Right now, this very second, I am letting C be babysat by the tv. It’s true. It might be the Backyardigans or Wonderpets or Yo Gabba Gabba. I’m not even sure. All I know is, I’m not doing the parenting; Nick Jr is.

I do this more often than I’d like. Sometimes, Katie will just say “this is the least of our problems today, just let her watch tv. We’ve got enough to worry about.” Other times it’s letting her vege with the tv when she is sick. As my mom says, people who say kids shouldn’t watch tv when they’re sick never had children.

Tonight, my excuse is that I am solo parenting, and I have a lot to do before I can put C to bed. The kitchen needs to be cleaned, the trash needs to be taken out, the diapers need to be washed, the dogs and cats need to be fed, and – oh yeah – C needs to be fed, too.

And obviously this post needs to be written, too, don’t you think?

Katie will probably be home tonight long after C is asleep, and I can’t wait until C’s bedtime – in another hour or so – to get things done. Heck, part of what I have to do is the behind the scenes part of getting C to bed – laying out her pj’s, turning on the noise machine (we’re big believers), getting the bath ready, and preparing the boppies. Boppies are key to getting C to sleep, and on solo parenting nights, you must have the right number of boppies by the bed before C is ready to go to sleep, or you will be at it for hours.

I feel guilty about letting Gabba Gabba do my babysitting, but not too guilty. I just don’t know how single parents do it. I’m just glad I have the tv as an option.