We had established an ongoing dialogue, and this conversation has never stopped.When it came to books, she curated my early library. I had exquisitely illustrated picture books, informational books, and the books she had adored as a child. I didn’t always like what she had, but they were available. My taste diverged, and I plowed through the public and school libraries. I remember some of the first times we shared a chapter book: Catherine, Called Birdy. It came from a school book fair, and we both loved it, though we surely saw different things in it. Then I discovered Tamora Pierce, and we both devoured the entire Tortall series. Now we swap books frequently.
My father is in on the book action now as well. He passes his Terry Pratchetts on to me. I knew he would love Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, but I was surprised when my mother insisted he try Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nicholson books (diaries of a hysterically funny fourteen year old British girl). He loved them, and he even enjoyed Harry Potter!
Dinner time is family time–and TV time. Yes, we know we should sit at the dining room table like civilized people. Too bad. We watch the news and a great selection of shows that all three of us enjoy. (We never miss House.) And we talk about it. We talk in ad breaks, we talk while the DVR fast-forwards, and we talk when it’s over. We speculate. Often we pause to pick apart the day’s mystery.
Our socializing isn’t limited to external media. But it’s a great point of reference, something we can share. When someone is miffed we still have to have dinner, and we’ll watching something we all like. Which gets the conversation rolling again. It reminds us that we can have good relationships beyond the fight at hand.
What media, if any, did you share with your parents? What will you share with your kids? Should a parent play watchdog?
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