Guess who's back

I've been snarling and gnashing my teeth a little over the past few mornings after pretty much all the major children's telly channels decided to rejig their schedules to coincide with the kids' return to school. A terrible business.

Although this morning proved to be a welcome exception, Jamie still tends to wake at around 5.30 and neither his mother nor I generally feel like rising at that time. The well-rehearsed drill then normally involves one of us giving him his milk, trying to persuade him to go back down before surrendering on the stroke of 6 and sticking him in his playpen in front of the TV.

First up is - or was - Tikkabilla, followed by Teletubbies at 6.30, Peppa Pig at 7, Bert and Ernie at 7.15, Roary The Racing Car at 7.30 and Numberjacks at 7.45. It's then time for him to have breakfast or go to nursery or whatever. Sadly, most of the shows are now on at new times (thankfully Roary is unmoved) although the Teletubbies appear to have been pensioned off with immediate effect (even Terry Wogan was given three months to clear his desk and prepare for obscurity).

However, in the midst of the upheaval, there has been one very positive change - Postman Pat has been given a new 7.45 slot on CBeebies. This is an excellent development on a number of levels. First, I like Postman Pat and could easily sit down and watch an entire series on my own with a pot of coffee and a box of Jaffa cakes. Second, rather helpfully, is that Jamie also seems to like it (although the presence of a duck in this morning's show may have given him something of a false impression). And third and perhaps most importantly of all, I know all the words to the theme tune.

Other than the National Anthem, I can only remember all the words to two songs, The Wild Rover and The Sash, neither of which are really appropriate for either polite company or young 'uns. But Postman Pat clearly is.

So, whilst I continue my personal crusade to discover if Abba were right and it really is possible for a baby to sing before he or she can talk, I can now belt out the Postman Pat theme song at least once each and every morning in the hope that Jamie eventually joins is.

There really are so many ways to put your time in when you're a parent .