Days at home and thoughts about television

As Leni has been needing to stay at home for a few weeks I have been trying (with varying success!) to enjoy being at home more. I am assuming that the reason for her doing this is that she is really starting to be able to do other things while watching television and to have less desire for television in general. Personally, I'm ecstatic, but philosophically, I know that this is neither better nor worse than wanting lots of TV...I am enjoying doing other things with Leni though, hence all of the Leni-focussed posts lately!Here, Leni is dressed as the Queen of the Hula girls and we're setting up the Gruffalo Memory Game which Leni got for Yule for my Aunty. Lici is seeing how many of the tiny cards she can run away with!

One of Leni's new characters is Chloe the Queen of the mermaids, who has the super power of being able to fire hot bubbles from her hands. So we made a mermaid tail together.Cutting out pattern pieces.

Sewing on beads.
Finished! (I sewed it together, but Leni did all of the beads)

We also did the RSPB Big Bird Watch, as we are all enjoying feeding and watching the birds in our new garden so much.

See the numbers? Leni has begun writing 1, 2 and 3 pretty accurately and I'm mostly putting this on here to keep track of the photograph as Leni has cut up and re-used the paper now!

On television...well, I used to (back when TV was a very occasional thing) talk about how Leni would 'zombie out' and be oblivious to everything else around her when it was on. That scared me. It did feel as though television had some power over her, maybe there was something about the motion that 'hypnotises' some children. I was scared of it.

Well, Leni has had full autonomy since June now and watches a lot of television. Sort of. It is on a lot, but she is mostly doing something else and glancing up for the occasional few minutes. It is background noise, which isn't my ideal but does make Leni happy and life is sweeter with a happy Leni.

Clare xxx