There are numerous studies on the harmful effects of extensive tv/video watching for kids at young ages, older ages and so on. There aren’t, I feel, enough studies of the harmful effects of parents being forced to watch the same video over and over again with their children day in and day out. Now, the studies say that less than an hour a day for kids is fine. Less then an hour never seemed like that long at all. And it really isn’t…unless it’s watching the same children's video every day, for an hour, for what feels like an eternity of days.

I don’t have much against these children's videos, my kids seem to like them and that’s fine, but lately the same gag reflex I get while smelling food during pregnancy, hits me when my kids point to a video and squeal with delight. And often, it is the very same one, day after day after day.

“Please no, here look at this one, this is a new one.”

But no, the familiarity of the same video with the same songs and motions bring endless delight to my little ones.

Inwardly I cringe as I slip the video in and smile and nod along with my kids when they look to me for sharing in their obvious excitement that yet again he’s doing exactly what he did before. How does he do that? They wonder in amazement. I try to look at anything else but at the screen so I don’t go crazy.

There’s that crack on the wall from yesterday’s play time.

Oh, the floor needs to be vacuumed again.

Did I buy enough sauce for the spaghetti? I wonder.

“Yeeeaaaah, honey, look at him jump up and down. WOW!”

“No, Mommy doesn’t want to jump like him. Thanks anyway.”

Before I had kids, I heard a woman singing a kids song to herself while she was away from her children and I thought she had gone mad. "Is she really singing that for her own enjoyment? You’ve got to be kidding," I chuckled to myself and shook my head sympathetically. "Poor thing, gone off the deep end from not enough personal woman time due to Mommy time." Now, I shake my head at myself because I find myself doing the exact same thing.

I’ve been brainwashed by children’s entertainment. I find I can relate to that little clay draidel waiting to dry and dipping my piece of apple into honey on Rosh Hashanah brings enough happiness to burst into song.

I guess being an involved mother in your children’s lives is actually getting so involved that it is something you begin to love as much as your children. Or convince yourself that you love as you push away those memories of you buying cassettes that weren’t in neon colors and entertainment that contained content on a more stimulating intellectual plane.

I just hope that when the time comes for me to exit from this world of children's videos, the transition goes quickly. I can just see it, my kids begging me to finally throw out the baby videos and do something more for their age as I grasp these items with a wild eyed look on my face.

“But you don’t understand,” I’ll protest in desperation, “He’s so reliable. Look, look, he’s jumping just like he did yesterday. How does he do that?!”