Yeah, I bribe my kid with TV and food, so?

When Bee was a newborn/infant the house was hardly ever clean, to my satisfaction anyway. Hubby tried but I have a certain way of doing things. I took his help and was okay with it because everyone said, "sleep when the baby sleeps," "don't worry about the housework, it can wait, spend time with your baby," "we don't care what the house looks like, we come to see you guys." So, I reluctantly learned to "let go" knowing that when Bee got a little older I would be able to go back to having a clean house, the way I like it. That, my friends, was a major misconception on my part! It is harder now, more than ever, to get those things done! She clings to my every movement! She will literally cling to my leg and beg for me to pick her up! If I leave the room, she leaves the room. For pete's sake she follows me into the bathroom! But! I have found two things that are sure to give me 20 to 30 minutes of uninterrupted cleaning and cooking time! Food and TV! Now, I know what you are thinking, that is terrible! I used to think the same thing! I always told myself; I will let Bee only have a certain amount of TV time a day. That still happens, unintentionally, but it does happen! My stepdaughter has had a TV in her room as long as I have known her, since she was 4! I vowed that my child would never have a TV in her room that young and I stick to that firmly but what does it hurt to use the TV in the living room for some solace? I say it doesn't hurt at all!!! I am selective about what she is aloud to see and what she is aloud to put in her belly. Snacks usually consist of grapes (a Bee favorite), goldfish or cheerios and the TV shows are one of three things. The first one is Yo Gabba Gabba which is her absolute favorite and she asks for it by name. Well, her name for it which is "dabba dabba." The second is Curious George. She loves George but mostly reading about him instead of watching. The third is anything playing at the time on Noggin! Those shows are all geared to toward preschoolers and there are no crazy commercials or sponges using the words dumb, stupid, idiot etc. The shows she watches teach manners, shapes, math, science, interaction with others, and improve kinetestic skills. (Do we watch a lot of Noggin and PBS or what?) All things that working in an educational industry has taught me are important. The most important thing that has come from this is that I get short windows of time, with out a toddler clinging to my leg, to get my house in order! So, slective TV - YES! Selective snacks - YES! Happy toddler - YES! Happy Momma - YES!! Happy momma = happy house - YES! So, yeah, I bribe my kid with food and TV, don't judge me!