Hi Mamas,
We are a tv watching family. I don't have a problem with that as I am choosy about what the kids are watching. And in the summer, it's a non-issue.
Here's my question: what's the worst show your kids watch?
I am asking because my son (4) would like to watch Clone Wars. He's into light sabers and R2D2. I've watched it. I like it so it could be a show we watch together. The show has advanced story lines and the violence doesn't appear to be graphic against people. For example, the robots get blasted to smithereens but the people aren't shown dying - at least in the three episodes I've seen. Also, it's fantasy. Tom and Jerry is more violent. Some of the other programs I've seen (Finneas and Ferb, Miss BG) have really mean characters. I think I'd rather have them watching a fantasy with light sabers than cruel children or bad language (like in Surf's Up).
So, what's the worst thing your kids watch?
P.S. For girls, Jane and the Dragon is great. It's one of the few shows with a strong female character who doesn't need a male to rescue her. It is beautifully animated and good story lines.
Thank you for your comments - keep them coming, too!
Special thanks to all who shared/admitted the worst thing they let their kids watch.
We watched several episodes of Clone Wars. Everyone was enthralled (me too). The things they liked the most were the diversity of life (all the aliens) and the light sabers. I think we'll keep watching. The story lines actually require thought as many continue from one episode to the next. I like that it's not brainless tv (or even brainless tv with a message).
To answer a couple of comments/questions: Star Wars was also the first real movie I saw when I was 6 and my brother 4. Jane and the Dragon is on Qubo which is 328 on AT&T. I feel the same way about Caillou!
Thanks again!
Hi Mama,
I'm T., grandmother to a nearly six yr. old (may) he has been into Star wars since he was 3-4 yrs Big Time has all the toys and movies and I make it a point to record Clone Wars Star Wars for him every week, I totally think its ok for them to watch, he is a smart kid with a great humor, he reenacts the stories, I love being the one watching him with grandpa.
my 4 yo daughter and 6 yo son are watching Sponge bob right now! OH NO ;)
For me, it's not a question of what's on but how your kid handles it. We actually banned PBS favorite Cailliou for a while because it seemed to increase the amount of whining in our house. Mine can watch Sponge Bob because they don't seem to absorb it much, don't treat each other badly or pick up the attitudes. They watch Clone Wars too, and it's a jumping off point for creative play -- they become the characters and run around the house fighting bad guys and saving each other.
It's true we all have our dirty little secrets of what the kids are allowed, but I say as long as the kids handle it the way we want them too (no nightmares, no quoted backtalk or name-calling, etc) then it's OK.
my 7 year old, likes the star wars movies, and i worry about the violence. I told him i dont think they were made for kids, exceept clone wars, and he said, they why did they make toys for it?
The worst shows my kids have tried watching cuz kids at school do, are family guy, and king of the hill, and i have explained to them, that just because its animated doesnt mean it is for kids. The simpsons may have been created for kids, but sends such bad messages. It seems that the worst shows are cartoons and even in my day, they were very violent and can desensitize kids.
The best are educational, pbs, animal shows and family films.
It is important to watch b4 or at least with your kids and monitor what they are filling thier heads with!! I wish more parents took the time to- I work at an elementary school so i see the effects
I try not to let my son watch channels with commercials. the sugary cereal and toy ads turn him into a "I want that!" brat. I think Sponge Bob is terrible. so are Power Rangers and the Ninja Turtles.
We do LOVE Little Bill on Noggin and I really love Charlie & Lola on the Disney Channel ( my son lets me watch);)
Scooby Doo actually helped us teach Ian that monsters aren't real - they are always somebody dressed up in a costume.
What I've learned to be careful of are movies rated PG from the 1980's - there was no PG-13 back then so sometimes there's a lot of cursing and even sexual content. If the movie wasn't quite bad enough for an R rating it was PG.
To answer your question - the show Ian watches that my mom thinks is terrible is the Transformers movie - I hit the mute button for some of the dialog - but he LOVES it. My hubby is a huge comic book nut so he had Ian watching Spiderman at 18months. we all have our dirty little secrets, huh? ;)
The summer I turned 4 was the year that the first StarWars movie came out. I went to the theater to see it with my parents and brother, and wasn't scared at all. The only lasting effect it had on me was that I became a life long scifi fan.
I highly recommend watching Jane and the Dragon to everyone, not just people with children!!!
24 is the worst. I watched it for the first season, then tuned in sporadically and it's always the same old thing, Jack Bauer yelling at the top of his lungs at some shmuck being tortured in a chair. Victimland!
The Star Wars movies are extremely important I think in teaching that people have both a dark and a light side and it's a matter of choice. It resonates with the heart as truth. It shows all different kinds of creatures or beings who basically are trying to work together to overcome the dark side (inside). I think it promotes tolerance of people who are different. Down deep inside we are all light.
Love, L.
My husband absolutely refuses for my kids to watch SpongeBob. At first I thought he was being weird, but then I sat down and tried to watch it and it is awful! I have found that most Disney shows are ok, but some are a little more advanced that I would like them to be, and my girls are 10 and 6. Nickelodeon is a channel I cannot stand. Degrassi High, is way too much information, and What I like about you is on during kid watching time too, and it is PG-13! I think that it is so hard to find shows that have no sexual connotations or innuendo anymore. What channel is Jane and the Dragon on?
I was just talking to some other Mama's during a party about this same issue and one of them echoed what you said... it's mostly the robots that get blown up. Bad vs good is very pronounced, too. I've seen a clone or two die, but it's never messy, just the eyes shutting after an injury and not traumatic at all. And it is fantasy... but my 5 yr old has trouble with that, because she saw some adults dressed up in star wars costumes and it threw her for a loop! But to my 3 yr old, it's the bestest thing ever! :) And it has gotten them into the legos that go with it as a side effect, so legos are that much more appealing to them. My daughter loves ashoka... she's pretty strong herself! So go with your gut... good luck!
Hi J. and everybody,
We pretty much stick with Noggin and kids movies we've chosen to buy. Our girls are 7, 4, 2 and 9 months. What I don't care for about a lot of the Nickelodeon stuff is that it is "high octane", meaning just a constant barrage of loud sounds, yelling, fast paced and just over stimulating. Just because it's been mentioned so many times, Sponge Bob is banned. It is crass and obnoxious and not at all what I want my beautiful girls to absorb. In the Sponge Bob movie, there's a scene where Patrick is in S&M garb...ummmm, can anyone say inappropriate. Yes, quite a bit of it may go over their head, but they still get exposed to it and it comes back to haunt you sooner or later. Veggie tales and Qubo on Saturday mornings are great. I actually don't mind Tom and Jerry too much because my girls like to see what I watched when I was a kid, but we regulate the time heavily. It doesn't take much to be more than enough. And when I have my TRUE wits about me, I kick them out in the back yard and it's time to play outside on the swings, teeter-totter and with the dog. They also love to read, so a lot of times the TV goes off and it's 'find something else to do' time. We regulate the Disney channel heavily as well, because once Handy Manny etc is over, on comes Hannah Montana etc and I'm not going there with my babies. They deserve the right to be kids while they can be and not have twisted self-images and teenage (read ADULT) garbage skewing their view of real life. My girls are sweet, loving and innocent so far, and I'm clinging to that for dear life. All too soon they will be worried about what makes them look fat and what boy might like them.....nope, mama's not ready for that! Oddly enough, my daughters like watching "How It's Made" with my husband and stuff on the History Channel as much as anything else. Okay I'm done ranting now, except for one more thing. I introduced my 7 year old to one of my all time favorite movies "The Princess Bride" a few months ago and she just loved it. Just the right mix of innocent fairy tale and lovely story line. I'm 40 years old and I still love watching it! Star Wars...classic, but I do limit it to my 7 year old at this point. I think that's one of those things that, like E.T., no kid should ever grow up missing out on.
I agree with severa other mom's Sponge Bob is the worest show ever!!! we try to not let our kids watch Nickelodeon but we do let them watch Noggin, Sprouts and Disney Channel. my daughter is 4 and for the most part she loves Sprouts and there are no show on sprout that we consider bad since it is the PBS network.
we have a lost of things we won't let our daughter (and future kids) watch when she (they) are old enough for tv, but some of it is just personal choice, not because its a "bad" show... but I do agree about Sponge Bob. its not tht great of a show, lol, and kinda dumb, too.
one thing we are totally ok with for our kids is Veggie Tales. always non-violent, and always a good message, even if you're not a Christian, it teaches good values like sharing, etc...
just my two-cents. :-)
