I LOVE TV - yeah, I said it.

Let me just put it out there - I love TV. I know, TV is the root of all evil from making us all sedentary and overweight to making us buy things we don't need. I don't care. One of the best times of my day is eight o'clock, the kids are in bed and I cozy up on the couch for my daily dose of the idiot box.

My favorite shows are reality TV of what I consider the "highbrow" variety - Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser (yes, I used to watch The Bachelor and the hideous Mr. Personality, but those were dark days). The drama of these shows revolves around a game rather than putting people in a house together and waiting for them to start killing one another. Sure, there is personal drama, but that is only a by-product of strategy and alliances. My husband and I have had some pretty serious debates about these shows. While he does watch Survivor with me he refuses to watch the other two calling them "stupid". I disagree. I find Amazing Race educational, showing the world exotic locals like Croatia - a country I only associated with certain doctors on ER, but now know is quite lovely and modern. As for the Biggest Loser, I find it inspirational. While I don't have a hundred pounds to lose, this show does make me think about how I treat my body. On the other hand, it does make me feel better about eating a few cookies at night - at least I'm not eating two bags like some people. Watch, I'll be the only person in America to gain weight watching this show.

Regardless of what shows I watch, I find TV to be a relaxing diversion. It hasn't killed my sex life, made me obese or stopped my husband and I from talking. We look forward so much to Thursday night TV that I was devastated when he joined a hockey league on that night. Thank God for TiVo. What has thrown a wrench in my TV enjoyment - my kids. There is so much media attention (ironically) given to the detrimental effects of TV on children that I half expect their brains to be leaking out of their ears after half an hour of Dora. So not only can I not watch any of the good daytime TV I fantasized about before I actually became a stay-at-home mom ("I'll get to watch the whole Today show everyday!"), but I ration TV time out like sugar during WWII for fear of turning my kids into blithering idiots who can't read.

What really pisses me off is when I do get to watch a show like Today and they have some expert telling mothers that a child under three needs NO screen time at all (this includes TV' s evil twin, the computer). Really, Dr. Fantasy? Who's home with your kids right now? The nanny? Bet it's pretty easy to tell someone else not to let your kids watch any TV when you're not the one who has to keep them engaged, and from killing one another while you try to clean the house, fold laundry or make a meal that doesn't come entirely out of the microwave. Don't even get me started on taking a shower. Yes, TV is my babysitter. Her rates are reasonable and she can pop over for half an hour on short notice. Occasionally, she might even teach my kids something like the time an episode of Sesame Street started a discussion about adoption or Franklin got us to do our first fire drill. As we speak, my five year-old is watching Giada on Food Network make gnocchi (her choice of programming, not mine).

Now I'm not saying the TV should be on at all hours in any house, but I don't think an enjoyable hour here and there is going to kill anyone and I am glad that having my kids has made me watch less of it. And while I do love it, I am irate over parents who let their kids watch unsupervised or watch inappropriate programming (my kids have no idea who Spongebob and the Rugrats are yet and I intend to keep it that way), but small doses of the right TV are great. Consider it like chocolate, keep it high quality and in small servings. Cut it out entirely, not on your life.