Today we received a hand-out from Rachel’s school informing us that next week is TV Turnoff Week. Interesting timing. Although Rachel doesn’t watch much television, I do let her watch when I’m cooking dinner (okay, I admit it, that’s not the only time she watches). This week, however, it has become harder and harder for her to transition from the TV to the dinner table. Last night I warned her a number of times that if she didn’t pull herself together she would watch no television today. She didn’t do it. So, today was a day of no television.

TV Turnoff week seemed to me to be a good opportunity to break her from her early evening habit. So I started the hard sell. “Rachel, look a this!” I said. “Your school says next week is TV Turnoff week!” “What’s that?” she asked. “Well, you don’t watch any TV and instead you take walks after dinner, you work on puzzles together, play games, play stories.” She seemed somewhat interested, “But, why can’t we watch TV?” “Because if we watch TV we don’t have time to do fun things like play games.” I wasn’t sure if my sales pitch was going to go over because we do play games even on days that she watches TV. I was staring at a page of the handout that said, “New Stanford Research Shows Less TV=Less Agression.” I needed a new line of argument so I used it: “People that watch too much television sometimes become mean.”

Innocently, she asked, “Like you?” (!!!!)

“Like me? I’m mean?” She looked embarrassed and then said no. I regained my composure and calmly asked, “When was I mean to you? You can tell me.” I assumed she was going to mention me hissing and snapping at her to get back into bed the night before (after she had come in our room for the 5th time).

Instead she said, “When you say I can’t watch TV.”

You think she got me, don’t you? Nooooooooooo. Well, short-term, yes. But, that isn’t the end of the story. The first thing she told her Dad when he got home from work was that next week was TV turnoff week and we were going to be taking walks, playing games…

Did I tell you that in my latest job performance review it was determined that I am great at marketing things to three year olds?

I think I’ll dust off that crock-pot for next week. And since I’m still the boss, I’m making an exception for Desperate Housewives, Idol, and The Apprentice.