Pause and commercials

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City last night with my parents (Andy is still in Dalat proctoring exams). Caleb got sick and is resting in the hotel now while my parents ventured out themselves. This is Caleb's first time seeing a TV since the summer (we don't have a TV in Dalat), and he usually just watches a couple videos on our laptop. This morning while he was watching some cartoons on TV he asked, referring to the remote, "How come there's no pause on this thing." And later he asked, referring to the commercials, "Mommy, why are they showing these things in the middle?"