Just Give Me Anything But The Dinosaur

I don't get to watch much daytime television. I normally have a life, getting out and about, going to work, and other stuff too. But this week I've been somewhat under the weather, and during some of my (relatively) better moments, I've had some time to watch some TV.

One show that I haven't had much time to watch is Ellen, which I think is mildly amusing. When one has a cough such as mine, you really don't want to laugh too hard anyway, and when you are sneezing 10 times in a row, it's easy to catch up on what you missed.

Now as I was channel surfing in search of Ellen, I must say that I passed by some of the worst kids TV shows I've ever seen. Perhaps I didn't give them much of a chance, but face it, you can usually tell very quickly whether they are worthwhile. I'm sure some programs are better than others, but I noticed a proliferation of really bad shows out there. For heavens sake, what are we doing by making this programming possible? There must be people out there plopping their children in front of these shows.

Personally, I've always hated that purple dinosaur. This takes stupid to a whole new level. Actually today I passed by shows that would surpass that insipid dinosaur in stupidity. However, I'm sure you have your own short list of most hated children's programming.

And let us remember, as we perhaps give ourselves a "break" from our kids, to have a brief nap (sure, like that happens), or clean the bathroom, or make a hot lunch, as we tell them they can have some TV time, let's opt for something that might inspire them, instead of having their eyes glaze over at the very sight of his Very Purpleness.

Anyway, after I separated myself from my couch nest today, I first checked my work email, to find that the world has gone on without me, and then went to Ellen's website. There I stumbled upon a clip of Emily Bear.

Emily is only 6 years old, a tender age to be an accomplished pianist. Not only that, she is charming, without being precocious. We need to appreciate that our own children are capable of much more than we think they can achieve. We need to encourage them to set goals and help them achieve these goals. Teach them about hard work, having fun with it, and making a place for themselves in the world. It's never too early.


Emily Bear practicing at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, IL before supporting the Ramsey Lewis Trio later in the day. This song is an original composition, written for Ellen on occasion of Emily's appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show.


Emily's performance on Ellen's show. Emily tells the story of how she came to write this composition.

Contributed by Jamie Naessens