On a Musical Note - Classic Arts Showcase

You may not be able to easily take a toddler to the opera or ballet or to a Broadway show, but that doesn't mean they can't be exposed to the world of art, dance, theater and classical music.  I have found a nice distraction for toddlers on television - Classic Arts Showcase.  This lovely channel is available nationwide and provides culture to my kid and respite to me from SpongeBob.  Here's a link to find the channel for your state/cable system.

Lorelei and I saw this pas de deux a few weeks ago.  She was rapt with attention watching the dancers, but at one point turned to me and said, "Um, mom?  Where shirt?"  The ballerino was topless and Lorelei didn't approve.  Ha!

There's not just ballet and classical music.  Artists like Sinatra and Sting show up from time to time too.

You may be thinking to yourself, "Yeah, that's your kid.  Mine would never watch ballet or the symphony on TV."  Well, I'm here to tell you, I have a lot of kids come to my house and I have yet to see one turn away from it.  Now, they'll get their fill of it, like we all would with anything, but I find that it's a wonderful alternative to Nickelodeon and many other mainstream television channels.  Of course there's always the alternative of turning off the TV, but frankly we don't do that in our house.  I have guilt about it from time to time, but that's just one of those things that I need to set to one side. 

Mom's Tip
I have found the channel especially effective when my kid hits that wall, you know the one, when their head begins to spin and the walls shake with the sound of their screaming.  It totally shuts her up; stops dead cold in her tracks.

Santé