Mommy is a drag because I severly limit TV time in my house. My daughter never watched television until she was 9 months old, when we started to introduce her to sign language. (I plan to start a lens on that soon, too, so watch for it!) To this day her viewing is very limited. Her classmates at daycare know Dora, Barney, SpongeBob, Scooby and the likes... Cecilia knows them only by association. She is only allowed to watch ASL, educational, or exercise videos, and then she can only watch one video per day during the week (1/2 hour), and two on the weekends... MAX. And I still worry that it's too much. Studies show that TV during the toddler years can actually hurt children developmentally. On top of that it can lead to inactivity and health problems including type II diabetes.

Bear with me for a moment as I put on my 'proud mommy' hat: I am the mother of a beautiful, intelligent, fun-loving, ornery, high-spirited little girl. She is my first child, and I'll fully admit to anyone and everyone that I am still very much learning the ropes when it comes to child-rearing. I am not perfect thus neither is my parenting. I do my best to raise a well-mannered, smart, and healthy child, but it's quite the challenge to know what is "right". In fact, what I'm doing may very well be wrong, but I have my reasons. Before I even had a child I decided that I was going to my best to ensure that my child was not a sloth. I see far too many children consumed by television, video games, and junk-food. When I was young we played outside everyday as long as mom would let us. I want my child to do the same... so I know that I must be a good influence now to build those traits in my daughter.

Though I played outside regularly as a child, I was never actively involved in sports in school. I didn't really get into exercise until college when I started running to let off some steam. When I graduated and took a job in a town where I had no friends or family, I joined a gym to relieve boredom. I got hooked on exercise and soon my kick-boxing instructor roped me into getting my yoga certification. That was 7 years ago, and I've been teaching yoga and doing cardio ever since. So being a good influence for exercising at least hasn't come too hard. And truly Cecilia's favorite thing to do from the moment she was born was to move... which shouldn't have come as a surprise since I did exercise right up to the day I delivered.

There are so many benefits of exercise, not only for adults but also for kids. It's good for the heart and the lungs, stress, coordination, and self-esteem to name a few. So I'm thrilled that my daughter wants to move, and I'm happy to oblige when she wants mommy to join her. I started introducing her to yoga very early, and now she loves it. She will regularly throw herself on the floor and start chanting 'Loco loco locomotive!' while she does the pose.

So maybe mommy is a drag. But limiting the television does seem to keep us up and moving... For those times when we are exercising to a video, you can check out our favorites below.

If you have visited the site before, you may be familiar with the "ADVANCED" exercise list. In this list I mention lap time. Well let me tell you, lap time takes on a whole new meaning when grandma and grandpa's basement is big, and open with an enormous loop and lots of hiding places! In fact, it has an added element at grandma's house, and that is the 'hide and seek' element, which will only get more fun as more things get moved into the house.

So here's how this one works. Cecilia runs. You chase her. If you try to take a break, she pulls you up and insists 'grandma run, too'. Occasionally she will sneak into the closet and start giggling. Then she'll say "Where Cecilia go?" at which point you must repeat the question, searching fran