PBS Kids can babysit my kids any day

I have yet to meet a mom who doesn't puff up with pride at a display of brilliance by their child.

Yeah, I do it, too.

What I've learned NOT to do, though, is ask, "how do you know that, my smart little dumpling?".

Because, often the answer isn't, "I learned it from YOU, Mommy!", but, "I learned it from Curious George/Cyberchase/SUPER WHY!."

Sigh. There goes my "we-only-watch-a-teeny-bit-of-tv" cover.

OK, so my kids watch television. Like chocolate and vodka, I believe in everything in moderation. Although when it comes to vodka, I'm pretty strict with the kids. And, when it comes to TV, I do have a few rules. These rules were created mainly because I do not want to watch the same shows as a four-year-old.

The Fairly Odd Mother Rules for Unsupervised Television Watching

1. Whenever possible, put the channel on PBS Kids. In our home, the television is used as a babysitter, and I appreciate that PBS' babysitters are among some of the least annoying in the business (as opposed to those channels that rhyme with "Pysney" or "Flickolodeon").

2. Electric Company and Fetch notwithstanding, there are to be no shows with live people starring in them. Child actors tend to fall into two camps: obnoxious and rich, or obnoxious and super cute. Both are obnoxious which is not a trait I want my kids learning any more than they have already. Thankfully, PBS tends to stick with adorable animated creatures.

3. Try to learn something from the show other than the theme song, m'kay? SUPER WHY! will teach them a new version of the ABC song to mix things up a bit. Cyberchase will teach them, um, how to solve math problems to save the universe (remember, I don't actually watch the shows). Curious George teaches them that even a troublesome little monkey is lovable, although I'm pretty sure the Man in the Yellow Hat has never had to pry a biting Curious George off his sister monkey, so cut it out already.

4. Commericals = BLAH. Especially if the commercials start with, "Are you drowning in credit card debt?" I mean, my kids don't even OWN a credit card! What are these advertisers thinking?

I'm not sure if my Rules are what the kind people of PBS Kids wanted to know when they invited my kids and I to a lovely luncheon to discuss the role of media in our family life.

While my kids colored and hid from a costumed Martha the Dog in the next room, I was able to hear from the creators of SUPER WHY! and Martha Speaks. I was so impressed by the lengths PBS Kids goes through to make sure kids actually learn something from watching their shows.

They even sent us home with fun SUPER WHY! activities for the kids to do after they watched the show although D would not wear the Princess Presto mask no matter how I pleaded.It all solidified what I already know: let your kids watch PBS Kids and they will sound super smart when your neighbor asks them a question about the stars, a fairy tale or how many donuts are in a dozen. Just remember to keep your mouth shut and not ask your kids how they learned that tidbit of information, and no one need be the wiser.