Selective Memory, TV, and Children

My son has the ability to forget just about anything. So far, in Grade 1, he has forgotten his boots at school in a blizzard (he wore his indoor runners as mules through drifts of snow), every detail of what he did in class yesterday, and where he put the remote control to our brand new TV.

This is sometimes hard to cope with; I have a Rainman way of remembering useless details from my past, including every phone number I’ve had over the last three decades. William’s lack of attention to reality is also hard for my husband to deal with, as was evidenced when the William “misplaced” the remote control to our two-day-old TV.

But sometimes William surprises us. Like when he was four (or was it five? My own memory appears to be going). At this age, he could – and still can – recite the entire Slap Chop commercial verbatim.

Something similar happened this morning, more proof that William not only watches too much TV, but also remembers anything he sees on a screen. As one of those kids who goes from sleeping heavily to being wide awake in the time it takes me to blink, he bounded into our bedroom at 6:30, mere moments after waking. He picked up my book light, a new heavy duty one that should weather the worst of anything insomnia throws my way.

“Hi, Mom,” he said. I blinked and he came into a blurry focus that those who wear glasses experience.

I mumbled a greeting and felt for my glasses.

He turned on my book light. “How much did this cost?” he asked.

“I don’t know, “ I said. “Nineteen dollars, I think.”

“Nighteen dollars?” he said, in a morning radio voice that would rival the homeless radio guy who’s gone viral. “That’s less than a dollar a day!”

Evidently William remembers everything he hears on the screen. I may start videotaping myself saying things like “clean up your room” and “turn off the TV.”

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Any pet peeves out there about your own kids…

or about other people’s kids?