Elmo is My Best Friend

As the mother of a 22 month old son and a baby girl who is almost three months old I have a lot of cleaning and picking up to do in a typical day. I am a stay-at-home mom and my husband works from 7AM-4PM. That means that Monday through Friday is just me and the kids all day long. I enjoy this and I would not give up the time I am getting to spend with my babies for anything. That being said, there are some days in our home that are total chaos. There are days when I have two crying kids who are both hungry at the same time or who decided to both poop their diaper at the same time and want it changed immediately. There are days when my son gets more food in his hair and on the floor than in his mouth. There are days when my husband will come home to find me and the kids still in pajamas with toys all over the floor.

My son is an active toddler. He has a lot of energy and always seems to be on the move. He likes to climb and I am constantly chasing after him to keep him from standing on a table, falling off and breaking his neck. He likes to kick his little orange ball around the living room and he likes me to chase, catch and tickle him. I am able to fill most of the day with activities that will occupy him but there are moments when I need to do something that requires my total attention not being on him. I can't leave him in a room alone with his baby sister no matter how well baby proofed our house is. I can't trust him not to try and pick her up or push her out of her swing or nip nap. This is where my best friend Elmo from Sesame Street steps in to save the day.

I am not the type of parent who relies on the TV to babysit her child. The TV is off for a better part of the day. There are times however when I will turn on Sesame Street or put in an Elmo video so I can make the bed and pick up the house. Elmo entrances my son and he thinks that the red puppet is the greatest. He will dance when Elmo sings and get excited when he sees him on screen. He has Tickle Me Elmo, Elmo Live, and he won't sleep without his bedtime Elmo that is dressed in Pajamas.

Elmo has been known to help me make dinner as well. Our computer is in a nook off of our kitchen and I can interact with and watch my toddler when he is in the nook. I hate to admit it, but for the last couple of weeks I have been playing a video on You Tube of Elmo singing the song Elmo's Riding over and over again just so I can get dinner done by the time my husband gets home from work. Each time it ends I will here my son saying "More! More!" and I will start the video over from the beginning.

Life with a toddler requires some compromise at times. Before I had kids I used to say I would not let my children watch TV until they were five. We all see how that worked out. Had I stuck to that I never would have met Elmo and gained a friend that never lets me or my toddler down.