Monday, January 17, 2011

Dear Monkey:

I think I need to clarify something...

When I told you that Candy Land was my "favorite" game, I didn't mean out of all the things I could be doing in the whole wide world.

What I actually meant is that I find it more tolerable than Chutes and Ladders, a game that currently aggravates me to no end. I'm not sure if it's just the poorly-designed Toy Story version, where the little characters clutter up the board, making it almost impossible to count spaces, or the fact that you do not yet recognize your numbers beyond ten, making the idea of having you move your own piece back and forth a 100-space board a bit challenging for a child of your mere 3 1/2 years, but when I basically end up playing the game by myself, a tiny bit of the fun trickles out of the experience. So yes, Candy Land, where you can actually make your own moves, and correctly, is much more fun. That does not mean, however, than when faced with you being home sick today, I had quite the reaction you were hoping for when you eagerly told me: "That means we can play your favorite game!!"

Although I have to say, it is somewhat sweet that you already had it all set up for me, and also amusing that, after playing with Daddy yesterday, you have now incorporated things like "We have to cut the deck" and "You're on my tail!" into our game play... Bring it on!

Dear Disney Channel:

There's something about your target audience I think you're overlooking...

Their need for routine.

Why else would I need to explain 15 minutes explaining why Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was not on today at it's usual time? Apparently my 3 1/2 year old knows your schedule better than you do. Which is impressive, considering just as we figure out the latest schedule, you decide to change it.

And while I'm at it, while I understand that a large percentage of the under-5 crowd consists of early risers, my child is miraculously not one of them. Which means I would appreciate it if Playhouse Disney wouldn't end less than an hour after my child gets up, leaving us with nothing but Phineas & Ferb (which is hysterical, but my child is not yet sophisticated enough to appreciate the humor) and the various non-cartoon shows which I can not yet tell apart but are clearly geared more towards the Tween set. Which, I might at, should be AT SCHOOL.

Seriously, a consistent schedule for the preschool set - look into it.