Thank you for giving me hope about what being a parent can be. I see all my friends who've started having kids over the past few years just plunking junior down in front of the tv to keep her occupied. I want to believe that there are others out there who are willing to try and find another way, but my immediate circles were seeming otherwise.
It's great to hear they have so many friends engaging with them. You can try alternate forms of entertainment like this, but if all the friends just watch tv, you're either ostrisizing your own child or becoming the "bad parent" in their eye because everyone else gets to watch tv.