From Soaps to Sports

Sometime over the last year and a half, Ian has become his own person when it comes to watching tv.

Ian used to go along with whatever I wanted to watch. I easily could turn on General Hospital every weekday afternoon, and know that my little buddy would be by my side joining me. Ian would ask questions like "why is he in the hospital?" Or, "who's the mommy for that little boy?" All good questions and believe me, sometimes you just don't know who the mommy is going to be.

Then over the months, the tide started to change and Ian began to develop his own mind and preferences. Slowly I was banished from putting on General Hospital in front of him. "Go watch it upstairs Momma" was his request when the clock struck 3:000pm. Even though I was a bit disappointed, I could hardly force him to watch a soap opera. On his own, Ian developed an interest in sports. Basketball, race car driving, and football has him asking us the questions now. Over and over again, Ian wants to know who's playing, what team is wearing which colors, who's winning, how much longer in the game, etc. The questions are endless and start up the minute he sees any kind of sport highlight or game on the tv. Ian has a memory like an elephant and remembers everything you tell him. He is getting really good recognizing different team's logos, player's numbers, and all their colors. In addition, he can tell you now what the score is and what is needed for the other team to tie or even take the lead. It is quite exciting seeing Ian learn valuable math skills that will be with him for the rest of his life. Granted, General Hospital was only going to teach him that yes, you can get away with murder if you are good looking enough.

Now when Ian is allowed to watch tv, he'll ask to see if we can find a basketball or football game to watch. Ah, somewhere along the way, I lost my soap opera watching buddy and gained a sports fan. Ian is a boy through and through. There is always hope for Samantha.