Television addiction

I admit it; I’m a terrible mother. My four-year-old is totally addicted to TV. Even worse - I turn it on for him and think it’s pretty adorable when I can’t distract him from his baseball game. Of course, Roc is a dog, so I really don’t think it’s going to permanently damage his little brain. It’s not like he has to grow up to be a responsible taxpayer.

In truth, I think it started before I adopted him. This is a picture of him sitting on his "grandpa’s" chest, watching football at the tender age of four weeks. Bad habits start young. To this day he loves football and baseball. He stops playing "fetch" mid-throw if there’s a particularly tense putt in a golf tournament.

The worst of it is that, like many another sports fan - he adds his two cents to whatever’s happening on screen. I’m sure many umpires ears have burned over the last four years. We’d appreciate it if he kept his comments to himself - Roc’s got a really annoying bark.

His TV addiction isn’t limited to sports. He loves anything on Animal Planet. Animated shows have his rapt attention. And he dashes in from anywhere in the house to see a Fancy Feast commercial. He recognizes the "ding, ding" of the fork on the goblet and comes dashing in, barking all the way. Before he even sees the kitty.

I think his favorite show is actually on every night somewhere on cable. Because of the barking thing, we only let him watch it once a week. Roc adores "America’s Funniest Home Videos." Especially when they have clips of dogs. We could just turn off the TV to stop the barking. But we don’t, cause it’s just so darn silly.