As I’ve mentioned here many times, I love to listen to audiobooks in the car. It makes me almost enjoy the commute and ridiculous traffic (okay, maybe not the traffic). Since Evan came along, I’ve continued listening in the car, whether or not he is in it. I figured, “hey, books are good for kids, why not?” Plus, he usually falls asleep (although I never know when since my car and those headrest mirrors do not get along).
Then I listened to Battle Royale and exposed my not-quite-4-month-old to the deaths dozens of children. The next book after that, The Ugly Duchess, had some serious sexytimes that made me want to cover my own ears (clearly, I am winning mom of the year here). So I got to thinking: SHOULD I be listening to these adult books with a baby in the car?
My concerns:
- If I don’t listen to audiobooks with Evan around, I lose about half of my audiobook time.
- Are these books really any worse than the music on the radio or the stories on NPR?
- If I decide that they are bad for the baby, am I then stuck listening only to kid-friendly radio stations for the foreseeable future? Because there is only so much of the Jack-Johnson-filled-Pandora-stations I can listen to and I already get my fill when we’re home.
- Is it realistic to attempt to listen to baby-friendly books with Evan in the car and reserve the more mature books for when he isn’t with me?
Evan is 4 months old. He is soaking up the world like a sponge. But he’s obviously not understanding the books at this point. So maybe I’m okay for awhile and will only have to limit my audiobook listening sometime in the future?
What do you say, dear readers? Advise me, lovely commentors.