After spending almost the entire night last night, waking up every half hour or so to my DD3 screaming that SpongeBob was trying to get her… I have decided. I hate SpongeBob. I thought it was a dumb cartoon to begin with. But after last night… SpongeBob must die!
SpongeBob isn’t the only kids show I find destable. Pretty much anything on cartoon network. I mean seriously, how seriously can I take any show on a network that proclaimed that Bugs Bunny was too violent to be show on their network? I can’t stand Oobi on Noggin. I can not stand the Backyardigans, only because after watching just a few minutes of that show, my kids start speaking like they’ve been raised in Southeast DC.
As much as I love Dora the Explorer… my 5 year old has figured out that it doesn’t matter if he answers Dora or not, Dora will still yell, “Great! Excellente!” and the show will continue. The same with Blue’s Clues and Go Diego Go. While they are great shows, and we used to watch the Blue & Dora block on Nick Jr religiously.. these days, we don’t watch at all. What’s the point of the “interactive TV” when it really isn’t interactive at all. My dd3 still loves it, though it’s hard for her to get into the show when my ds5 is just sitting there like a bump on a log.
One show we do like is Lazy Town. We have a rule in our house though. When the kids on Lazy Town start singing and dancing, my kids have to get up and dance or I turn off the TV. It really works too. *S* The kids love jumping and dancing around like Sportacus. and for once, there is a kid’s show with mom appeal. *S* Don’t know what I mean, hop over to www.NickJr.com and check out Magnus Scheving, the man who not only created the show, but also plays the part of Sportacus. *S*
We also like Blues Clues. Not the new stuff with Blue’s Room. the oldies, with Steve, and some of the first and second seasons with Joe… Despite the lack of enthusiasm from my oldest… the baby still loves to “Bow Bow Bow!” with Blue.
Oddly enough, as much as he doesn’t get into Dora, my DS5 has recently discovered Go Diego Go, and he loves it! He doesn’t interact with it, but he does spend the rest of the day singing the songs and pretending to be Diego. Diego is Dora’s cousin. The show is very similar to Dora, with the biggest difference being the hero is a guy. *S* Plus, Diego and the other characters speak alot more Spanish then on Dora. And! They don’t always translate! I love that! *S* talk about immersion. *S* I’m still on the fence about Diego. He does teach the kids lots of Spanish, and lots about different animals… but there is definitely a big enviornmental/PETA message in the show. I dunno, but for the moment, while on “Vaction”, it’s a good distraction for the kids, who haven’t gotten used to the time change, while Mommy catches a few more ZZZs, or types on the computer.
But the truth is, at home, we hardly ever turn on the TV. Mommy watches the news first thing in the morning, and turns it off when the kids wake up. Then it doesn’t come back on again until after the kids are in bed. About the only time they get to watch kids shows like Dora, Diego, and more is when we are on vacation.
As far as I’m concerned, cartoons are nowhere near as good as they were when I was a kid in the 80’s. Too much worry about what is too violent or offensive.
No kidding! Cartoon Network declared Bugs Bunny was too violent. it’s only fit for HBO now. what the?? Cartoons today are typically either too stupid, to the extent of actaully lowering your IQ if you watch, or too PC, with obvious agendas… there are a few that manage to be decent… but not much.
Yes, agenda-driven, that’s what I was looking for. I’ve seen less preaching in a Pentecostal church on Sunday morning! The not-so-hidden subtexts all smack of social engineering and brainwashing.
Which is why I’m buying DVDs of all the old cartoons, so my kids can have something decent to watch.
Awesome… *S*