Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Children's TV

Used under the Creative Commons license. Attribution: James Good

My kids (age 2 and 3) get to watch 30 minutes of TV during the week. Monday through Saturday they alternate watching a show of their choosing at 7pm, before jammies and reading books before bed. Here are some thoughts on children's television.

Shows I we love:
Phineas and Ferb - Insane engineering and imaginative inventions coupled with the very laid back attitude of the two main characters makes this a show I don't feel bad letting my kids watch.  It is entertaining and (I think) helps kids feel they can do anything (even if it violates the laws of physics).  Kids should feel like they can do anything.

Sesame Street - it was a staple of my childhood and it makes me happy that my kids enjoy something that I also enjoyed as a kid.


Shows I tolerate my kids love:
DinoDan - Has dinosaurs in it.  And the animation dinosaurs are superimposed on real action.  OH NOES - DINOSAURS ARE REAL!  But they never eat anyone... weird.  My kids love it.
 
Max & Ruby - (I still think Max & Ruby's parents are off boozing with Dora and Diego's rents) Overbearing older sister forces younger brother to do weird things.  Younger brother attempts to simultaneously be nice to his sister and annoy the hell out of her.  Seems fairly realistic.  Except for the older sister's patience... what is she a Saint?

My kids also love Dora (my son) and Diego (my daughter).  Dora has the weird effect that it instantly puts me to sleep.  It is her weird eyes that don't point in the same direction.  When she stares at you, I think it hypnotizes me and I instantly fall asleep.  Therefore, I leave the room during Dora.  


Shows that are not allowed on the television in my house:
Wonderpets - stupid duck. If I have to hear about things getting "SEERWEOUS" one more time I will lose my shit. 'Oh no, the stupid pink unicorn is stuck in the mud... we must help him.' If that is the worst thing that happens today - I vote best day ever. The animation (or is it claymation... I really cannot tell) makes me want to vomit.

Barney - Stupid purple dinosaur. Annoying purple dinosaur.  BAD DINOSAUR, BAD DINOSAUR!

4 comments:

  1. LMAO! I have been *totally* thinking of doing a post about how much I hate 'Dino Dan' and 'Max and Ruby'! Most awesome kids show ever: 'The Upside Down Show' closely followed by 'Phineas and Ferb'. TUDS comes on Nick Jr (formerly Noggin) at 11pm and 11:30pm eastern. Too late for the kids, but you should check it out one night. When they switched to the later time slot I bought all the episodes on dvd for mine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PS~ Two awesome cartoons not for little kids that I love: 'The Tick' and 'Invader Zim'

    ReplyDelete
  3. I will have to check out TUDS, sounds very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  4. In the '90s I remember watching Full House, Family Matters, Step by Step, Cosby Show, Seinfeld, Friends, Growing Pains, etc. It seemed that the main theme of those shows were family and friends. They all preached family values or showed what good friends were like. I remember watching all these shows with my family and friends growing up.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...