DADWAGON

Not long ago, I wrote a little about how much I hate “Dora the Explorer,” which was becoming Sasha’s favorite TV show. As I said back in May:

Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack. Backpack, backpack.

But recently, I’ve learned that “Dora” has its uses. Namely, when trying to get Sasha to understand that we have a series of things to do, in a particular order, I fall back on one of the show’s tropes. On “Dora,” as the star and her companion, Boots, try to reach their goal, they look at a map and plan out the different stages of the journey. Bridge, Mountain, Field, for example. Or: River, Taxi, Total World Domination.

And so this is now what I do with Sasha. Last week, when I picked her up from school, I wanted to get her a snack, but needed to stop by the bank for some cash, and then we had a party to go to later. This became: Bank, Snack, Party. I said it, then Sasha repeated it. It made sense to her, and as we accomplished each task, we went through the list and talked about what was next. It was nice. And just yesterday, as I again picked her up from school and carted her to another party, she repeated the same list again—it had stuck in her tiny little mind.

So, Dora, I’m sorry. You have your uses. I just wish you weren’t so fucking annoying.