We Accidently Let Our Daughter Get Addicted to Caillou

My now 3.5yr old was the same way! What we did was only watch it on Sprout 2x a day. Then I told her that he was still sleeping for the am show. Slowly weening her off I then told her that he went to be before her. Now every now n then we watch it and she gets excited that he's awake! As we did this we got her into movies more so now she's into more variety.

Hope that helps.

I felt the exact same way about My Friends Tigger and Pooh. If Darby did it she wanted to do it. All day long it Tigger Pooh! Eventually she grew out of it. Say give her time. Soon she will find interest in other things.

Just like crying every time you left her to use the restroom, just like she used to eat 14 times a day...this too will pass:)

We were formerly a "no tv" household, and have morphed into a "Dora" household. She's just over 2 now and has a repertoire that I give into on rainy days or days I'm just too tired to fight. Dora drives me insane, so I Tivo other things for her and give her other "good" options. This has led us to trying Backyardigans (good for a few weeks), Diego (he's the Dora "backup"), Little Einsteins (the whole family likes this one!), Dragon Tales (she has started to chant for that one this week), WordWorld, Sesame Street, Tigger & Pooh and Mickey Mouse. A regular day is one 1/2 hour before we leave the house for playgroup/errands and one before bed, but like I said, rainy/cold days or days that I'm dragging it, it might creep up to a total of 2 hours. But that's it. Beyond that, turn it off (or put on "boring tv" - Food network, HGTV) and they'll find something else to do.

Hey, have you tried timeouts? As in "if you ask one more time for Caillou, you'll be in timeout?" I'd give 2 or 3 warnings then follow through.

LOL! It certainly could be worse!
I think Caillou and Curious George are certainly NOT the worse things she could be watching. They do teach values. (Although I, personally, find Caillou to be über annoying, but at age 2, my son liked it).
O. thing I do when I'm trying to phase something out is to change up the routine a little, so it's not available at the 'normal" time she usually watches it.....I like the idea posted about 1 show per day and that's it. Hope the PBS Monkey is off her back soon. They should have a mini 12 Step Program for some of these shows....

Don't be embarrassed she is only 2 do they have a stuffed animal Caillou? That might help Have you tried sesame street that is awesome for kids and the wiggles let them sing and dance both harmless. Don't beat yourself up sometimes at that age tv allows us to go to the bathroom or do a load of laundry LOL

well, it could be worse! she could be into a show that isn't age appropriate!

is it the show that you aren't happy about, or the watching tv itself? I prefer my girls watch shows that teach something... not sure what Caillou teaches, though my husband's friend says all his kids learned from that show was to whine, so I've avoided it.

Maybe introduce her to some other shows? We really love Super Why and Word World (also on PBS), and wonderpets.

If it's the tv itself that's bothering you, I would go cold-turkey... get her some arts and crafts, that should take her mind off it! You could also say "you can watch ONE caillou show today, and that's it." and if she asks again, just tell her she already watched it today.

whatever you decide, just be consistant!

Welcome to the age of obsessions, LOL. My son started around 2 as well. He wound up addicted tothe tv show yo gabba gabba (I wasn't very proud of it either, but it happens). I'm sure you'll start to see a pattern of obsessiveness begin soon with just about everything. My son started wanting to play with the same toys, do the same games and read the same books ad nauseum. On the up side, these fixations don't usually last that long (I think the record was a couple months for my son), but they tend to get obsessed with something else quickly too. Back to your issue, what worked for me was setting a specific time for watching a favorite tv show and making it part of our routine. I personally chose to do it in the evening, mostly because if I let him watch it too early he would bug me to see another episode later in the day. I started giving my son his bath in the evening and putting him in his pj's. Afterwords, he could have a cup of milk and a little snack while he watched one show. Once the show was over, we would brush our teeth and read our stories and then go to bed. If he asked to watch any more I would just explain that he could see them again tomorrow. My son is really a routine kid and very quickly accepted that he would get to watch his show at the right time and that was it. I hope this helps!

Oh my, I totally feel your pain! My 3 year old son loves Caillou! In fact, he just told me today he wanted to be in a rock band because Caillou dreams he is in one during an episode! His voice is like nails on a chalkboard!!! I think limiting it is the best way to handle it. Your child will get over the Caillou obsession and move on to the next.
BTW- there is always someone who has to preach that you should NOT be letting your child watch TV! Your child will be forever ruined because of Caillou! Give me a break, sometimes the only way to get anything done is to plop them in front of the TV for a bit. Hate to say it, but it's true! A little Caillou never hurt anyone, well maybe someone's ears :)!!!

turn off the tv. [ unplug it]
why is a 2 year old sitting in front of a tv ?
she is to be playing outside, running, rideing a lil tikes, puzzels, coloring, have mommy time .. have daddy time .. eat breakfest, lunch and dinner .....down time .. bed time
pretend you are broke .
all of a sudden you have an active imagination in a toddler that is bringing you laughter .
make cookies together , glue stuff together, talk to child , read to child ..
DIVERSION ... works every time .
no cable in this house,
mom, gram

What is it with that cartoon???? My girls love it too. My opinion....Its not like tom & jerry, The road runner, like in my day. Its educational. My girls talk along, sing and do what the cartoon does. You child will eventually get bored with it. But what the heck, it gives mommy a little break. I always tell my girls the caillou (or whoever) will be there when they wake up if they fuss before bed.

Good luck...

My 4 year old, and 2 year old are addicted to Caillou too. They watch Caillou several times during the day, but every night before bed they watch and know when Caillou is over it is bed time. They watch cartoons in the morning until we are ready to go out and play, ie Mommy is done whatever needs to be done before we can go out. Then my son watches during nap time for the babies. It really is up to you how much you want her to watch. My kids probably watch " a lot" of TV by current standards but neither have been negatively effected by it, in fact my 4 year old is extremely intelligent.

Hi N., In my experience around age 2 kids discover the TV...and one or two characters that they really love. With my oldest it was Barney, the middle one loved Blue's Clues, the youngest was into Telly-tubbies and the little guy I babysit is all into Lazy Town on Noggin. This stage does pass...and is really harmless in the long run. Turning off the TV and getting outside in the great weather is always a good option...so is knowing that she does have something she likes for those long rainy afternoons to come. Let her enjoy her fav's for a limited amount of time...she will grow out of it. Remember that kids pick up their emotional cues from us, if you make it a big deal and a big fuss...so will she. Best wishes.

Don't feel badly, my daughter is addicted to Curious George, the movie! She was sick a while back and I let her watch her first movie and now all we hear is "cury george!" I just limit it to right when she wakes up from her nap or while I am making dinner, one or the other, not both and she only gets to watch parts of it, not all of it because it is 1 hr 20 min long. She also has a small addiction to Abby Cadabby and requests Abby - as long as it is Sesame Street she does not care if Abby is on that episode or not. Again, she only gets to watch if it is right after nap or I'm making dinner. One thing that is our own fault is that we have TiVo and she knows that she can watch her shows WHENEVER she wants. She has no concept of the fact that Sesame Street is only on at 7am or 7pm. She also knows that if a commercial comes on she doesn't have to watch it, she brings me the remote or starts yelling "UH OH!!"

Good luck!!! After 2 mos, I have to say "cury george" is just now starting to fade, but she still asks for at least a couple of times a week.

ps. I do have a 3 day potty method book that is AMAZING. It really works!!! My daughter was potty trained at 23 mos. I'll email it to you if you want.

Hi N.,

Evidently your daughter is very intelligent.

Had you thought about getting her in a nursery school to occupy her mind.

Good luck. D.

N.,

My son LOVES Caillou! He "has" to watch it before bed and naps. It is a good wind down show and he knows when it's over ..it is time to sleep! I don't mind that he is "addicted" to it. It is a very good program for kids his age, he is 3 1/2 and has loved him since he turned 2. It is totally a personal decision but for me, I don't allow or limit other programs that don't have good family issues and problem solving themes like..scooby doo and cartoons on cartoon network. I like most of the shows on sprout and noggin.

Good luck,

L.

N., N., N.. I TOTALLY feel your pain. My two year old is coo-coo for Caillou. It is borderline out of control. I accidentally stumbled upon the program one morning and let it linger because I thought it was a cartoon about a little boy with cancer. (The hairless head at age four made me think that.) Well, now I realize that all Caillou is, is a whiny little kid. AND, I discovered that there are like two Caillous -- if you notice, in some episodes he is drawn differently, with bigger eyes. My husband and I refer to that Caillou as "Imposter Caillou." He is more belligerent, whiny and bratty than the original one. We even went so far as to delete all the Imposter Caillous off of the DVR. Unfortunately, because our daughter watches it all the time, we found ourselves going a little nuts watching the same episodes; hence, Imposter Caillou found a home back on our DVR.

So after sharing all of that with you, I don't have any suggestions on how to kick the Caillou habit. Sorry. I can just 100% empathize with you.

By the way, what is Longaberger?

T. :)

What is it with the power of caillou?? my 2 year old nephew is also obsessed and my one year loooves him too!! i dont get it?? but anyway do you have a caillou video?? that she watched whenever? If so i would try letting her watch caillou right before bed as a bedtime routine, and also when it is scheduled on tv during the day, teach her that these are the times when caillou plays and that is all.

N.,
I wouldn't worry too much. I had a no TV rule until my son turned around 2 or 2 1/2. It has it's drawbacks. I took him to a Sesame Street show and he didn't know any of the characters, while my friend's daughter knew all the songs and the characters and was so excited and dancing around.

My son went through a Caillou stage and he still loves Curious George and he just turned 5. I was stressing myself because I let him watch a lot of TV the past 2 years while I was studying for my masters, but his vocabulary has significantly grown. He is telling me Chinese words, learned how to spell words, and has great imagination so I stopped beating myself up. This too will pass.