If you were or a kid and if you've ever had kids, chances are, you have watched television shows made for kids. There are some differences between the shows that I watched as a kid vs. what my kids watch today. For example: You're not going to really see your favorite characters smoking cigarettes/ cigars or drink alcohol like Bugs Bunny occasionally did.
Another difference is that the violence factor has gone down too. Growing up, it was common to see Wile E. Coyote set up a dynamite trap or Yosemite Sam shoot off his guns.
While there are differences, some for the better, there are still similarities and it's easy to see why everyone enjoys cartoon or regular kids tv programs. However, despite all that, there are things that, as a parent, I could see less of.
Have you ever noticed that in shows no one ever has to pay for things or money is no problem? Characters are always buying things. They can decide to buy a car on a whim or order five coarse meals without batting an eye. I would like to be able to have that financial freedom.
Kids can go anywhere without permission. Have you ever watch Dora the Explorer? She's able to go on adventures all of the time and she doesn't ask permission. Most of the kids in these shows are free-range kids. I was a free-range kid when I was growing up. I was able to ride my bike everywhere, but I always let my parents know. If kids went out and did things on their own these days, authorities could be called on the parents.
Bad guys are funny. Ok, this was the same for when I was growing up, but it should be something that we could be a little more cautious about. Dr. Doofensmirtz is the mad evil scientist in Phineas and Ferb and he can be hilarious, but ew really don't want our kids believing that all bad guys have a sense of humor.
Kids can take on bad guys. When we saw Kevin take on the two burglars, we all thought it was hilarious and knew that we could outwit bad guys too. I've noticed that there are many superhero tv shows out where the kids were the superheros. They should be more focused on their homework and other teen problems. My kids are 3, 5, and 7, They are always playing good guys/bad guys and I hope that if they were ever put in a dangerous situation, that they would just run and not try to fight.
No consequences- Another show that comes to mind is Phineas and Ferb. They always asked their mom for permission under false-ish pretenses and then would invent some ridiculously awesome contraption that could harm them or others. Dora and Diego are always going on adventures and rescuing animals. At their age, they should be just playing with age appropriate things, not driving jeeps.
Parents are always able to drop everything. When watching the Dinosaur Train, their parents are able to drop whatever they are doing and ride the train to some destination to answer their kids questions and satisfy their curiosity. I hope that my kids don't think that I'm a bad mom when I can't stop what I'm doing to always play with them or do something. Dinner has to get on the table, the baby's diaper has to be changed. There isn't always an opportunity to stop everything I'm doing in order appease the children.
Kids are usually smarter than the adults. Can't we just agree that our kids are smart? Why do we need to watch tv shows or movies where the parents are so dumb that they probably shouldn't be in charge of kids, let alone be in charge of themselves.
Kids can interrupt teacher's. Dino Dan comes to mind when I think about this. He is always thinking about dinosaurs and whenever there is a project, assignment, or he randomly thinks of something, he interrupts the teacher or he browbeats the other kids into talking about/building/acting out dinosaurs.
Kids can disobey parents. Moana, Tangled, Cinderella. All of these are about the kids blatantly disobeying their parents wishes to go find themselves. In these cases, it as always a good thing, but I don't want my kids to think that it gives them the right to do something when we tell them no.
They repeat instructions 10 times- I know that shows do this repetitively so that kids can remember, but watching the map tell Dora the directions 10000000 times can drive a woman mad.
What are some things about tv shows that you like? That you dislike?
I hate the outrageous amount of times things are repeated! These are some good points. In a show I watch with my kids, the kids always want to do something that the parent asks them to wait For them to do. For example, kid wants to make a sandwich and mom says, let me finish switching the loads and then I will help you. The kid always wants to do it right now, before mom comes back. Independence is great for kids to learn, but so is obedience. Just my pet peeve.
ReplyDeleteThanks Agent Oso!
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